Terrence Henry reports on energy and the environment for StateImpact Texas. His radio, print and television work has appeared in the New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, NPR, The Texas Tribune, The History Channel and other outlets.
He has previously worked at The Washington Post and The Atlantic. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations from Brigham Young University.
It’s been a good month or two for the luxury electric car manufacturer Tesla: the company just posted its first profitable quarter; it’s stock is soaring and Consumer Reports just rated the Tesla S the best car it’s ever tested. But one item on the company’s wishlist increasingly looks like it won’t be coming true: owning and operating its own dealerships in Texas.
In Texas, as in many other states, cars can only be sold through the franchise dealership system: manufacturers are not allowed to own their own dealerships. In Texas, Tesla can’t legally have dealerships, only “stores” where you can’t take a test drive, can’t find out the price of the car, and can’t purchase a Tesla. It’s a system that’s been on the books for decades, but Tesla argued before state lawmakers this session that they’re different and should be exempted from the existing rules. Because they would only sell a small number of cars, they argued, and because they don’t have the service operations of a typical dealership (tiny motor with many fewer parts = less maintenance), Tesla argued before the state legislature that state law should be changed in their favor. (Meanwhile, North Carolina’s legislature is considering banning Tesla sales — even online — entirely.)
But that appears difficult at this point in the session. With just thirteen days to go, several deadlines have come and gone without a victory for Tesla. Continue Reading →
Texas Department of Public Safety Sergeant Jason Reyes walks past the site of an apartment complex destroyed by the deadly fertilizer plant explosion in West.
Update: The State Fire Marshal’s Office says that there are now two investigations, one into the origin and cause of the fire, led by their office and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF); and one into any potential criminal activity, spurred by the arrest of West paramedic Bryce Reed for possession of a “destructive device” earlier this morning, which state officials say is not related to the West fertilizer plant fire and explosion.
In a statement, the Fire Marshal’s office says the following:
“Due to an unrelated investigation and the recent arrest of Bryce Reed by ATF on a charge unrelated to the West Fertilizer Plant fire and explosion, the State Fire Marshal’s Office will be partnering with the McLennan County Sheriff’s Office, Department of Public Safety (DPS), and ATF to ensure that all potential facts and leads related to the incidents in West are investigated to the fullest extent.”
Original story: While an official investigation by state and federal agencies into the cause of the April 17 fire and explosion at the West fertilizer plant in Central Texas continues, a criminal investigation was announced today by the state Department of Public Safety (DPS). The West fertilizer plant explosion and its aftermath killed 15 and has destroyed nearly 150 homes in the small community north of Waco.
DPS Director Steven McCraw announced today that his agency is directing the Texas Rangers to work with the McLennan County Sheriff to conduct a criminal investigation into the explosion. Continue Reading →
The aftermath of the explosion at a fertilizer plant in the small town of West, Texas had lawmakers questioning agencies on oversight and safety today.
Two weeks ago today, a fire ignited at a fertilizer plant in the small Central Texas town of West. About twenty minutes later, a massive explosion occurred, killing 15 people, injuring over 200, and destroying nearly 150 homes. Today, at the Texas Capitol, lawmakers questioned state agencies that had oversight over the plant’s safety and regulation, but didn’t get many answers.
Eight state agencies were invited to testify at the House Homeland Security & Public Safety Committee hearing, chaired by state Rep. Joseph Pickett, D-El Paso. As the investigation into the cause of the fire and subsequent explosion is still ongoing, many of the lawmakers questions dealt with fertilizer plant regulation in the state generally, and not whether or not the West disaster could have been avoided.
“The intent of this hearing is to try to shed light on where these facilities are located,” Pickett said at the outset. “This will be a learning process for the community at large. Ultimately, this is probably going to be a national issue.”
What became clear at today’s hearing is that among the several state agencies with oversight of fertilizer plants like West, there is no single agency tasked with safety inspections and coordinating with local governments on emergency response. Continue Reading →
While the plan for funding water has moved forward at the Capitol, last night the money for that plan seemed to stall.
Last night on the House floor, a major piece of legislation that would put $2 billion towards water projects in a growing, thirsty state met fierce resistance, ultimately falling victim to a legislative maneuver that effectively sank it.
While the legislation to create a water infrastructure bank that would give out loans for water development and conservation projects continues to move forward at the Capitol, the actual money for that bank (contained in separate legislation) proved to be a trickier issue Tuesday night.
KUT political reporter Ben Philpott sat down with StateImpact Texas’ Mose Buchele, who covered the hearing, to talk about what happened, and what happens next:
The Texas legislature will consider major legislation to help the state's water woes this week.
Time is running out for Texas legislators as the 83rd legislative session nears its conclusion. This week will see plenty of activity on bills that deal with water, eminent domain and roads. In our weekly installment, we pick some of the energy and environment legislation we’re watching this week. Think we missed something? Feel free to add your suggestions in the comments below.
You Can Lead a Lege to Water …
This afternoon, major legislation on water planning and funding for Texas could be heard in both the House and the Senate. HB 4, by state Rep. Allan Ritter, R-Nederland, is one of the big water bills this session. It would create a water infrastructure bank and prioritization process for new projects and conservation. That bill has already passed in the House and could come up on the Senate floor today, a potentially significant step forward. Update: the bill passed in the Senate, 30-1.
The actual money for that plan is in another bill by Ritter, HB 11, which would take $2 billion from the state’s Rainy Day Fund to kickstart the water bank. That bill recently passed out of committee and will get a hearing on the House floor today. Update: the bill was sunk by a legislative maneuver. Read more here. Continue Reading →
A helmet is carried in remembrance of a firefighter from the Abbott Volunteer Fire Department killed in a fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas last week.
Firefighters, public officials and thousands of Texans gathered in Waco Yesterday at Baylor University for a memorial service to remember twelve firefighters and first responders that died in the line of duty while responding to a fire at a fertilizer plant in the small town of West last week. While fighting the fire, the plant exploded, killing 15 and destroying nearly 150 homes.
You can listen to the radio story above, and see images from the memorial service in the slideshow below by KUT photographer Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon:
Tesla want's to sell it's electric vehicles in Texas directly to consumers, but will the legislature oblige?
There are lots of retail businesses that have come to Texas recently: Trader Joe’s, H&M, even In-N-Out Burger, a move so bittersweet it brought one Dallasite to tears.
But for one gleaming, seductive product with an almost astronomical price tag, you’ll have to look elsewhere — the Tesla electric car.
Because of state law (which is similar to those in many other states), manufacturers of cars can’t directly sell new cars to customers in Texas. Enter Tesla, who wants to do just that, and is now engaged in a full-press charm offensive to get the Texas legislature to amend the law. Tesla maintains that their only chance of survival is to own their own dealerships, and under current law they can’t market and sell their electric cars fairly and profitably.
To give you an idea of what it’s like trying to buy a Tesla in Texas, I went to the company’s showroom at the Domain in Austin. There, a shiny black Tesla S sits in the center of a long, narrow showroom, with bright lighting, clean lines, and no clutter, much like an Apple store. There are T-shirts, swag, some seats and large posters extolling the car’s virtues. But the star of the room is the car.
You just can’t drive it, or even find out from Tesla staff how much it costs.
A flag is flown at half staff in West, Texas, near the scene of the fertilizer plant that exploded Wednesday night in in the town of 2,8000 on Thursday, April 18, 2013.
It will take time to determine the exact cause of the fire and explosion at the fertilizer plant in West, Texas. The disaster has cost at least 14 lives, caused 200 injuries and has destroyed at least 50 homes. The blast was so strong that it blew out windows for miles, and even registered as an earthquake. First responders said the aftermath looked like “a war zone.”
Yet even at this early stage of the investigation, there are signs that not all was right with the plant, like the fact that it had as much as 270 tons of ammonium nitrate (which can be explosive) at the site, but no sprinklers or fire barriers. It’s also brought up questions about regulation in Texas, and whether homes and schools should be so close to industry. (State fire officials have said that there are no signs of criminal activity so far in the West explosion.)
“Everybody plays over there,” resident Deborah Waters tells StateImpact Texas. “That track that is right beside the intermediate school, normally at that time of day, there are 20 to 30 people walking the track.” Continue Reading →
A damaged vehicle is seen after an explosion at the fertilizer plant.
The deadly explosion ripped through the fertilizer plant late on April 13, injuring more than 200 people, destroying 50 homes and damaging other buildings.
A chemical trailer sits among the remains of the burning fertilizer plant in April 2013.
A vehicle is seen near the remains of a fertilizer plant burning after the explosion.
Maria Galvin cleans up broken glass in the front of her business.
Searchers in protective suits walk through the blast zone of the fertilizer plant that exploded.
Meghan Clontz of Oklahoma City travelled to the town of West to be with family members after the massive explosion in the town
A tattered flag on the rainy morning of Thursday, April 18, in West, Texas.
Police and rescue workers stand near a building which was left destroyed.
An aerial view shows investigators walking through the aftermath of a massive explosion at a fertilizer plant in the town of West, near Waco, Texas April 18, 2013.
The apartment building where Darryl Garricks’ grandchildren were when the blast hit. The children are OK.
Residents of West gather for a candlelight vigil on Thursday, April 19.
A flag is flown at half staff in West, Texas, near the scene of the fertilizer plant that exploded Wednesday night in in the town of 2,8000 on Thursday, April 18, 2013.
KUT photographers Filipa Rodrigues and Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon traveled to the town of West with StateImpact Texas to document the story. You can see their images, along with photos from wire services and state officials, in the gallery above.
Residents of the town of West, Texas, hold a candlelight vigil Thursday evening for those killed and injured in an explosion and fire at a fertilizer plant in the town.
Update: As of 3 pm Saturday, some residents of West, the site of a major explosion at a fertilizer plant Wednesday, will be allowed back into their homes in part of the severely damaged neighborhood in the North section of town. Residents 18 and over living in the area from Walnut street southward will be allowed to enter until 7 pm. From 7 pm to 7 am, the city will have a curfew, and residents will need to either stay in their homes or leave the neighborhood. North of that area, Mayor Pro Tem Steve Vanek said at a press conference this afternoon, the city will work “as quickly as possible”to allow people back to their homes. More information for residents is available at the City of West’s website.
Some press reports earlier today said that there were still small fires at the site of the fertilizer plant. Vanek said that “Everything is safe. It’s good. We’re trying to get our people back in.”
“Safe, safe, safe,” Vanek repeated.
The number of fatalities remains 14, according to the Department of Public Safety.
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