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The Latest Breaking News from TCEQ

As the Rio Grande runs dry, South Texas cities look to alternatives for water

Many of the solutions are costly, putting them out of reach for small towns. But the region's most populous cities are getting innovative.

The Texas Tribune

New Texas Appellate Court Alarms Environmentalists

The all-GOP 15th Court of Appeals soon will hear disputes involving the state’s environmental regulators. “It’s BYOC—bring your own court—for polluters and powerful interests.”

Texas Observer

North Texas landowners trying to stop a reservoir that Wichita Falls calls crucial

State regulators face a critical decision this week on whether to approve a permit for a new reservoir that the city of Wichita Falls says is vital for ensuring enough water for the region. But some locals are fighting the project.

The Texas Tribune

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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.

The Texas Tribune

Tainted water flowed to these Texans’ homes for three years. No one told them.

A new operator was assigned to fix the well in Midland County, which is still not compliant with state standards.

The Texas Tribune

New EPA rule to slash cancer-causing emissions from sterilization facilities

Laredo residents who live near a sterilization plant say the new federal limits on the pollutant will improve air quality and reduce their city’s high cancer risk.

The Texas Tribune

Expuestos y en el olvido: El aire tóxico en una comunidad latina de Texas revela los fallos del sistema estatal de control de calidad del aire

Los datos públicos de una red de monitores de la calidad del aire alrededor del Canal de Navegación de Houston son difíciles de interpretar y a menudo son insuficientes, dejando a vecindarios de mayoría latina, como Cloverleaf, sin saber si el aire que respiran es seguro.

The Texas Tribune

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Neglected and exposed: Toxic air lingers in a Texas Latino community, revealing failures in state’s air monitoring system

Public data from a network of state air monitors around the Houston Ship Channel is hard to interpret and is often inadequate, leaving Latino-majority neighborhoods like Cloverleaf unaware of whether the air they breathe is safe.

The Texas Tribune

New Lake Will Fuel Petrochemical Expansion

Blocked in Louisiana, Formosa Plastics looks to grow around Texas' Lavaca Bay, but it and other industrial plants are waiting for water.

Texas Observer

New reservoir will fuel petrochemical expansion on Texas coast

Blocked in Louisiana, Formosa Plastics looks to grow around Lavaca Bay instead. But it and other interested industrial plants are waiting for more water.

The Texas Tribune

How Texas polluters classify big facilities as smaller ones to avoid stricter environmental rules and public input

Industrial developers describe large facilities as “minor” polluters to avoid federal permitting requirements, and environmental lawyers say the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality lets it happen.

The Texas Tribune

How Texas Commission On Environmental Quality Helps Polluters Evade Federal Law

Environmental lawyers say TCEQ, the state watchdog agency lets polluters escape regulation through legal loopholes.

Texas Observer

Judge overrules Texas, strikes down air pollution permit for Gulf Coast oil terminal

A judge reversed a 2022 decision by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality that involved its controversial “one-mile rule” to deny hearing requests.

The Texas Tribune

Texas Court Strikes Down Air Pollution Permit for Gulf Coast Oil Terminal

A judge reversed a 2022 decision by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) which involved its controversial “one-mile rule."

Texas Observer

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The Texas Tribune

Federal court overturns Texas agency’s pollution permit for Gulf Coast natural gas export terminal

Judges overturned a state air pollution permit that was issued last year, arguing that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality illegally enabled Port Arthur LNG to avoid emissions control requirements.

Texas Observer

Court: Lone Star State Violated Emissions Limits on Gulf Coast

Judges argued that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality illegally enabled Port Arthur LNG to avoid emission control requirements.

The Texas Tribune

Llano River communities fight former oil executive’s plan for a private dam

Texas has thousands of private dams, but a former oil executive’s application to build one on the South Llano River would be the first in the watershed for recreational use. Opponents fear it would harm the river’s health and encourage more private dams.

Texas Observer

Texas Wants to Adopt Outdated Cancer Risk Standard Despite Concerns

TCEQ is proposing to quietly adopt its 17-year-old cancer standard that leading scientists and public health officials call inadequate.

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The Texas Tribune

Texas quietly moves to formalize acceptable cancer risk from industrial air pollution. Public health officials say it’s not strict enough.

Without public hearings, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is proposing to adopt its 17-year-old standard that scientists and public health officials say fails to account for cumulative air pollution.

The Texas Tribune

EPA’s inspector general says agency isn’t enforcing benzene pollution rules at refineries in Texas, nationally

A report by the federal environmental agency’s internal watchdog found that EPA is failing to enforce its own pollution limits for the known carcinogen at many refineries — including some in Texas.

The Texas Tribune

Their water is undrinkable. So these West Texas residents have taken matters into their own hands.

The water in these four unincorporated communities near Lubbock has been undrinkable for years, residents say. They hope to win $3 million in state grants to improve their systems.

The Texas Tribune

Texas’ environmental agency enables companies to increase oilfield wastewater disposal in rivers

Researchers are still studying the chemical makeup of “produced water” from Permian Basin oil fields. But regulators say they’re ready to issue permits to discharge the water into rivers and creeks.

Texas Observer

How the ‘1-Mile Rule’ Protects Big Polluters from Citizen Complaints

The policy has been denounced in lawsuits and petitions, but the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality denies that the 1-mile rule exists.

The Texas Tribune

The “1-mile rule”: Texas’ unwritten, arbitrary policy protects big polluters from citizen complaints

It’s not found anywhere in state law or the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s rules, but for years the agency has denied citizens the ability to challenge air pollution permits because they live more than a mile away.

The Texas Tribune

Texas has already seen 25 chemical emergencies this year. Here’s how to protect yourself during the next one.

Preparing for a chemical incident means knowing which industrial facilities are near you, creating a disaster supply kit and signing up for alerts from local emergency managers ahead of time.

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