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Watching the Watchers: How Journalistic Teamwork Uncovered Years of Regulatory Failure in Texas [1]

After a massive fire at a Texas petrochemical storage facility, reporters from Public Health Watch and The Texas Tribune worked together to shed light on who was responsible for this disaster and what health threats had been hidden from the public. This behind-the-scenes report from Public Health Watch’s David Leffler and Savanna Strott looks at the challenges the team faced and how they overcame them.

SEJ Publication Types: 
Features [2]
Topics on the Beat: 
Air [3]
Chemicals [4]
Disasters [5]
Economy & Business [6]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Environmental Health [8]
Environmental Justice [9]
Environmental Politics [10]
Government [11]
Health [12]
Journalism & Media [13]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Pollution [15]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [16]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [17]
Visibility: 
Public [18]

Shell Chemical Plant Had Many Violations Before Recent Fire, Paid Few Fines [19]

"Residents, lawyers, and environmental groups point to aging facilities and reluctant state regulators as reasons for the continued string of industrial fires."

Air [3]
Chemicals [4]
Disasters [5]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Environmental Health [8]
Environmental Justice [9]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Pollution [15]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [16]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [17]
Source: Houston Public Media [20], 06/16/2023

"How Arizona Stands Between Tribes and Their Water" [21]

"As it negotiates water rights with tribes, Arizona goes to unique lengths to extract concessions that limit tribes’ opportunities for growth and economic development, according to a ProPublica and High Country News investigation."

Environmental Health [8]
Environmental Justice [9]
Infrastructure [22]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Natural Resources [23]
Water & Oceans [24]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [16]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [17]
Source: ProPublica/HCN [25], 06/15/2023

"Texas Power Use To Break Records In Heat Wave This Week - ERCOT" [26]

"Power use in Texas will break records this week as homes and businesses crank up their air conditioners to escape the first heat wave of the 2023 summer season, the state's power grid operator projected on Tuesday."

Climate Change [27]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Infrastructure [22]
Public [18]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [17]
Source: Reuters [28], 06/14/2023

Climate-Smart Cowboys Hope Regenerative Cattle Ranching Can Heal the Land [29]

"Grazing livestock to mimic how wildlife forages can prevent the erosion of topsoil, protect water quality and keep carbon out of the atmosphere, but it requires big changes in how the beef industry operates."

Agriculture [30]
Climate Change [27]
Natural Resources [23]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [16]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [17]
Source: Inside Climate News [31], 06/13/2023

"Tens of Thousands of Dead Fish Wash Ashore on Gulf Coast in Texas" [32]

"Tens of thousands of fish washed ashore along the gulf coast of Texas starting on Friday after being starved of oxygen in warm water, officials said."

Climate Change [27]
Disasters [5]
Fish & Fisheries [33]
Water & Oceans [24]
Public [18]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [17]
Source: NYTimes [34], 06/13/2023

"Protest Derails Chaco National Park Celebration" [35]

"It was supposed to be a homecoming of sorts for U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, after her agency spent many months hosting public meetings and talking with Native American leaders about curbing the pace of oil and gas development in the San Juan Basin and protecting culturally significant sites."

Activism [36]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Environmental Justice [9]
Environmental Politics [10]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Natural Resources [23]
People & Population [37]
Religion, Faith and Spirituality [38]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [16]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [17]
Source: AP [39], 06/13/2023

DOJ Settles Probe Of Illegal Dumping In Houston's Minority Neighborhoods [40]

"The U.S. Department of Justice secured a settlement in its environmental justice investigation into Houston's response to illegal dumping in Black and Latino neighborhoods, the department and the city of Houston said separately on Tuesday."

Environmental Health [8]
Environmental Justice [9]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Pollution [15]
Waste [41]
Public [18]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [17]
Source: Reuters [42], 06/07/2023

Texas Community Waited Decades for Running Water. Could Hydro-Panels Help? [43]

"Thousands of low-income, Latino residents in Texas still do not have safe drinking water. In one El Paso colonia, residents see the benefits of solar distillation."

Consumer [44]
Environmental Health [8]
Environmental Justice [9]
Technology [45]
Water & Oceans [24]
Public [18]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [17]
Source: Inside Climate News [46], 06/06/2023

"The Indigenous Forager Reconnecting Native Americans With Their Roots" [47]

"Twila Cassadore hopes teaching Western Apache traditional foodways can aid mental, emotional and spiritual health".

Biodiversity [48]
Environmental Health [8]
Environmental Justice [9]
Environmental Studies [49]
Food [50]
Health [12]
Natural Resources [23]
People & Population [37]
Religion, Faith and Spirituality [38]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [16]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [17]
Source: Guardian [51], 06/05/2023

Pages

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Links
[1] https://www.sej.org/publications/features/watching-watchers-how-journalistic-teamwork-uncovered-years-regulatory-failure [2] https://www.sej.org/category/sej-publication-types/features [3] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/air [4] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics [5] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/disaster [6] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/business [7] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/energy [8] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-health [9] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-justice [10] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-politics [11] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/government [12] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/health [13] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/journalism/media [14] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/laws [15] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/pollution [16] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national [17] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/southwest [18] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/81 [19] https://www.sej.org/headlines/shell-chemical-plant-had-many-violations-recent-fire-paid-few-fines [20] https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/in-depth/2023/06/14/454375/shells-deer-park-chemical-plant-had-received-thousands-of-violations-prior-to-recent-fire/ [21] https://www.sej.org/headlines/how-arizona-stands-between-tribes-and-their-water [22] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/infrastructure [23] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/land [24] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/water [25] https://www.propublica.org/article/how-arizona-stands-between-tribes-and-their-water [26] https://www.sej.org/headlines/texas-power-use-break-records-heat-wave-week-ercot [27] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/climate-change [28] https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/texas-power-use-break-records-heat-wave-this-week-ercot-2023-06-13/ [29] https://www.sej.org/headlines/climate-smart-cowboys-hope-regenerative-cattle-ranching-can-heal-land [30] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/agriculture [31] https://insideclimatenews.org/news/12062023/regenerative-cattle-ranching-carbon-storage/ [32] https://www.sej.org/headlines/tens-thousands-dead-fish-wash-ashore-gulf-coast-texas [33] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/fisheries [34] https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/11/us/dead-fish-texas-climate-change.html [35] https://www.sej.org/headlines/protest-derails-chaco-national-park-celebration [36] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/activism [37] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/people-population [38] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/religion-faith-and-spirituality [39] https://ictnews.org/news/protest-derails-chaco-national-park-celebration [40] https://www.sej.org/headlines/doj-settles-probe-illegal-dumping-houstons-minority-neighborhoods [41] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/waste [42] https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-doj-settles-probe-illegal-dumping-houstons-minority-neighborhoods-2023-06-06/ [43] https://www.sej.org/headlines/texas-community-waited-decades-running-water-could-hydro-panels-help [44] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/consumer [45] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/technology [46] https://insideclimatenews.org/news/05062023/texas-water-colonia-hydro-panels/ [47] https://www.sej.org/headlines/indigenous-forager-reconnecting-native-americans-their-roots [48] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/biodiversity-1 [49] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmentalists [50] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/food [51] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jun/03/indigenous-foraging-native-americans-mental-health [52] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/southwest?page=33 [53] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/southwest?page=30 [54] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/southwest?page=31 [55] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/southwest?page=32 [56] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/southwest?page=35 [57] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/southwest?page=36 [58] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/southwest?page=37 [59] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/southwest?page=38 [60] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/southwest?page=137