News
In win for Harvey victims, federal judge finds government liable for reservoir flooding
During Hurricane Harvey, thousands of properties behind two federally owned reservoirs flooded. On Tuesday, the United States Court of Federal Claims ruled that the government was liable for the flooding and that property owners are eligible for damages. Houston's...
Report urges buying floodplain properties to head off $3 billion bill by 2050
It would be less expensive for the government to buy and preserve undeveloped land that lies in Houston’s floodplains than it would be to let development occur and face a potentially devastating bill if those properties flood, according to a new study. Allowing...
Austin water use at record low
Water use per person in Austin has fallen to the lowest point since the city began keeping records more than two decades ago. The historic low continues a trend in water usage in the aftermath of drought conditions spanning from 2008 to 2016 that strained Central...
Fight against Vulcan goes on
As 2019 draws to a close, Preserve Our Hill Country Environment and Stop 3009 Vulcan Quarry are so grateful to all our supporters and volunteers in the ongoing battle against the huge, 1500-acre quarry planned by Vulcan Construction Materials between New Braunfels and...
Big money is building a new kind of National Park in the Great Plains
A privately funded, nonprofit organization is creating a 3.2 million-acre wildlife sanctuary — American Prairie Reserve — in northeastern Montana, an area long known as cattle country. But the reserve is facing fierce opposition from many locals because to build it,...
Hill Country’s Honey Creek no longer set to receive treated sewage
A developer planning a subdivision upstream of an ecologically sensitive Hill Country creek has changed his plans to avoid filling the creek with treated wastewater. The controversial proposed wastewater treatment plant north of San Antonio is tied to a 2,347-unit...
Cookie-cutter suburbs could help spread sustainable yards
Yards in Austin, Tex., look like most across the country: sprawling expanses of short, uniform grass. But when intense Texas droughts set in, dead brown patches deface the Kelly green monochrome. Instead of repeatedly replanting these patches with the typical sod, the...
Texas regulators want stiffer penalties for company whose Port Neches plant exploded
In a surprising vote, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality rejected a staff-proposed penalty against TPC Group's Port Neches chemical plant — which was rocked by explosions last month — for a slew of 2018 pollution violations and asked that they be referred...
IDA Advocate helps teens open eyes to light pollution in Chicago
Each month the International Dark-Sky Association features an IDA Advocate from the worldwide network of volunteers who are working to protect the night. This month we’re highlighting the work of IDA Delegate, Rosalía Lugo. Self-described as “a true believer in the...
Val Verde County white-tailed deer tests positive for Chronic Wasting Disease
AUSTIN – Chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been detected in a free-ranging, 5 ½ year-old white-tailed doe between Del Rio and Amistad Reservoir, making it the first confirmed case of the disease in Val Verde County. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) and...
BSEACD denies motion for rehearing of the Needmore Water LLC Permit
This evening at its Regular Meeting, the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District (BSEACD) Board of Directors denied the request from the Trinity Edwards Springs Protection Alliance (TESPA) for a rehearing of the Needmore Water LLC permit. Blayne...
Over 60 roadway improvements require relocation of water and wastewater lines
At the Dec. 11 meeting of the Water and Wastewater Commission, Austin Water presented an update on the 65 active transportation improvement projects that necessitate the repositioning of water utility lines. Of those projects, 56 percent are in the planning period, 22...
Rep. Zwiener named to House Interim Study Committee on concrete plant operations
State Representative Erin Zwiener (D-Driftwood) was one of nine representatives and public members appointed to the House Interim Study Committee on Aggregate Production Operations (APOs) by Speaker Dennis Bonnen (R-Angleton) on Tuesday, December 10. APOs, which...
Travis County commissioners delay approving RV park proposal near Hamilton Pool Preserve as residents raise concern
Important Update: Despite last week's decision (discussed in article below) to delay voting on this agenda item, the Travis County Commissioners Court will be meeting on Tuesday, 12/17/19 at 9 AM to discuss the Bentree RV proposal AGAIN. Learn more here. For the...
Nature up close: The largest bat colony in the world
Bracken Bat Cave, northeast of San Antonio, is the summer home of about 20 million insect-eating Mexican free-tailed bats. Bats don't always get the respect they deserve, especially Mexican free-taileds which, even among some bat researchers, are considered the rats...
Marble Falls, Granger added to statewide list of lakes infested with Zebra Mussels
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) has added Lake Marble Falls and Granger Lake to the statewide list of lakes infested with invasive zebra mussels after discovering established, reproducing populations in the lakes this fall. Lower Colorado River...
Wild pigs increase their urban and suburban area sprawls
Whether you call them wild pigs or feral hogs, they are no longer just a rural problem, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service expert. Wild pigs cause more than $52 million in agricultural damage in Texas annually, said John Tomecek, Ph.D., AgriLife...
Proposition will start state’s first flood fund
After garnering the approval of voters, Texas has been given the go-ahead to create the state’s first flooding infrastructure fund. The fund is being established with a one-time injection of $793 million in funding from the state’s Economic Stabilization Fund—more...
Edwards Aquifer Protection Program and sales tax funding questions answered
A dialogue has emerged on the relative merits of programs apparently now competing for a future share of the City sales tax. This has included confusing statements about the Edwards Aquifer Protection Program (EAPP). As chair of the Conservation Advisory Board, the...
Austin wastewater main break causes 100,000-gallon sewage spill
More than 100,000 gallons of wastewater flowed into a dry tributary bed of Bull Creek after there was a 21’’ main break and sanitary sewage overflow, according to Austin Water crews. The overflow was discovered at 11:30 a.m. Sunday at 10801 Sierra Oaks. Austin Water...
U.S. House Natural Resources Committee passes landmark wildlife conservation bill out of committee
The Texas Alliance for America’s Fish and Wildlife applauds the House Committee on Natural Resources for a bipartisan vote last week on the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act. The bill passed out of committee following a 26-6 vote and will now move to the House Floor....
‘I don’t believe it’s in until it’s in’: Gillespie County landowner still fighting pipeline
“This is Texas, by God. I am fifth generation Texan and I am not going to roll over for a multi-billion dollar company,” says Kay Pence. She has been fighting Kinder Morgan for more than a year now. The company offered her $45,000 to run part of the Permian Highway...
Residents near Hamilton Pool up in arms about proposed RV park
The Travis County Commissioners Court spent all morning Tuesday discussing a proposed RV park on Stagecoach Ranch Road in Southwest Travis County, near Hamilton Pool. The court still hasn’t come to a decision on the matter and will take it up again at next week’s...
Report: Texas ranks second in budget cuts for environmental protection
In the past decade, a historic industrial buildout has taken hold in Texas — thanks to the fracking revolution — and has created vast wealth and greatly increased the need for government permitting of new facilities, as well as pollution monitoring. But during the...
New bill will help preserve family farms
A bill introduced today to help more farm families continue their livelihoods after the death of a loved one has the full support of the American Farm Bureau Federation. The Preserving Family Farms Act of 2019 is sponsored by Reps. Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.) and Jackie...
Doctor’s orders: Support land and water conservation
Humans are a part of nature. We can’t be healthy if the world around us isn’t healthy enough to sustain, nourish and protect us. And without a healthy population, we can’t achieve our full potential for generating strong economies, driving innovation and securing a...
When a developer uses a cow or two to dodge property taxes, guess who pays: Homeowners
We finally know what Texas lawmakers meant when, at the end of this year’s legislative session, they crowed about relief from property taxes. Developers who keep a cow or two on a few urban or suburban acres are paying less in back taxes when they cash in and build a...
Songwriters unite in support of Blanco’s night skies and BHS students learn how to preserve the night sky
Thirteen area songwriters gathered on Friday, November 22 in the basement of Liz on the Square in Blanco to perform original songs for the “Deep in the Dark of Texas ™” songwriting contest, sponsored by the Blanco County Friends of the Night Sky. The more...
An unlikely environmentalist with an eye on the future
I’m an unlikely environmentalist. I spent most of my working life with a state transportation agency. I was an advocate for investments in safe efficient highways. Suffice it to say, I made few friends among those who worked for environmental groups. Ironically, I...
How communities are joining the fight to keep Texas’ night skies big and bright
In his time as a naturalist at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, Scott Whitener loved taking kids on night hikes. Whitener had left his previous job teaching in Fredericksburg partly because he wanted to spend more time outside. On treks up the massive granite dome,...