After reaching the end of their automotive lives, the batteries are being reused to provide lower-cost grid energy storage.
Environment
Coverage of climate, conservation, natural resources, and environmental policy shaping the state, from The Texas Tribune.
Posted in
Hill Country floods
Texas House committee discusses flood bills despite standstill
Only one Democrat taking part in the quorum break was absent from the panel as the group discussed five bills and the chair vowed their work would go on.
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Hill Country floods
Kerr County officials failed to follow certain aspects of disaster plan during Texas floods
The five-year-old plan, required by the state, detailed when additional monitoring was to take place and who was responsible for alerting the public to evacuate.
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Hill Country floods
Top two Kerr County emergency officials say they were asleep as July 4 floods struck
Their statements to state legislators marked the first time county officials have spoken publicly about what they were doing the morning of the disaster that killed more than 100 people in the county.
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Hill Country floods
“Nobody came”: Hill Country flooding survivors recount anguish, neglect during emotional hearing
Residents told state lawmakers about what they’ve lost and the hardships they’re experiencing almost a month after the July 4 disaster devastated the region.
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Hill Country floods
Texas Hill Country floods: What we know so far
With hundreds confirmed dead, questions remain about the local response to flood warnings. Meanwhile, lawmakers will weigh measures to mitigate future disasters.
Posted in
Hill Country floods
As the floods hit, Kerrville officials’ messages show lack of information about what was coming
Lawmakers plan to hear testimony Thursday in Kerr County. Questions remain about how state and local entities responded to flood warnings.
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Environment
Feds move to eliminate petrochemical watchdog, putting Texans and others at risk
Amid increasingly intense weather, the Chemical Safety Board is the lone independent agency watching over the Gulf Coast’s petrochemical corridor.
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Environment
East Texans condemn Dallas millionaire’s plan to pump 16 billion gallons of their groundwater to other parts of the state — every year
Texas law largely allows landowners to do what they want with the groundwater beneath them, potentially protecting the latest plan to ship water out of East Texas.
Posted inEnvironment
Texas buys land for new state parks that will be developed using $1 billion voter-approved fund
The fund opens a new era of public land acquisition and park development for Texas, which ranks 35th nationally in state park acreage per capita.