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The Latest Breaking News from TCEQ

Toxic benzene lingered for weeks after shelter-in-place warnings ended following 2019 Houston-area chemical fire

The Texas Tribune analyzed previously unreported air monitoring data and records from the 2019 ITC chemical disaster near Houston and found that high benzene levels lingered in the air for two weeks after public health measures were lifted. Experts say more shelter-in-place advisories should have been issued.

The Texas Tribune

For years, the EPA and Texas ignored warning signs at a chemical storage site. Then an inferno erupted.

Regulators repeatedly documented — but did little to address — problems at a Houston-area tank farm. Then on March 17, 2019, a fire blew through a corner of the facility, releasing toxic chemicals into nearby communities for weeks.

The Texas Tribune

Texas Senate seeks increased penalties on polluters as it renews state’s environmental agency

The bill would require the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to focus enforcement on repeat violators and increase public outreach.

The Texas Tribune

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Senator’s bill would fine Texans for multiple environmental complaints that don’t lead to enforcement

The bill would impose fines when residents make more than three complaints to the state environmental agency in a year if they don’t result in enforcement action. Critics warn the bill would discourage people from reporting pollution.

The Texas Tribune

Newly active Texas sinkhole unearths forgotten fears in some

A massive sinkhole in the Southeast Texas town of Daisetta had been dormant since first appearing in 2008

The Independent UK

Environmental group says Texas fails to hold repeat polluters accountable for unexpected emissions

A new report found that companies in Texas have had 21,000 unexpected pollution releases that emitted 400,000 tons of air pollution over six years, but only 1% of them prompted action by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

The Texas Tribune

The EPA wants to limit how much soot you breathe. Here’s what it means for Texas and one of its historic Black towns.

Federal limits on particulate matter commonly known as soot could mean cleaner, safer air for Texans. But environmental experts worry Texas may snub rules.

The Texas Tribune

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Breaking the Brazos

Pollution and development are straining the mighty river that Spanish explorers once called "the Arms of God."

Texas Observer

Environmental advocates push feds to investigate Texas’ enforcement of water quality

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to investigate allegations that the state is failing to enforce the Clean Water Act. Environmentalists say the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s system of issuing permits has made it too easy for industries to contaminate rivers, lakes and estuaries.

The Texas Tribune

Texas environmentalists push the EPA to crack down on methane emissions, saying state agencies have “failed us”

Commenting on the EPA’s proposed new rule to reduce methane leaks nationally, environmentalists said Texas regulators are hesitant to address emissions of the climate super-pollutant.

The Texas Tribune

EPA moves away from Permian Basin air pollution crackdown

The oil industry pushed hard against the proposal to issue an ozone nonattainment designation, which would have required that companies reduce oilfield emissions.

The Texas Tribune

EPA Backs Down from Permian Air Pollution Crackdown

Oil sector advocates pushed hard against an ozone nonattainment designation, which would have required oilfield emissions reductions.

Texas Observer

Houston's chemical contamination

"The people there are tired of being studied. We need to take action.”

Salon

Texans affected by pollution from concrete plants push state agency to tighten regulations

As the state’s environmental agency weighs new pollution limits on the plants, several lawmakers have filed bills that would put new restrictions on the facilities, which spew pollutants into mostly low-income neighborhoods.

The Texas Tribune

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Texas Observer

Industry Threatens Water Supplies and Coastal Ecology Near Corpus Christi

Environmentalists have seized on water supply as a “chokehold” to block fossil fuels on the rugged South Texas coast.

The Texas Tribune

Corpus Christi sold its water to Exxon, gambling on desalination. So far, it is losing the bet.

Concerns over ecological damage to Corpus Christi Bay have delayed plans to convert sea water to drinking water for years in this booming Gulf Coast city, where environmentalists see water supply as a “chokehold” to block new fossil fuel infrastructure.

The Texas Tribune

Port Arthur pollution fight shows how Texas blocks citizen protests

A local activist went before a judge, arguing for lower pollution limits on two new liquified natural gas facilities. The judge sided with him, but the state environmental agency sided with the companies.

Texas Observer

Christian Menefee Aims to Bring Polluters to Justice

The youngest-ever Harris County attorney is making the environment top priority. Next target: creosote contamination in Houston's Fifth Ward.

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Texas Observer

Toxic Texas Revealed

The Lone Star State now ranks number one in industrial discharges into waterways, according to a new report issued by Environment America.

The Texas Tribune

After cancer-causing chemicals were found in Fifth Ward soil, Houston mayor says cleanup plans are inadequate

The city’s health department found dioxins in soil samples along the fence line of a Union Pacific rail yard. Mayor Sylvester Turner said during the 2022 Texas Tribune Festival that plans to clean up the contamination should now include relocating residents.

The Texas Tribune

EPA may try to block what could be the first seawater desalination plant built in Texas

Citing water quality concerns, the Environmental Protection Agency may refuse to recognize a permit that Texas approved Thursday for a marine desalination plant at the Port of Corpus Christi.

The Texas Tribune

Website aims to make pollution permit information more accessible in Houston

Texas’ environmental regulators make it tricky for residents to track, or speak out against, industrial projects proposed near their homes. Advocates in Houston built a high-tech workaround.

The Texas Tribune

Texas regulators proposed cracking down on harmful plastic “nurdles” — and then changed their minds

The Texas coast is a hot spot for “nurdle” pollution, tiny plastic pellets created in the process of producing everyday products. But a plan to require proactive prevention of their release has been scrapped.

Texas Observer

Big Leaks, Little Regulation

Lax regulation by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality means oil and gas facilities are able to pollute with impunity.

The Texas Tribune

Texas is facing its worst drought since 2011. Here’s what you need to know.

The drought will likely continue into the fall and winter.

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