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The TCEQ has proposed changes to concrete batch plant permits including lowering production limits, reducing dust coming from plants and setting minimum distance requirements from nearby communities.
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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.
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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.
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Rain is in the forecast across much of the state. But it won’t be enough to reverse the drought that has gripped Texas since last fall.
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The federal agency launched the inquiry after complaints from the Harris County Attorney and Lone Star Legal Aid about how the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality issues permits to plants that predominantly impact communities of color.
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Emissions are reacting with the summer heat to create high levels of smog, hazardous air pollution that damages the lungs. But state officials are pushing back on ozone pollution controls proposed by the EPA, arguing such rules would compromise the electric grid.
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Texas had 3,866 water boil notices in 2021, the most in the last decade. Aging water systems threaten water supply and quality — and for many small towns across the state, they won’t be cheap to repair.
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A report from the state Sunset Advisory Commission found that Texas Commission on Environmental Quality commissioners have become “reluctant” regulators and often encourage industry to “self police.”
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The state allows a portion of fines to be directed to projects that remediate environmental harm. Some of those projects benefit the companies that are being penalized.
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The Houston and Dallas regions may soon be designated as “severe” violators of federal smog rules, which would prompt more aggressive regulations.
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A civil rights complaint prompted the state’s environmental agency to guarantee interpretation and translation services at public meetings for people who don’t speak English. But the rollout has been plagued by confusing procedures and little clarity on how interpreters will be selected.
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Every 12 years, state agencies undergo a performance evaluation to make them more efficient.