https://www.texastribune.org/about/staff/alejandra-martinez/The latest news by Alejandra Martinez.enFri, 05 Jan 2024 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/01/05/texas-pollution-companies-permits-tceq-epa/Industrial developers describe large facilities as “minor” polluters to avoid federal permitting requirements, and environmental lawyers say the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality lets it happen.Dylan Baddour and Martha Pskowski, Inside Climate News, and Alejandra Martinez, The Texas TribuneFri, 05 Jan 2024 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/01/05/texas-pollution-companies-permits-tceq-epa/The GAF roofing shingles factory in West Dallas on Dec. 13. The factory reclassified itself as a minor pollution source and avoided public participation requirements in 2022.The GAF roofing shingles factory in West Dallas on Dec. 13. The factory reclassified itself as minor and averted public participation requirements in 2022.Shelby Tauber/Inside Climate Newshttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/12/20/texas-saguaro-cross-border-natural-gas-pipeline/Critics are calling on federal regulators to increase their scrutiny and oversight of the proposed pipeline, which would send gas from Texas to the Mexican coast for export to other countries.Alejandra Martinez, The Texas Tribune, and Martha Pskowski, Inside Climate NewsWed, 20 Dec 2023 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2023/12/20/texas-saguaro-cross-border-natural-gas-pipeline/A growing number of Van Horn residents feel like their small town isn’t prepared to respond to potential explosions or fires if a proposed natural gas pipeline that will run past their town and connect to another proposed pipeline in Mexico is constructed.The skyline of Van Horn, Texas, where residents are raising concerns about a proposed natural gas pipeline.Martha Pskowski/Inside Climate Newshttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/13/texas-native-american-tribes-bison-return/Indigenous ranchers in Texas are receiving help from nonprofits to rebuild bison herds in the state. One family in Sulphur Springs that received five bison last month invited Texas tribal members to see the herd in person.Alejandra MartinezMon, 13 Nov 2023 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/13/texas-native-american-tribes-bison-return/Attendees gather in a circle during a blessing ceremony for the bison gifted to Theda Pogue, affiliated with the Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma, and her family on Nov. 4, 2023 at GP Ranch in Sulphur Springs, Texas.People, including tribe members, gather in a circle during a blessing ceremony for the three herds of bison gifted to Theda Pogue, affiliated with the Muscogee Creek Nation of Oklahoma, and her family on Saturday, November 4, 2023 at GP Ranch in Sulphur Springs, Texas.Desiree Rios for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/03/texas-oyster-fishing-season/Despite fishermen’s wishes to delay the season in hopes that oyster reefs recover from years of environmental stress, the state pushed ahead with a Nov. 1 start.Emily Foxhall and Alejandra MartinezFri, 03 Nov 2023 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/03/texas-oyster-fishing-season/Manuel Perez watches as neighboring oyster boats maneuver around the harvesting zone in Galveston Bay, outside of Texas City, on the first day of the oyster harvesting season, on Nov. 1, 2023.Manuel Perez watches as neighboring oyster boats maneuver around the harvesting zone in Galveston Bay, outside of Texas City, on the first day of the oyster harvesting season, on Nov. 1, 2023.Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/25/texas-llano-river-private-dam-tceq-permit/The withdrawn proposal would have allowed the dam’s owner to take nearly 4 million gallons from the South Llano River, the main water source for Kimble, Mason and Llano counties.Alejandra MartinezWed, 25 Oct 2023 17:22:11 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/25/texas-llano-river-private-dam-tceq-permit/A golf course borders Cedar Creek, a tributary of the South Llano River, in Junction. A former oil executive has abandoned his plan to build a private dam on the river.A golf course borders Cedar Creek, a tributary of the South Llano River, Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023, in Junction.Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/17/texas-llano-river-private-dam-tceq/Texas has thousands of private dams, but a former oil executive’s application to build one on the South Llano River would be the first in the watershed for recreational use. Opponents fear it would harm the river’s health and encourage more private dams.Alejandra MartinezTue, 17 Oct 2023 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/17/texas-llano-river-private-dam-tceq/Linda Fawcett stands in front of her painting “Water Witch,” in her dining room Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023, in Junction. Named after the moniker used to describe a person who used dowsing rods to search for water underground, the painting depicts Fawcett’s biggest fear of the Llano River going dry.Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/25/red-tide-algae-texas-coast/Areas of the Texas Gulf Coast are seeing blooms of the algae, which can make people sick and kill fish.Alejandra MartinezMon, 25 Sep 2023 14:45:24 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/25/red-tide-algae-texas-coast/Red tide visible in the water near South Padre Island in October 2009. The state has detected red tide in Texas coastal waters for the first time since 2018.Red tide cell concentrations are visible in the water near South Padre Island on Oct. 27, 2009.Courtesy of TPWDhttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/08/texas-spacex-faa-investigation/An investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration found multiple failures that led to the explosion of a SpaceX rocket in the Rio Grande Valley in April.Alejandra MartinezFri, 08 Sep 2023 16:13:18 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/08/texas-spacex-faa-investigation/https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/07/epa-inspector-general-texas-benzene-air-pollution/A report by the federal environmental agency’s internal watchdog found that EPA is failing to enforce its own pollution limits for the known carcinogen at many refineries — including some in Texas.Alejandra MartinezThu, 07 Sep 2023 18:13:32 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/07/epa-inspector-general-texas-benzene-air-pollution/A Deer Park neighborhood next to Highway 225, which borders the refineries, petrochemical plants and industrial storage tanks that line the Houston Ship Channel.A Deer Park neighborhood next to Highway 225, which borders the refineries, petrochemical plants and industrial storage tanks that line the Houston Ship Channel. In 2019, air quality inspectors found that high levels of benzene emissions had wafted across the highway and into residential areas of Deer Park in the weeks after the ITC chemical fire was extinguished.Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune/Public Health Watchhttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/01/texas-fairfield-lake-state-park-condemnation-petition-eminent-domain/The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department began the legal process of eminent domain to seize the former state park and save it from being turned into an upscale subdivision. The agency had offered a Dallas-based developer $103 million for it.Alejandra MartinezFri, 01 Sep 2023 18:00:06 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/01/texas-fairfield-lake-state-park-condemnation-petition-eminent-domain/A view of Fairfield Lake at Fairfield Lake State Park on Feb. 27, 2023.A view of Fairfield Lake at Fairfield Lake State Park on Feb. 27, 2023.Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/08/31/texas-ercot-grid-energy-conservation-fatigue/Repetitive power conservation appeals by the state’s grid operator face a challenge: Texans becoming less responsive to calls. Past conservation requests have helped reduce 100,000 homes worth of power demand on the grid.Alejandra Martinez, Caroline Wilburn and Ali JuellThu, 31 Aug 2023 16:50:42 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/08/31/texas-ercot-grid-energy-conservation-fatigue/https://www.texastribune.org/2023/08/24/texas-new-law-pedestrian-walking-roads-sidewalk/The law restricting pedestrians from walking on roads has been revised to let pedestrians use roadways in certain situations.Alejandra MartinezThu, 24 Aug 2023 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/08/24/texas-new-law-pedestrian-walking-roads-sidewalk/A pedestrian walks on East Stassney Lane in Austin on Feb. 15, 2021 during a winter storm that blanketed Texas in snow and ice. During the same storm, Plano police arrested and charged a man with illegally walking on a roadway. The charges were dropped but the arrest helped spark a change in state law.An eastbound view of East Stassney Lane in South Austin on Feb. 15, 2021.Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/08/14/texas-wildfires-2023-governor-disaster-declaration/At least 8,500 acres of Texas land have burned since Aug. 1. The governor’s disaster declaration allows included counties to access state resources to fight wildfires.Alejandra MartinezMon, 14 Aug 2023 16:06:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/08/14/texas-wildfires-2023-governor-disaster-declaration/The Rolling Pines Fire blazes through Bastrop State Park on Jan. 18, 2022. Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration Friday for 191 of the state’s 254 counties as the risk of wildfires has soared due to an intense, extended heat wave and a lack of rain.The Rolling Pines Fire blazes through Bastrop State Park on Jan. 18, 2022.Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/08/14/texas-attorney-general-lawsuit-shell-chemical-fire-deer-park/The lawsuit seeks $1 million in damages, claiming the three-day blaze at Shell’s Deer Park facility caused air and water pollution that violated state law.Alejandra MartinezMon, 14 Aug 2023 13:45:06 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/08/14/texas-attorney-general-lawsuit-shell-chemical-fire-deer-park/An explosion at a Shell USA Inc. facility on May 5 in Deer Park. The state of Texas sued the company last week, claiming that it caused air and water pollution in violation of state law.Deer Park, Texas: An overhead view of an explosion at a Shell USA Inc. facility on May 5, 2023 in Deer Park, Texas.Mark Felix for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/08/10/texas-fairfield-lake-state-park-eminent-domain/Todd Interests, which plans to turn the former park into a high-end subdivision, has a week left to respond to the state’s final offer for the property.Alejandra MartinezThu, 10 Aug 2023 11:30:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/08/10/texas-fairfield-lake-state-park-eminent-domain/Construction continues at the former Fairfield Lake State Park property, which is embroiled in a battle between the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the developer that bought the property.Courtesy of Foxfield Agencyhttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/07/26/watch-a-conversation-about-adapting-to-a-hotter-texas/The panelists at a Texas Tribune event emphasized the need for a response to combat the dangerous impacts of extreme events that ensures communities receive support to effectively plan, prepare, and recover.Alejandra MartinezWed, 26 Jul 2023 14:19:48 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/07/26/watch-a-conversation-about-adapting-to-a-hotter-texas/https://www.texastribune.org/2023/07/26/texas-chemical-disaster-emergency-guide/Preparing for a chemical incident means knowing which industrial facilities are near you, creating a disaster supply kit and signing up for alerts from local emergency managers ahead of time.Alejandra Martinez and Erin DouglasWed, 26 Jul 2023 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/07/26/texas-chemical-disaster-emergency-guide/An explosion at a Shell USA Inc. facility in Deer Park on May 5 was among the 25 chemical incidents in Texas so far this year. Texas leads the nation in chemical fires, explosions and other accidents.An overhead view of an explosion at a Shell USA Inc. facility on May 5, 2023 in Deer Park.Mark Felix for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/07/19/texas-pipeline-heat-natural-gas-emissions-pollution-permian-basin/When sizzling temperatures in June affected the air pressure in pipelines in West Texas, companies in five counties vented millions of pounds of natural gas and other toxins into the air.Dylan Baddour, Inside Climate News, and Alejandra Martinez, The Texas TribuneWed, 19 Jul 2023 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/07/19/texas-pipeline-heat-natural-gas-emissions-pollution-permian-basin/A sign marks an oil and gas pipeline south of San Antonio. Searing heat in June caused companies in West Texas to vent natural gas directly into the atmosphere rather than burning it off with flares.A sign warns passersby of oil and gas pipeline in the area south of San Antonio, TX known as the Eagle Ford Oil Patch.Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/07/14/texas-coal-mine-garden-nrg-restoration/The garden in the middle of a 35,000-acre former mine is supplying thousands of pounds of fresh produce to families in three counties that have few grocery stores.Alejandra MartinezFri, 14 Jul 2023 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/07/14/texas-coal-mine-garden-nrg-restoration/Volunteer gardeners, from left, Ava Moore, 18; Caleb Rappolee, 17; Pera Taylor, 11; and Salaya Henderson, 11, pick fresh onions at the Dewey Prairie Garden in Donie on June 29. The Dewey Prairie Garden is a pilot program by NRG as it continues the Jewett mine’s environmental reclamation.From left: Ava Moore, 18; Caleb Rappolee, 17; Pera Taylor, 11; and Salaya Henderson, 11, volunteer gardeners, pick fresh onions at the Dewey Prairie Garden in Donie on June 29, 2023. The Dewey Prairie Garden is a pilot program that practices the final stages of NRG Jewett Mine’s environmental reclamation process that takes on average 12 years from start to finish.Joe Timmerman/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/07/06/investigation-texas-chemical-plant-fire-itc-deer-park/The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board found that the ITC tank farm lacked crucial equipment to warn workers about the failure that led to the three-day fire.Alejandra MartinezThu, 06 Jul 2023 19:27:03 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/07/06/investigation-texas-chemical-plant-fire-itc-deer-park/Firefighters struggle to extinguish the towering flames at ITC's tank farm in Deer Park on March 17, 2019. The final federal investigative report on the fire found multiple failures that contributed to the disaster.Firefighters struggle to extinguish the towering flames pouring out of ITC’s tank 80-8 on the afternoon of March 17, 2019. The fire would blow through the entire “2nd 80’s” section of the facility.Courtesy of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency