News & Politics
March 24, 2022
Corpus Christi’s Crappy Sewage System Begins Its Cleanup
For years, raw sewage has overwhelmed the city’s aging wastewater infrastructure. It’s spending $725 million to try to stop that.
EPA
Energy
January 24, 2017
Big Oil Roars Back
With Rex Tillerson and Rick Perry on his team, Donald Trump is all set to revive the fortunes of the Texas energy sector.
Politics & Policy
January 21, 2013
Romney’s Texas Cabinet Members?
U.S. Senator John Cornyn and outgoing senator Kay Bailey Hutchison were floated as potential members of a Romney administration, and Greg Abbott is a top choice to head the EPA.
Energy
January 21, 2013
Appeals Court Sides With Texas in Fight Over EPA Air Pollution Rule
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit struck down the Environmental Protection Agency's Cross-State Air Pollution Rule.
January 21, 2013
Texas Business Report: Appeals Court Sides with Texas over EPA
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott scored a victory over the EPA this week over when a federal appeals court ordered the federal agency to take more time to consider Texas's pollution control measures.
Energy
January 20, 2013
The Old Man and the Secret
Thirty years ago, people couldnt believe it: The old man’s elixir boosted crops, ate up sewage, and made the desert bloom. Today half a dozen Texas companies claim the elixir does all that and a whole lot more.
Energy
December 21, 2011
More EPA Regulations Upset Power Industry Leaders
The EPA announced new mercury emissions rules that please environmentalists, but the timeline and potential price tag worries industry officials.
Energy
December 12, 2011
Is Fracking Polluting the Groundwater?
The EPA issued a draft report last week linking fracking to groundwater contamination, but this did not cool the industry’s support of the practice.
Feature
December 1, 2011
Up in the Air
No state has defied the federal government’s environmental regulations more fiercely than Texas, and no governor has been more outspoken about the “job-killing” policies of the EPA than Rick Perry. But does that mean we can all breathe easy?
Web Exclusive
December 1, 2011
A Q&A With Nate Blakeslee
The senior editor on why Texas has taken the lead in fighting new EPA air pollution regulations and what will become the fuel of choice for the next generation of power plants in Texas and around the country.
Politics & Policy
September 12, 2011
Dewhurst attacks EPA over anti-coal rule
I am amending this post after making some calls and finding out more about the EPA's rule. I guess this is one of those cases where we're paranoid because they really are after us. Dewhurst's statement follows: AUSTIN—Today, Lt. Governor David Dewhurst issued the following statement regarding the detrimental effects of
Politics & Policy
July 1, 2010
True to form, Perry blasts EPA
This was the text of the governor’s statement regarding EPA’s decision to reject Texas’s State Implementation Program for the Clean Air Act. “The EPA’s irresponsible and heavy-handed action not only undermines Texas’ successful clean air programs, but threatens thousands of Texas jobs, families, businesses and communities throughout our state. It
Politics & Policy
June 27, 2010
The TCEQ-EPA fight: an industry view, a governor’s view
The first article below is from the Oil Price Information Service (OPISnet.com), an industry newsletter. It is an informational publication, not an advocacy publication. A typical article is, "Flattening Ethylene Forwards Curve Reflects Declining Demand, Rising Supply." The second article appeared in the Corpus Christi Caller-Times under Rick Perry's byline.
Politics & Policy
June 17, 2010
The EPA lawsuit
At my request, Attorney General Abbott's office provided me with a copy of the State's "Petition for Review of the final action of the respondent United States Environmental Protection Agency" in determining that Texas's current State Implementation Plan (SIP) is not approvable" [quoting from the Federal Register]. This is a
Politics & Policy
June 10, 2010
TXOGA eyes suit against EPA
The Texas Oil and Gas Association action could be filed as soon as tomorrow. The feds are flexing their muscles and threatening to take over all permitting in the state. They don’t like Texas’s system of “flex permitting,” which TCEQ and its predecessor agencies have used going back to Ann
Politics & Policy
January 1, 1996
Bugging Out
Farmers in the Rio Grande Valley are reeling from last year’s crop disaster—and they don’t cotton to agriculture commissioner Rick Perry’s excuses.