If you’re considering a trip to the coast this summer, maybe think again: Texas beaches have a poo problem. In 2021, Environment Texas published a study that found 90 percent of the state’s beaches contained dangerous pathogens found in fecal matter. (Especially avoid Cole Park Beach in Corpus Christi.) So this week, Austin’s U.S. Rep. […]
Environment Texas
Posted inLand Development Code
Green infrastructure pushed as remedy to stormwater pollution threats
An Austin-based environmental group is pushing City Council to approve a plan to protect area waterways from pollution through changes in building requirements that would promote stormwater retention. On Wednesday, Environment Texas delivered petitions with roughly 1,000 signatures to Council offices. The petitions call for a move to include nature-based infrastructure such as rain gardens, […]
Posted inCourts
Habitat for Humanity, Environment Texas weigh in on land code lawsuit
Travis County District Judge Jan Soifer heard arguments Wednesday from attorneys for 19 Austin homeowners who sued the city over the new Land Development Code. The homeowners filed rezoning protests, but the city denied their requests for a hearing. The plaintiffs claim that by filing a rezoning protest they can force City Council to hold a […]
Posted inRadio
Austin Monitor Radio: Environment Texas
Environment Texas Executive Director Luke Metzger talks to Austin Monitor reporter Jessi Devenyns in this edition of our KOOP show. If you are curious about the work of Environment Texas and would like to learn about the issues it is focusing on at a city, county and state level, this is the show for you! […]
Posted inWater
AW assures: Austin’s lead pipes pose little threat
In the wake of the drinking water scandal in Flint, Michigan, the issue of lead in drinking water has come to the forefront of the nation’s – and Austin’s – attention. Until July 9, Matt Cullen of Austin Water said neither his team nor many longtime field employees had ever run across lead water service […]
Posted inEnvironment
Some Austin waterways unsafe for swimming
According to a new report from the Environment Texas Research and Policy Center and the Frontier Group, many of the state’s creeks, rivers and beaches are too polluted for swimming or wading – and that includes the Colorado River at Austin, as well as Blunn Creek, East Bouldin Creek, West Bouldin Creek, Waller Creek and […]