The latest environment news from The Texas Tribune.
When you read a letter from Texas Railroad Commission Chairman David Porter, there is a chance he wrote it. And there is a chance it was written by someone in the oil and gas industry he's supposed to be regulating. Full Story
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In this week's edition of the Trib+Water newsletter: A proposed statewide water grid is opposed by the Sierra Club, a report finds fracking activity in wetlands preserves and an interview with Navid Saleh of the University of Texas at Austin. Full Story
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Weighing in on a case before the FCC, Texas Railroad Commission Chairman David Porter signed a letter authored by a pipeline company. Critics say the move illustrates a coziness with the industries he regulates. Full Story
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Here's video of our discussion on the lessons learned from Hurricane Rita and its aftermath. The conversation, which we presented with the Beaumont Enterprise, took place at Lamar University in Beaumont. Full Story
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Halliburton, the Houston-based oilfield service giant, has agreed to pay nearly $18.3 million in back overtime wages to more than 1,000 U.S. employees, following a federal investigation. Full Story
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The Texas General Land Office has dropped its lawsuit against the city’s obliterated ban on hydraulic fracturing and moratorium on new gas drilling, officially resolving all litigation over the North Texas city's vote, which made international headlines. Full Story
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Many Texans trying to flee Hurricane Rita ran out of gas. The next time a hurricane forces Gulf Coast residents to flee, state officials say such a nightmarish scenario is less likely to occur. This is part of our "Road From Rita" series, a collaboration with the Beaumont Enterprise. Full Story
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With the eyes of Nordheim cast upon them, state regulators have granted new life — if just a breath — to the tiny South Texas town’s effort to thwart an oil and gas waste site that locals argue threatens their way of life. Full Story
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Now that Denton has repealed its ban on hydraulic fracturing and its ban on gas drilling has expired, lawyers for the oil and gas industry have agreed to drop their lawsuit against the city. Full Story
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The Texas Railroad Commission looks poised to clear a second oilfield company of responsibility for a series of earthquakes that rattled two North Texas towns — despite research suggesting otherwise. Full Story
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Disagreeing with Dallas-Fort Worth-area water officials, the Texas Water Development Board decided on Wednesday that a years-long conflict over a yet-to-be-built reservoir in the region’s 50-year water plan is serious enough that it should be resolved. Full Story
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A bill that passed late in the legislative session gave some residents and officials hope that they can kill a controversial water-pumping project in western Hays County. But there's no guarantee that Houston-based Electro Purification won't ultimately be able to proceed with its plan. Full Story
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In this week's edition of the Trib+Water newsletter: Homeowners on the San Marcos River seek relief from tubers, a Houston teen wins recognition for e-waste filtering device and an interview with Rabi Mohtar of Texas A&M University. Full Story
Federal regulators have slapped a roughly $50,000 fine on a West Texas oil company six months after a fiery explosion killed three of its workers at a well. Full Story
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The state’s biggest electricity generator is adding solar power to its mix. In the latest sign that solar energy is fast gaining a foothold in Texas, Dallas-based Luminant has announced plans to tap 116 megawatts of West Texas solar power. Full Story
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The Obama administration’s controversial new clean water regulations apply in Texas after all. Clarifying an injunction issued last week, a federal judge says he blocked the federal Waters of the U.S. rule in only 13 states. Texas is not one of them. Full Story
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A Texas Democrat says he believes the U.S. House will pass legislation lifting the country’s 40-year-old ban on most crude oil exports — even amid a frenzy of activity in the upcoming session. Full Story
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An inquiry by the agency that regulates the oil and gas industry in Texas has found that oil and gas activity did not likely cause a swarm of earthquakes around the North Texas towns of Azle and Reno starting in 2013. Full Story
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A Palo Pinto County family is suing two oil and gas operators, alleging that gas from their wells migrated into the family's water well, which exploded and burned them. Full Story
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Texas farmers and ranchers say they've been given little guidance and aren't sure what to expect as new federal regulations protecting drinking water supplies kick in. Full Story
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