Environment
Over the Wall: How Texas Border Communities Are Gearing Up to Fight Trump
Lawmaker Hopes Bill Will Encourage Legislature to End Shady Accounting Practice
Representative Joe Pickett wants to stop collecting fees from Texans to improve air quality and spend the $1.27 billion sitting unused in the TERP fund.
Texas collects millions of dollars every year from residents to improve air quality, but almost never spends it all. Instead, the Legislature hoards the money t...Read More
Texas Lawmaker Wants to Legalize Hunting Feral Hogs from Hot Air Balloons
Policymakers in Texas continue to scratch their heads over the state’s feral hog problem, and the solutions are getting weirder.
May 25 UPDATE: After sailing through House and Senate committees with unanimous approval, both chambers agreed hunting feral hogs out of a hot-air balloon is a...Read More
Death From Above
An Observer investigation finds that the Texas Department of Agriculture often allows serial offenders to keep flying despite hundreds of complaints.
People in Texas farm country say they are under assault from crop dusters indiscriminately spraying chemicals. An Observer investigation finds that the Texas De...Read More
Texas Collects Fees from Residents to Clean Up the Air. Why Won’t Lawmakers Use It?
The Legislature uses an accounting trick to hoard money in the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan fund rather than appropriating it for clean air projects.
The Legislature uses an accounting trick to hoard money in the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan fund rather than appropriating it for clean air projects. ...Read More
Public Comment Bill is Latest GOP Effort to Chip Away at Public Participation
In 2015, the Texas Legislature shifted the burden of proof in opposing permits from the company to the public.
In 2015, the Texas Legislature shifted the burden of proof in opposing permits from the company to the public....Read More
Judge Sides with Port Aransas Residents, Halts Barge Facility in ‘Environmentally Sensitive’ Area
Judge Janis Graham Jack wrote that the injunction was in part to prevent a “bureaucratic steamroller effect.”
Judge Janis Graham Jack wrote that the injunction was in part to prevent a “bureaucratic steamroller effect.”...Read More
Residentes de Texas Reciben Primeros Avisos de Expropiación de Tierra para el Muro de Trump
'Nosotros no queremos éste muro – prácticamente todo el pueblo está de acuerdo en esto,' afirma Yvette Salinas, hija de una de los propietarios del terreno.
“Nosotros no queremos éste muro – prácticamente todo el pueblo está de acuerdo en esto”, afirma Yvette Salinas, hija de una de los propietarios del ter...Read More
Last Month Was the Hottest February on Record in Texas
All-time records were set at 42 Texas weather stations last month and meteorologists say this winter is on track to be the warmest on record.
All-time records were set at 42 Texas weather stations last month and meteorologists say this winter is on track to be the warmest on record....Read More
Bill Would Reduce Opportunities for Texans to Protest Corporate Polluters, Critics Say
The measure takes aim at TCEQ’s permitting process, often the last chance for neighboring communities to oppose polluting plants.
The measure takes aim at TCEQ’s permitting process, often the last chance for neighboring communities to oppose polluting plants. ...Read More