In a move that would have been unimaginable just a couple of months ago, Texas is considering limiting oil production in the state. Capping the amount of crude that can be pumped is a power the state has not used in nearly 50 years. But at a meeting Tuesday, regulators heard it may be needed […]
Mose Buchele, KUT
Posted inAustin
After emergency orders, Austin seeks more money for housing and small businesses
The city of Austin’s Economic Development Department doesn’t know how many residents will lose income because of the bar and restaurant closures and crowd-control rules announced to stop the spread of COVID-19. But with more than 125,000 people working in the service and hospitality industry alone, the number is bound to be high. On Tuesday, […]
Posted inResources
Opponents of Austin trash transfer station take their case to the state
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality held a public hearing Thursday night on a proposal to build a garbage transfer station in North Austin. The project is facing growing opposition from public officials, neighbors and environmental groups. The Austin Community Landfill off U.S. Highway 290 is filling up fast. According to its owner, Waste Management, […]
Posted inTransportation
Austin backs off plans to stabilize Shoal Creek slope after impasse with landowners
The city is abandoning efforts to stabilize a part of the cliff that runs along the Shoal Creek Hike and Bike Trail near Pease Park after landowners up the hill refused to grant property easements needed for the work. Heavy rain in May 2018 caused a significant landslide on the cliff. The backyards of four […]
Posted inTransportation
Austin unveils design for a new bridge on the southern end of Lady Bird Lake
The city of Austin is one step closer to taking down the “last major barrier” on the hike and bike trail around Lady Bird Lake. And according to city street designer Nathan Wilkes, the idea came from the public. The barrier he’s talking about is on the Longhorn Dam, the structure that holds in the […]
Posted inLocal Government
Hill Country landowners say Kinder Morgan is lowballing them. Special courts are agreeing.
Kay Pence owns a ranch in the Hill Country town of Fredericksburg. About a year ago, she got a call from the pipeline company Kinder Morgan. The caller told her the company planned to run a section of its 430-mile Permian Highway natural gas pipeline through her property. Pence didn’t like that. “This is going […]
Posted inCourts
Austin joins legal fight against Permian Highway Pipeline
The city of Austin is signaling it intends to sue Kinder Morgan, the company behind the proposed Permian Highway Pipeline – a 430-mile natural gas line that has provoked major opposition in the Texas Hill Country. In filing its notice of intent to sue, Austin joins opposition already being mounted by San Marcos, Kyle, the […]
Posted inEnergy
Hill Country landowners get ready for fight over another proposed pipeline
Charles Chaney Jr. has Utopia on his mind. The Texas City resident is a month away from retirement and Utopia is the name of the scenic Hill Country town where his family has lived for generations. He had planned to build a house on land he owns there near his brother and sister. Now, he’s […]
Posted inAustin
This September is on track to be the hottest ever in Austin
There was a time when it seemed like summer could have gone differently; a wet spring and a relatively mild June had us thinking maybe this year wouldn’t be so bad. Boy, that didn’t last long. “Yeah, we dried out pretty quick and soil started to dry out,” Brett Williams, a meteorologist with the National […]
Posted inTexas State Legislature
New Texas pipeline protest law is about more than pipelines
A law went into effect in Texas this week that increases penalties for demonstrators who interfere with oil and gas pipelines and other pieces of “critical infrastructure.” Oil and gas states have adopted such laws to crack down on demonstrations like the one at Standing Rock, where protesters disrupted construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. […]
Posted inCourts
Opponents plan lawsuit over Hill Country pipeline’s impact on endangered birds
A new front has opened in the legal battle against a proposed, 430-mile natural gas pipeline through the Texas Hill Country, focusing on how the project will impact the endangered golden-cheeked warbler. Hays County, the Travis Audubon Society and private property owners say they plan to file what is called a “notice of intent to […]
Posted inEnvironment
The heat in Austin could outpace science’s ability to measure it by 2036
This July is on track to be Earth’s hottest month ever recorded. That spike in heat is part of a larger warming trend that could change the way governments and researchers measure extreme temperatures. When it comes to triple-digit days in Austin, last century we averaged about 13 annually, but this century, we’re averaging 38 […]