Are pipeline land takings in the public interest if oil, gas headed overseas?
Pipeline companies in Texas and other states have long had the power to take land under the eminent domain principle that projects to transport energy to heat homes, generate electricity and produce fuels are in the public interest. But what if the public is in Europe, South America or Asia? As natural gas and crude oil produced in... Read more
New push for eminent domain reform expected at Texas legislature
If you want to cook up a battle over private property rights in Texas, here’s the recipe: Take a handful of sprawling cities and growing populations that are expanding into once-rural areas, add a booming oil and gas industry with a desperate need for new pipelines to move record-high volumes of hydrocarbons, and sprinkle in the new electric... Read more
Thanks to ambitious goals, Austin wins Bloomberg climate change challenge
Citing Austin’s aggressive environmental goals, which include making municipal operations carbon neutral by 2020, Bloomberg Philanthropies on Friday announced that the Texas capital has won a national climate change challenge. The honor means Austin will join a two-year accelerator program that will give the city access to as much as $2.5 million in technical assistance and support. Austin... Read more
How Texas Parks and Historic Sites are dealing with the government shutdown
As the federal shutdown—which entered Day 20 on Thursday—continues, self-appointed cleanup crews have been organized across the state as well as the nation to help care for parks that have remained open, albeit with little in the way of services. Some, like Viverette and the collection of Terlingua residents and businesses on the edge of Big Bend National... Read more
Entities turn to new technology to meet water, aquifer demands
As urbanization and climate change are impacting aquifers across the country, officials and municipalities are turning to new technologies to meet water demands. For many entities, investing in Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) systems might be the way to go. ASR, which was first tested and experimented in the 1990s, calls for the pumping of groundwater during periods of... Read more
Bill would prevent Texans from unknowingly buying homes in areas designed to flood
After Hurricane Harvey inundated the Houston area with rain, scores of homeowners learned too late that their properties were designed to flood. Senate Bill 339 would require such disclosures. It would also force notice of whether a home has previously flooded. State Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, on Friday filed legislation that would require sellers of residential properties to... Read more
Female ranchers are reclaiming the American West
As men leave animal agriculture for less gritty work, more ranches are being led by women — with new ideas about technology, ecology and the land. Hundreds of years before John Wayne and Gary Cooper gave us a Hollywood version of the American West, with men as the brute, weather-beaten stewards of the land, female ranchers roamed the frontier.... Read more
Texas land grab: How the federal government abused its power to seize property for a border fence
A decade ago, many border Texans got a raw deal when the federal government seized land for a barrier — while others pushed up the price. Will the government’s rushed, haphazard process be repeated as it pushes for a border wall? BROWNSVILLE — The land agents started working the border between Texas and Mexico in the spring of... Read more
“The mission of the Hill Country Alliance is to bring together an ever-expanding alliance of groups throughout a multi-county region of Central Texas with the long-term objective of preserving open spaces, water supply, water quality and the unique character of the Texas Hill Country.” Learn More About HCA
The 2019 Calendar is available!
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State Water Plan:
TWDB Director’s presentation on the 2017 State Water Plan
SAWS Vista Ridge Pipeline:
After the Storm:
Letting the River Heal
