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.
"Six Die as 200 mph Tornado Howls Across Texas"
ENS, 05/17/2013"AUSTIN, Texas -- Six people have lost their lives and nearly 100 others were injured as tornadoes touched down in north-central Texas overnight. More than 100 homes were damaged or destroyed."
"Lubbock, Texas Chemical Leak: Hundreds Evacuated Near Bayer Plant"
Reuters, 05/10/2013"Several hundred people have been evacuated from a section of Lubbock, Texas, after a leaking tank released a chemical that could turn into highly corrosive hydrochloric acid, the city's Fire Department said on Thursday."
Texas Sale of 100 Longhorns Stirs Debate, and Proposed Law
NY Times, 05/06/2013"The resilient longhorn, able to survive on sparse foliage and water, has endured in Texas for more than 100 years. But the recent sale of about 100 longhorns by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has spurred debate about the breed’s future in the state."
Another Lawsuit Filed over Arsenic from South Carolina Coal Ash
Myrtle Beach Sun News, 04/30/2013"CONWAY, SC -- Pollution from a pair of coal ash ponds at Santee Cooper’s retired Grainger electric generating plant here has sparked another lawsuit – this one filed by The Southern Environmental Law Center, which alleges the state-owned utility is violating the federal Clean Water Act."
"NM Grapples With Tough Choices as Drought Persists"
AP, 04/25/2013"HATCH, N.M. -- In southern New Mexico, the mighty Rio Grande has gone dry -- reduced to a sandy wash winding from this chile farming community to the nation's leading pecan-producing county. Only puddles remain, leaving gangs of carp to huddle together in a desperate effort to avoid the fate of thousands of freshwater clams, their shells empty and broken on the river bottom."
"Supreme Court Justices Tackle Texas-Oklahoma Water Fight"
Reuters, 04/24/2013"Supreme Court justices on Tuesday wrestled with the sensitive issue of whether a thirsty Texas water district has the right to access water across the Oklahoma state line."
"Oil Lobbyists Oversee Protection of Threatened Lizard"
Texas Tribune, 04/24/2013"When Texas promised to protect a threatened lizard in the oil-rich Permian Basin, state officials entrusted the day-to-day oversight to a nonprofit that sounds like an environmental group: the Texas Habitat Conservation Foundation."
"Oil’s Financial Ties to Texas Legislators"
Texas Tribune, 04/12/2013"Friendliness toward the drilling industry is typical for Texas, where many lawmakers receive campaign contributions from oil and gas groups or have investments in drilling companies. The three elected members of the Railroad Commission of Texas, which oversees the oil and gas industry, have received significant contributions from the very industry they regulate."
"Texas Provides Clues of Climate Change Impacts"
AP, 04/08/2013"A city administrator looks out at the Gulf of Mexico from this Southeast Texas town, wondering what vicious hurricanes it may spawn. In the Panhandle, a farmer tries new techniques to keep soil from turning to dust. In West Texas, ranchers watch prairie grass die. Others grow algae as water becomes too salty for other crops. And statewide, reservoirs dry up. Want to see what happens when the impacts of climate change are felt? Well, just look at Texas, some scientists say."
"As Fracking Proliferates, So Do Wastewater Wells"
Texas Tribune, 03/29/2013"GONZALES, Tex. -- In a dusty lot off the main highway in this South Texas town, Vern Sartin pointed to a collection of hose hookups and large storage tanks used for collecting wastewater from hydraulic fracturing jobs."
"Oklahoma Earthquakes Linked To Injection Wells"
LA Times, 03/28/2013"HOUSTON -- Oklahoma's largest-recorded earthquake was triggered by injection wells used by the oil and gas industry, according to a report released this week."
"New Mexico Farmers Seek ‘Priority Call’ as Drought Persists"
NY Times, 03/27/2013"CARLSBAD, N.M. -- Just after the local water board announced this month that its farmers would get only one-tenth of their normal water allotment this year, Ronnie Walterscheid, 53, stood up and called on his elected representatives to declare a water war on their upstream neighbors."
Did Uranium Lobbyist Reverse EPA Stand Against Polluting TX Water?
ProPublica, 03/14/2013"When Uranium Energy Corp. sought permission to launch a large-scale mining project in Goliad County, Texas, it seemed as if the Environmental Protection Agency would stand in its way. To get the ore out of the ground, the company needed a permit to pollute a pristine supply of underground drinking water in an area already parched by drought."
"Texas Told Not to Issue Water Permits That Hurt Cranes"
Bloomberg, 03/12/2013"Texas was ordered to temporarily stop issuing new water permits for a river system that supplies dozens of Central Texas cities, power generators and petrochemical plants to ensure enough water reaches the last migratory flock of endangered whooping cranes."
"As Fracking Increases, So Do Fears About Water Supply"
Texas Tribune, 03/08/2013"CARRIZO SPRINGS, Tex. -- In this South Texas stretch of mesquite trees and cactus, where the land is sometimes too dry to grow crops, the local aquifer is being strained in the search for oil. The reason is hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, a drilling process that requires massive amounts of water."

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