EJToday is SEJ's selection of new and outstanding stories on environmental topics in print and on the air, updated every weekday. SEJ also offers a free e-mailed digest of the day's EJToday postings, called SEJ-beat. SEJ members are subscribed automatically, but may opt out here. Non-members may subscribe here. EJToday is also available via RSS feed. Please see Editorial Guidelines for EJToday content.
"Frisco [TX] Plant Exceeds New Limit on Lead Levels"
Dallas News, 11/16/2009"Exide Technologies' decision last month not to seek state permission to expand production at its Frisco lead smelter doesn't mean public health concerns are over."
"Battle Lines Forming Between EPA, State Environmental Agency"
Austin American-Statesman, 11/16/2009"By the end of the month, the federal Environmental Protection Agency will probably declare that Texas' air permitting program lacks adequate public participation and transparency."
"Toxic Waste Trickles Toward New Mexico's Water Sources"
LA Times, 11/03/2009"More than 60 years after scientists assembled the nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, lethal waste is seeping from mountain burial sites and moving toward aquifers, springs and streams that provide water to 250,000 residents of northern New Mexico."
"Cleaning Dirty Air Risks Costlier Arizona Water"
Arizona Republic, 11/02/2009"The Navajo Generating Station, the huge coal-fired power plant outside Page, supplies a fraction of Arizona's electricity demand, but its role in moving water to the state's largest cities has thrust it into a growing battle over the cost of cleaning up air pollution."
"Las Brisas Legal Showdown Starts Monday"
Corpus Christi Caller, 11/02/2009"CORPUS CHRISTI — Las Brisas Energy Center and several environmental groups take to the courtroom this week to argue the details of the proposed power plant’s air permit."
"Frisco Officials Fight Plans To Expand Lead Smelter"
Dallas News, 10/19/2009"Thousands of people in the heart of Frisco [Texas] are exposed to toxic lead pollution from a battery recycling plant that wants to expand production." City officials are opposing the expansion.
"Air Permit for Coal Power Plant on Navajo Land Sent Back to EPA"
ENS, 09/29/2009"The contested air permit for the Sithe Global Desert Rock coal-fired power plant on the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico today was sent back to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for additional analysis."
"Texas Plan To Reduce Houston Smog May Not Be Enough"
Houston Chronicle, 09/24/2009"Texas' new plan to improve the Houston area's famously dirty air may not meet federal limits for smog."
Nukes mean mines: Are we digging a new toxic legacy before the last one’s filled in?
San Antonio Current, 09/19/2009Greg Harman of the San Antonio Current explores the legacy of uranium mining across South Texas as in-situ mining companies, milling outfits, and waste disposal crews prepare for a rebound in uranium prices. With San Antonio poised to lead one of the first nuclear-power expansions in the country, the writer suggests "the risks involved in uranium mining and processing should be a starting point for any debate about the promise and peril of nuclear power, yet it has received scant attention in San Antonio’s decision whether or not to partner in the expansion of the South Texas Project nuclear complex."
A 'Near Miss' Disaster at Citgo's Corpus Christi Refinery
Texas Observer, 08/25/2009A July 19 fire at Citgo's Corpus Christi refinery released deadly hydrogen fluoride, maimed one worker, and threatened a poor, largely minority community at its fenceline. Now larger questions are being asked -- about how authorities responded to it and whether it could have been prevented.
"Chevron Phillips Chemical Sued for Polluting Texas Air"
ENS, 08/21/2009"Sierra Club and Environment Texas filed an air pollution lawsuit today in federal district court against Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP. The groups claim that Chevron Phillips has repeatedly violated the Clean Air Act at its Cedar Bayou chemical plant in Baytown, Texas."
"Climate Change Has Some Texas Animals Fleeing the Texas Heat"
Fort Worth Star Telegram, 08/17/2009"As the hot days in Texas get even hotter, it may just be too much for some birds and fish. From the American goldfinch to the gray snapper, some species have been moving north for years, searching for cooler ground. And their quest may someday lead them to migrate out of the state -- forever -- especially if climate change continues to make Texas warmer, as predicted."
"Raid May Signal Turning Point For Waste Facility"
Houston Chronicle, 08/10/2009After years of complaints, federal agents raided the CES Environmental Services waste-processing facility in southeast Houston.
"Unabated Use of Groundwater Threatens Arizona's Future"
Arizona Republic, 08/03/2009Arizona's groundwater addiction hasn't been controlled by legal and regulatory measures so far, and may soon threaten the state's economic well-being.
"Uranium Contamination Haunts Navajo Country"
NYTimes, 07/28/2009Homes are "contaminated with potentially dangerous levels of uranium from the days of the cold war, when hundreds of uranium mines dotted the vast tribal land known as the Navajo Nation."

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