In Booming Central Texas, Wastewater Is Polluting Rivers and Streams
A bill in the Texas Legislature would protect the last 21 pristine watersheds. But for years, previous attempts have been defeated by powerful homebuilders.
Dylan Baddour
Dylan Baddour covers the energy sector and environmental justice in Texas for Inside Climate News. Born in Houston, he’s worked the business desk at the Houston Chronicle, covered the U.S.-Mexico border for international outlets and reported for several years from Colombia for media like The Washington Post, BBC News and The Atlantic. He also spent two years investigating armed groups in Latin America for the global security department at Facebook before returning to Texas journalism. Baddour holds bachelor’s degrees in journalism and Latin American studies from the University of Texas at Austin. He has lived in Argentina, Kazakhstan and Colombia and speaks fluent Spanish.
Articles by Dylan Baddour
The Massive Energy Requirements of Treating Texas’ Oilfield Wastewater
One company wants small nuclear reactors to power the energy-intensive process of purifying vast volumes of toxic “produced water” for use in agriculture and industry.
‘Drill Baby Drill’: Arlington Approves New Site for Fracking Near Daycare and Schools
Arlington has opened new land for fracking for the first time in 12 years, allowing TotalEnergies to drill 10 new gas wells near a daycare center.
Corpus Christi Launches Emergency Water Projects as Reservoirs Dwindle and Industrial Demand Grows
This Texas city has struggled to develop a seawater desalination plant, but its efforts have lagged as thirsty industries arrive and drought persists.
Texas Uranium Mining Portends Nuclear Revival
State leaders want nuclear reactors to provide power to large industrial facilities. But South Texas locals worry that a uranium boom could affect their groundwater.
How Texas Diminished a Once-Rigorous Air Pollution Monitoring Team
Former employees say the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality weakened the unit in the years following the onset of the fracking boom. The operation never returned to what it was before.
Hurricane Beryl Was a Warning Shot for Houston
The category 1 storm dealt the city disastrous damage. Houston’s first direct hit from a hurricane in decades showed how vulnerable the nation’s energy capital remains.
Forgotten Keepers of the Rio Grande Delta
An industrial buildout on the southern tip of Texas is erasing the last traces of an ancient world that still hasn’t died.
Water Scarcity and Clean Energy Collide in South Texas
A high-tech chemical company has purchased the last available water in the Nueces River to make hydrogen and ammonia for export.
Gulf Coast Petrochemical Buildout Draws Billions in Tax Breaks For Polluters
A new report by the Environmental Integrity Project compiled data on every U.S. plastics plant built, expanded or proposed since 2012, revealing massive growth in Texas.