“We lost everything”: East Texas residents confront their future after flooding
Dozens of evacuees, including the elderly and barefoot children, crowded in an old school building Friday, praying for clear skies on Monday. Full Story
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![Flooding in downtown Livingston on May 2, 2024. Thousands fled their Southeast Texas homes as heavy rains saturated land in multiple counties.]()
Credit: Drone Bros LLC -
How the flooding in Southeast Texas got so dire
Since Sunday, multiple rounds of rainfall have soaked the region, causing rivers and creeks to swell and rise out of their banks. Full Story
![The Lake Livingston Dam is seen releasing water on May 3, 2024, in Livingston. The Southeast Texas reservoir reached capacity during several days of intense rainstorms this week.]()
Credit: Drone Bros LLC -
Rain eases in Southeast Texas but flooding will take time to recede
Thousands of residents have either evacuated or are now under shelter orders. Full Story
![Emergency personnel respond to flooding on FM 1988 on May 2, 2024, in Livingston.]()
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Harris, Montgomery counties declare emergencies as East Texas region floods
Parts of Harris County, including The Woodlands, were under flood warnings Thursday. Full Story
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Decayed power pole sparked the largest wildfire in state history, Texas House committee confirms
A lack of air support and ineffective coordination hurt efforts to contain this year's Panhandle fires, the committee said. Full Story
![A building destroyed by fire sits in ashes in the Texas R.V. Park in Fritch, TX. Snow and rainfall on Thursday offered temporary relief to firefighters battling the blaze but weather conditions this weekend may cause the fire to spread again.]()
Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune -
East Texans brace for prolonged evacuation orders after rainfall drenches Polk County
East Texas has been hit by several severe rainstorms this spring, and several counties have declared disasters. Full Story
![Recent flooding in Polk County has led to evacuations.]()
Credit: TxDOT Lufkin social media -
Companies aim to release more treated oilfield wastewater into rivers and streams
Texas regulators are issuing permits to discharge large volumes of treated “produced water” into some waterways. Questions remain about the toxic pollutants found in the wastewater. Full Story
![An oil well adjacent to the Red Bluff Reservoir in Reeves County, Texas on February 24, 2020. NGL Water Solutions Permian has proposed to discharge treated produced water into the reservoir.]()
Credit: Justin Hamel for Inside Climate News -
Coal power plants must reduce pollution under new federal rules
The rules will require coal-fueled plants, including Texas plants that produced about 12% of power on the state’s grid this year, to reduce carbon emissions and mercury pollution and handle disposed coal ash more safely. Full Story
![The entrance to the San Miguel Electric Cooperative coal-burning power plant on April 26, 2019.]()
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Is the ocelot, the endangered South Texas wildcat, making a comeback?
Conservation groups found a sign of hope, but scientists say it's too soon to celebrate. Full Story
![The ocelot subspecies Leopardus pardalis albescens, found in South Texas, is classified as endangered.]()
Credit: Photo courtesy Texas Parks and Wildlife Department 2022, ©Chase Fountain -
Oil and gas leaders at Tribune panel say the industry’s crucial to West Texas but pollution must be addressed
Panelists discussed how the industry has changed Midland and Odessa and how to confront environmental concerns. Full Story
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What you need to know about toxic “forever chemicals” the EPA is restricting
The EPA recently set new limits on the toxic chemicals used to make everything from nonstick pans to firefighting foam. Here’s how to protect yourself and your family. Full Story
![3M’s Cordova chemical plant in Illinois on the Mississippi River upstream from the Quad Cities on Dec. 7, 2022. The company said it will stop making PFAS chemicals in 2025.]()
Credit: E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune/TNS/ABACA via Reuters Connect -
Rural Texas towns report cyberattacks that caused one water system to overflow
Local officials said the public was not put in any danger and the attempts were reported to federal authorities. Full Story
![The view into Muleshoe, Texas along Highway 84 on March. 6, 2023, in Muleshoe.]()
Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune -
South Texas farmers are in peril as the Rio Grande Valley runs dry — again
With the hottest days still ahead, local leaders have declared emergencies. And farmers are lobbying for the U.S. government to pressure Mexico to release water. Full Story
![Mike England surveys a field on his farm near Mercedes on April 18, 2024. England had to destroy 500 acres worth of sugar cane he'd grown because of drought in the Rio Grande Valley.]()
Credit: Ben Lowy for The Texas Tribune -
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick asks state to halt new cement plant permits until 2025
Citing community concerns about a planned cement plant in Grayson County, Patrick’s letter asks TCEQ to reject the permit and halt permit approvals statewide. Full Story
![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick speaks during a keynote lunch at the Texas Public Policy Foundation Texas Policy Summit 2024 at the AT&T Hotel & Conference Center in Austin, TX on Mar. 21, 2024. Lt. Gov. Patrick spoke on policies regarding energy, border control, school choice and taxes.]()
Credit: Maria Crane/The Texas Tribune -
Dozens of Texas water systems exceed new federal limits on “forever chemicals”
The EPA set its first-ever drinking water limits for five types of PFAS chemicals, and nearly 50 Texas public water systems have reported exceeding the new limits for at least one. Full Story
![A cascade aerator on the site of the Twin Oaks Valley Water Treatment Plant outside of San Antonio, where the San Antonio Water System maintains an underground storage reservoir.]()
Credit: Gabriel Cristóver Pérez for The Texas Tribune -
As climate change intensifies wildfire risk, prescribed burns prove their worth in the heat-stressed Panhandle
In Borger, officials say a prescribed burn stopped the Windy Deuce Fire from entering neighborhoods. But the practice has faced opposition from some landowners. Full Story
![A structure damaged by the flames of the Smokehouse Creek Fire in Stinnet, Texas.]()
Credit: Keaton Peters/Inside Climate News -
Valley activists wage transatlantic battle to stop natural gas exports from South Texas
As legal efforts fall short, Rio Grande Valley residents are pursuing a novel strategy to halt export terminals on wetlands: Lobby Europeans to reject gas from the U.S. Full Story
![The Port of Brownsville Shrimp Basin, about 4.8 miles away from the Rio Grande LNG terminal.]()
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Water scarcity and clean energy collide in South Texas
A high-tech chemical company has purchased the last available water in the Nueces River to make hydrogen and ammonia for export. Full Story
![The sun sets over the Port of Corpus Christi in March 2018.]()
Credit: Eddie Seal for The Texas Tribune -
After Texas’ largest wildfire is contained, a rancher moves on with a single calf
In testimony to state lawmakers, Dale Jenkins and his Panhandle peers shared the “hidden cost” of the wildfires. Full Story
![Dale Jenkins poses for a photo inside a cattle pen where he left his livestock prior to the Smokehouse Creek fires on Wednesday, April 3, 2024 in Canadian. “You'd be out there fighting this fire and you're all by yourself,” Jenkins said. “There's not a soul round. But you've got light from the fire line. And you're working at it and concentrating so hard and finally you get to the end you finally put up the last flames and then it's just totally dark and totally quiet is a really it's an interesting feeling.”]()
Credit: Maria Crane/The Texas Tribune -
Amid fears of arsenic in private water wells, Texas A&M is offering low-cost tests in Ector and Midland counties
Officials are worried that there’s arsenic in some of the estimated 13,500 private water wells in Ector and Midland counties. Full Story
![A water faucet drips on Feb. 5, 2022.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune
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