Corpus Christi Could Owe Texas $235M for Failed Desalination Plant
City leaders hope to revive the twice-rejected project to avoid returning money loaned by the state.
Environment
Corpus Christi Withholds Water to Wetlands While Lifting Restrictions on Lawns
Reservoirs have rebounded from critical levels, but an emergency order absolves the city of requirements to resume releasing water for the Nueces River Delta.
What the Data Says About Electricity Shutoffs During Sweltering Texas Summers
The state's retail heat-advisory rule exempts municipal utilities or electric cooperatives. For those providers, federal data shows final notices continued through summer while actual disconnections varied sharply from one utility to another.
Permian Basin Community Seeks Fix for Radium in Its Drinking Water
Utilities serving thousands of Texans exceed legal limits for radium.
Who Pays for the High-Powered Grid that Data Centers Need?
Texas would make large AI hyperscalers pay for the wires that connect them. Whether they must also pay directly for the broader grid work needed to serve them is still an open question.
With Texas’ Data Center Boom, Uncertainty Is the Business Plan
Proposed projects are driven by sketchy numbers nobody has to prove: inflated demand, water use most companies never report, power plans that route around ordinary review. Either way, the public pays.
The Hard Ceiling over Texas Cities’ Climate Plans
From the biggest cities to smaller towns, local officials wrote serious climate plans. One law at a time, state policy has narrowed the tools to carry them out.
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Texas’ Refusal to Plan for Climate Change Created a Crisis in Corpus Christi
Stubbornly unrealistic assessments of the region’s reservoir system turned this year’s drought conditions into an emergency.
Texas Has a Water Shortage and a Water Glut. They’re the Same Problem.
Every day the Permian Basin brings up more water than nearby communities use, and treats most of it as waste. The state can no longer afford to do so.
From the Plantation to the Thicket: Juneteenth, Black Freedom, and ‘Marronage’ in Texas
Freedom in Texas was achieved both after—and before—formal emancipation.