Historians long thought the Karankawa people had disappeared. But now a group of descendants is fighting to protect a coastal area — where thousands of Karankawa artifacts were found — from an encroaching oil export facility. Read more on texastribune.org.
During a Friday visit, EPA Administrator Michael Regan said his agency is “prepared to act” to force accelerated cleanups in historically polluted Houston neighborhoods. Read more on texastribune.org.
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. Read more on texastribune.org.
How a Texas songbird and its endangered status became the center of a fight over the Hill Country
Scientists say a study that estimated far more golden-cheeked warblers in Texas than previously thought has been attacked and taken out of context as the state and federal government battle over the bird’s endangered status. Read more on texastribune.org.
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For the Houston Chronicle 2018-2020
Neighbors contend with rail yard after decades of contamination (read here)
A railroad yard asked the state to limit its responsibility to clean up decades of toxic waste. The community it neighbored didn’t know anything was wrong. In the historically Black neighborhood, it seems everyone knows someone who died of cancer or had the disease themselves. Now, they’re coming to terms with how contamination lurking below may have affected their lives.
Impact: After the story published, state regulators asked Union Pacific to test the air in homes affected by contamination. A congressional representative held a town hall on the issue. Four months later, the Texas Department of State Health Services identified a cancer cluster in the area. But, state agencies failed to notify the public until months later. Residents, increasingly angry and concerned, turned out by the hundreds for a town hall featuring Erin Brockovich. In March 2020, some Houston residents filed a lawsuit against Union Pacific. In 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency probed the company, and the head of the agency visited with residents affected by the pollution.
One Houston neighborhood is putting Texas’ air quality rules to the test
Acres Homes residents are trying to stop a concrete batch plant in the heart of their neighborhood. But Texas’ environmental agency keeps moving the air emissions permit request forward. In Houston, where there are little land-use rules, the community is wondering: Is the public participation process just for show?
Impact: After the story published, the state’s environmental agency referred the dispute to a state hearing. In January — one day before a judge was set to hear the case — the company withdrew its application for the permit to build the plant under public pressure. The next day, the company agreed to move out of the neighborhood.
Erin Douglas 