The grid operator asked Texans to reduce power use from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. to avoid a power-supply emergency.
Environment
Coverage of climate, conservation, natural resources, and environmental policy shaping the state, from The Texas Tribune.
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Broken Pipes
Their water is undrinkable. So these West Texas residents have taken matters into their own hands.
The water in these four unincorporated communities near Lubbock has been undrinkable for years, residents say. They hope to win $3 million in state grants to improve their systems.
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Climate Change in Texas
Texas eighth graders will soon be required to learn about climate change. But not without a showdown over textbooks.
Texas is one of the few states that don’t already require eighth graders to be taught about climate change. That’ll change next fall.
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New Texas Laws 2023
Under new state law, Texas will bill electric vehicle drivers an extra $200 a year
The new registration fee is meant to make up for the state’s lost revenue from gasoline taxes that are used to pay for road construction and maintenance.
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Energy
Texas’ environmental agency enables companies to increase oilfield wastewater disposal in rivers
Researchers are still studying the chemical makeup of “produced water” from Permian Basin oil fields. But regulators say they’re ready to issue permits to discharge the water into rivers and creeks.
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Environment
Heat, drought and population growth have stressed aquifers that supply water to millions of Texans
Diminishing springs and aquifers due to heat, drought and high for demand water highlight the urgency for Central Texas conservation districts to prioritize climate-focused management, potentially involving reduced pumping for sustainability.
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Energy
For Texans, fighting state-regulated oilfield waste dumps can be a costly, do-it-yourself effort
Some Texans who challenge oil and gas waste sites must spend significant sums and time on investigating what they say the Texas Railroad Commission should examine. Will new regulations for handling waste increase oversight or just maintain the status quo?
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Energy
Texas sues Shell over Houston-area chemical fire in May
The lawsuit seeks $1 million in damages, claiming the three-day blaze at Shell’s Deer Park facility caused air and water pollution that violated state law.
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Environment
Gov. Greg Abbott declares wildfire disaster for three-fourths of Texas
At least 8,500 acres of Texas land have burned since Aug. 1. The governor’s disaster declaration allows included counties to access state resources to fight wildfires.
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Graphics and data reporting
“We’d lose one after the next”: Texas bats face a pandemic of their own
Weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic swept into Texas, a biologist found a dead bat covered in a white fungus — the state’s first official case of white-nose syndrome. Now, scientists are on a mission to understand how many bats have been lost.