Environment
Fanning The Flames
After Eight-Year Battle Over Reforming the Railroad Commission, Oil and Gas Industry Wins
The industry is the top funding source for lawmakers’ campaigns, according to a recent report from Texans for Public Justice.
A nearly decade-long battle between environmentalists and the oil and gas industry to reform Texas’ energy regulatory agency came to a close last week — and...Read More
Bill Aims to Protect Communities of Color from Polluting Concrete Facilities
Senator Borris Miles’ bill requires concrete crushing facilities to be located at least 440 yards away from parks and playgrounds.
Concrete crushing plants, which recycle concrete from demolished roads and buildings, can emit plumes of fine dust, worsening nearby residents’ asthma and oth...Read More
For Texas Pronghorn, an Unusual 500-Mile Journey
Wildlife experts are airlifting and trucking pronghorn into West Texas in hopes of replenishing a shrinking population.
Wildlife experts are airlifting and trucking pronghorn into West Texas in hopes of replenishing a shrinking population....Read More
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