The latest environment news from The Texas Tribune.
Texas lawmakers raised tough questions Wednesday about a plan to invest up to $250 million of teacher retirement funds in the Ray L. Hunt family’s bid to buy and reshape Oncor, the mammoth electric utility. Full Story
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Meeting for only the second time in two years, a panel of Texas lawmakers pledged financial and political support to efforts at developing a plan to protect the Houston-Galveston region from a devastating storm surge. Full Story
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A controversial plan for a 142-mile pipeline to carry water to San Antonio suffered a small defeat this week when the state water development agency staff said it wasn't eligible for an $885 million low-interest construction loan. Full Story
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In this week's edition of the Trib+Water newsletter: A new online tool provides a comprehensive look at the state's 23 river basins, a deal is made to move forward the Vista Ridge pipeline project and an interview with Steve Young of Intera. Full Story
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Nearly five years after issuing a ruling cheered by property rights advocates, the Texas Supreme Court is set to rehear a case pitting two Texas brothers against a pipeline company that seized their land through eminent domain. Full Story
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A state plan to eradicate invasive Carrizo cane along the Rio Grande — cited by Gov. Greg Abbott as a border security priority — is finally getting some funding after sitting dormant for almost a year. Full Story
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A federal judge on Monday approved a $20.8 billion settlement between a group of five Gulf Coast states — including Texas — and BP stemming from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill. Full Story
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Thanks to a surge in drilling, La Salle County was able to finance a multi-million upgrade to its emergency response capabilities. While the oil boom has stalled, the dramatic improvements are here to stay, officials say. Full Story
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State lawmakers are considering whether to tighten eminent domain laws to help landowners battling pipeline companies, electric utilities, public agencies or other entities seeking to condemn land their land for public use. Full Story
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The financial troubles of a Spanish company hired to build San Antonio's $884 million Vista Ridge water pipeline won't drag down the project, utility and city officials contend. Full Story
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Texas regulators on Thursday approved the Ray L. Hunt family’s high-stakes plan to purchase and reshape the state's largest electric utility. But they added major revisions, prolonging the battle to own Oncor. Full Story
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In this week's edition of the Trib+Water newsletter: A new report points to high levels of arsenic in many Texans' drinking water, El Niño wreaks havoc globally and an interview with Laura Huffman of the Nature Conservancy. Full Story
A public meeting to gather input from Houston-area residents on various hurricane protection plans turned into a mini protest Tuesday with several attendees challenging a levee proposal that would leave some communities around Galveston Bay unprotected. Full Story
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In the Roundup: Ted Cruz still thinks he can surpass frontrunner Donald Trump to secure the GOP presidential nomination. Plus, a new report on arsenic in Texans’ drinking water and a look at which sports make money for state universities. Full Story
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D.C. Circuit Chief Judge Merrick Garland has a history with cases involving the Environmental Protection Agency, which Texas has sued 24 times since Obama took office. Full Story
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For decades, the petroleum industry has largely fueled Texas' influence in national Republican politics. But operatives are seeing early signs that the current oil bust has depressed the sector’s political giving. Full Story
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Tens of thousands of Texans live in places where the drinking water contains toxic levels of arsenic — a known carcinogen — and the state isn’t doing enough to discourage them from consuming it, according to a new report from an environmental group. Full Story
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Wayne Christian, a candidate for Texas railroad commissioner, frequently touts his energy expertise. But he did not know one of the agency’s key duties — regulating natural gas utilities — until a reporter told him. Full Story
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In the Roundup: Ted Cruz appears positioned to go head to head with Donald Trump for the GOP presidential nomination, a federal appeals court will again examine Texas’ controversial voter ID law, and the upper Texas coast remains vulnerable to a storm’s direct hit. Full Story
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A new proposal to protect the Houston area from hurricanes is reigniting controversy — and potentially diminishing the odds that a consensus will emerge anytime soon on the best plan to safeguard the nation's fifth-largest metropolitan area. Full Story