The latest environment news from The Texas Tribune.
After years of political fighting, Congress has passed a farm bill that will bring certainty to agricultural and food assistance policy until 2018. Texas agricultural producers could see big changes. Full Story
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Take a look back at Beneath the Surface, our five-part series on the state's growing interest in groundwater. While more Texans are counting on groundwater to fuel the state's economic growth, legal and regulatory hurdles present challenges. Full Story
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Should Texas overhaul its electricity market? And if so, how much would it cost? A highly anticipated report has shed some light on those questions amid an increasingly contentious debate. Full Story
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As the oil and gas industry continues to flourish in Texas, several areas of the state are experiencing small earthquakes, and scientists see a link. But the shaking is just part of what has many of the affected residents on edge. Full Story
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Texas' refusal to issue required greenhouse permits for almost two years may have hurt business. Energy companies say they have been unable to take advantage of the area's shale boom. Full Story
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As oil booms in La Salle County, so have 911 calls. In response, officials have unleashed a plan to professionalize the county's firefighting forces. Full Story
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In La Salle County, about an hour southwest of San Antonio, production in the Eagle Ford Shale is estimated to drive 90 percent of all 911 calls. Before November, there were just a handful of volunteer firefighters to respond. Full Story
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Nearly four years after the BP oil spill, a fight over how to spend the recovery money paid to Texas has erupted between environmentalists and the state's parks and wildlife department. Full Story
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A controversial groundwater pumping plan that opponents argue could threaten the lower Rio Grande's already depleted supply is highlighting a conundrum in Texas water law. Full Story
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Oklahoma says it will allow a North Texas water district to resume pumping water from Lake Texoma, even though some of the district’s pumps sit — just barely — inside Oklahoma territory. Full Story
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As the utilities and big energy users spar in Austin over how to best encourage the building of power plants, another important issue that is getting less public attention is about how Texas can curb its energy use. Full Story
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The Texas comptroller's office will use $5 million appropriated by state legislators to fund university-centered research on three species at risk of being classified as endangered or threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Full Story
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Texas appears to be headed for another clash with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over greenhouse gas limits — this time, for existing power plants. Full Story
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An Arizona-based company plans to build a 22-megawatt solar plant in West Texas. When it's up and running — officials say the plant could be online as soon as June — it will rank among the state's largest. Full Story
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A bid by San Antonio's water utility to declare ownership of the sewage it treats and releases has sparked a regional tug-of-war — one that could become more common as Texas' thirsty water users struggle to protect their supplies. Full Story
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Scientists say satellites in space may someday help explain why one air pollution monitoring station in a tiny Texas town south of Houston keeps recording the highest levels of ozone pollution in the region. Full Story
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The suggestion of new restrictions on saltwater fishing has generated heated discussion along the coast — with some claiming that small-time fishermen will be pushed out to make way for richer anglers. Full Story
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A plan meant to balance the needs of the Edwards Aquifer's 2 million water users with those of threatened species will receive a national award Thursday, but the state's severe drought could hinder the proposal's success. Full Story
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In the past decade, pipeline accidents caused by construction crews have killed and injured workers and inflicted significant property damage in Texas. One measure that’s supposed to prevent such accidents has stirred concerns. Full Story
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Despite critics' calls for more scrutiny, federal pipeline regulators say they see no reason to delay activating the Oklahoma-to-Texas leg of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, which is set to be turned on next week. Full Story
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