As the state’s environmental agency weighs new pollution limits on the plants, several lawmakers have filed bills that would put new restrictions on the facilities, which spew pollutants into mostly low-income neighborhoods.
Environment
Coverage of climate, conservation, natural resources, and environmental policy shaping the state, from The Texas Tribune.
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Energy
Texas activists arrested in D.C. during protest against offshore oil export facility
Deepwater terminals proposed for the Gulf of Mexico will fuel oil output and export growth despite the Biden administration promises of steep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.
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Environment
Texas’ environmental regulators need to get tougher on polluters, group of lawmakers says
The group that reviews the effectiveness of state agencies recommended several changes to how the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality operates.
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Texas 2022 Elections
Texas votes: Abortion, border security and marijuana energize voters on Election Day
Texas voters cast their ballots Tuesday with a wide variety of issues on their minds, including the state’s grid and the Uvalde shooting.
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Demographics
Rural Texas is the state’s foundation. And it’s in jeopardy.
Downtowns are deserted, hospitals are closing, teachers are leaving. Every part of life in rural Texas is harder — but it’s worth saving.
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Energy
Corpus Christi sold its water to Exxon, gambling on desalination. So far, it is losing the bet.
Concerns over ecological damage to Corpus Christi Bay have delayed plans to convert sea water to drinking water for years in this booming Gulf Coast city, where environmentalists see water supply as a “chokehold” to block new fossil fuel infrastructure.
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Energy
Port Arthur pollution fight shows how Texas blocks citizen protests
A local activist went before a judge, arguing for lower pollution limits on two new liquified natural gas facilities. The judge sided with him, but the state environmental agency sided with the companies.
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Climate Change in Texas
Texas’ plan to provide water for a growing population virtually ignores climate change
Texas’ biggest single solution to providing enough water for its soaring population in the coming decades is using more surface water, including about two dozen new large reservoirs. But climate change has made damming rivers a riskier bet.
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Environment
Black residents in Corpus Christi file a civil rights complaint to stop Texas’ first desalination plant
Since 2007, Hillcrest residents have sued to challenge plans for a sewage treatment plant in their neighborhood, and then bridge construction.
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Energy
Abandoned “dry hole” oil wells are polluting Texas farms, ranches and groundwater. The state won’t fix them.
Wildcatters drilled thousands of wells looking for oil and abandoned the dry holes. Some are spewing contaminated water.