The Sierra Blanca facility, which houses ICE detainees, shuts down its water supply at 11 p.m. daily to allow its on-site water tanks to replenish overnight.
Environment
Coverage of climate, conservation, natural resources, and environmental policy shaping the state, from The Texas Tribune.
Texas voters could stabilize funding for state parks with Proposition 5
Decades ago, lawmakers passed a law that was meant to fully fund Texas Parks and Wildlife, but the money never seemed to make it to the parks. Now they’re asking voters to create a constitutional mandate that parks get more money.
Plastic company set to pay $50 million settlement in water pollution suit brought on by Texas residents
A judge had ruled that the company illegally dumped billions of plastic pellets and other pollutants into Lavaca Bay and other waterways.
Imelda victims will receive federal assistance after disaster declaration
Nearly 900 homes sustained major damage or were destroyed and uninsured in six affected counties, according to a preliminary assessment.
Texans still don’t know if they qualify for FEMA aid after Imelda. But some say the potential help may not be worth the wait.
For people affected by Imelda to get FEMA aid, there have to be at least 800 flooded homes that weren’t insured โ and it could be weeks before Texans know if that threshold is met.
Tropical Storm Imelda left 5 dead in Texas and many flooded. Will FEMA aid come next?
While Gov. Greg Abbott declared a state of emergency for Tropical Storm Imelda, it does not qualify individuals for financial assistance. That will have to come from FEMA.
Watch a Texas Tribune Festival conversation about the state of agriculture
This panel features state officials and a former U.S. agriculture secretary talking about the state of agriculture in 2020 and beyond.
Two people dead, others left stranded and trapped in the wake of Tropical Storm Imelda
Both deaths were related to flooding from the storm. More than a thousand others needed to be rescued and evacuated.
Tropical Storm Imelda’s flooding turns deadly as southeast Texas is swamped by rain
The storm quickly became the fifth-wettest rainfall event in the continental United States. Gov. Greg Abbott issued an emergency declaration for several counties Thursday.
Central Texas river authority, lakefront property owners reach settlement to avoid draining four lakes โ for now
The Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority and property owners in Guadalupe and Gonzales Counties agreed to not drain four lakes held up by 90-year-old dams, on the condition that recreational use of the lakes is banned.


