StateImpact Texas reporter Terrence Henry moderates a panel on the impacts of the drilling boom in West Texas in Odessa Tuesday, with (left to right) Kirk Edwards, Libby Campbell, W. Hoxie Smith, Gil Van De Venter, and Paul Weatherby.
StateImpact Texas hit the road this week to talk to communities in West Texas about the impacts of drilling and the drought. On Tuesday, we spent the day in Midland, talking to locals, oil field workers and new arrivals about how a massive uptick in drilling is changing the community.
We’ve been posting updates from the road to our Tumblr, here’s a few selections from our time in the Permian Basin, from a barber who thinks there’s more booms to come, to the effects of a housing shortage: Continue Reading →
In Rosenberg, even the manhole covers have a train insignia on them. Railroads are the town’s heritage.
In this city 20 miles west of Houston and at the edge of South Texas, three rail lines converge. Add to the trains all the trucks the cross the town’s south side on the Interstate 69 corridor.
It all makes this small city a big hub of transportation. But should something go wrong, the firefighters who’d be first to arrive weren’t sure they’d be prepared.
“One of our major concerns was being able to suppress the vapors if there was a fire. And we identified that as a high risk,” said Darrell Himly, Rosenberg’s assistant fire chief.
It’s a risk the county didn’t want to take. Not only is rail being used more to haul crude oil from the booming oil fields of South Texas, there’s also more petrochemical shipments passing through as refineries expand along the Gulf Coast, giving Rosenberg officials more reason than ever to wonder “what if”. Continue Reading →
To his surprise, Jerry Bates has had a busy summer.
Bates owns Frio River Outfitters & Happy Hollow Grocery in Concan, a small Hill Country community 90 minutes west of San Antonio. In addition to selling basic groceries and camping equipment, Happy Hollow’s main business is renting out tubes and kayaks to tourists on the Frio River.
Bates’ livelihood depends on the Frio, and even though the river has been down, business is up.
âItâs been probably one of the busiest summers weâve ever had,â he said. âWhich is amazing, because the river levels are pretty low right now.â
The low levels are a consequence of Texasâ drought, which continues to dry up bodies of water throughout the state. That includes rivers like the Guadalupe, Comal, San Marcos, and Brazos, all of which are popular tubing destinations. Continue Reading →
Texas is changing — with more people, less water, and a surge in oil and gas drilling that is changing communities. To see some of that change up close, we here at StateImpact Texas have embarked on an occasional trip across the state — what we’re calling a “Road Show” — to engage with those communities. We’re traveling to hear from local, everyday Texans directly about how issues of energy and the environment are impacting them.
Our first trip, taking place this week, takes us from our home of Austin to West Texas, home of the drilling hotbed of the Permian Basin. Tonight we’ll be hosting a panel and community forum in Odessa on how that oil and gas boom is affecting the land, water and community of West Texas.
And along the way we’ve been talking to Texans about the drought, drilling and wind energy, to name just a few subjects. We’re posting short updates to our Tumblr page, and here’s a selection from our first few stops, Lampasas and Brownwood: Continue Reading →
The Texas Water Development Board’s most recent drought report showed that 97 percent of the state is still experiencing some level of drought. So what does a state that parched look like?
The Aquarena Center, an educational center at the headwaters of the San Marcos River.
Development May Have Already Damaged Fragile HabitatsÂ
San Marcos, Texas is the fastest-growing city in the nation, in a rapidly-growing state, and with that growth comes concerns over balancing development with environmental and ecological needs.
Tensions over development exist in communities across the country, but they are amplified in San Marcos, which is home to approximately 50,000 people, and a number of endangered species, including rare salamanders and golden-cheeked warblers. The growth in San Marcos has been a source of conflict among residents, as well as a source of pride.
Some residents see the cityâs real estate development as an economic opportunity, and necessary to house the growing student population of Texas State University. Others say that new student housing developments are eroding the character of the town they love, and damaging the areaâs fragile natural environment. Continue Reading →
Pink flags mark the place where pine seedling will be planted in the remains of Bastrop State Park. Experts say fires like the one that ravaged the park in 2011 will become more common in the future.
This summer the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department celebrated its 50th anniversary. To mark the occasion TPWD Executive Director Carter Smith sat down with StateImpact Texas to talk about the history of the Department, and what climate change means for Parks’ future.
One interesting historical nugget?
Smith began the interview mentioning how how an illegal dove hunting trip by Lyndon Baines Johnson (and a run-in with a game warden) helped create the modern day TPWD.
MOSE BUCHELE: So LBJ figures into this somehow?
SMITH: Well, as the story goes, LBJ was dove hunting after legal shooting hours in hill country with several other well known hill country politicians and one of our game wardens, Grover Simpson, who was a legendary figure, came upon them shooting after sunset. And when he pulled into the pasture he saw three men around a truck and when he pulled up there were only two.
West Texas is booming again — a major increase in oil and gas drilling is bringing jobs, prosperity and new development in the region. But it’s also having an impact on roads, water and the culture of West Texas. So please join us if you can tonight, Tuesday, August 13th, at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin in Odessa, at a special forum to discuss these issues.
Our panel will consist of energy industry experts and community representatives to discuss the impact of oil and gas drilling in West Texas. The event is free and open to the public and will be held at the Cooper Auditorium in the Science and Technology building at UTPB. The public is invited to ask questions of the panel as part of the community forum.
We’ll discuss how drilling is changing West Texas, from its impact on the economy, to the strain on roads and housing, to balancing water demands. Continue Reading →
Well in Rusk County in one of the oldest oil fields in Texas
But Are They Being Penalized Enough?
The state’s regulator for oil & gas drilling, the Railroad Commission of Texas, said it’s charged over $2.1 million in penalties called “severance fees” to drilling violators so far this fiscal year that ends August 31. That’s almost double the amount in 2010.
“The severance fee charges are up, because in May 2012 the commission instituted a 150 percent surcharge on most fees paid to the commission, including severances,” wrote the commission’s spokesperson, Ramona Nye, in an email to StateImpact Texas.
The fees result when the Railroad Commission uses one of its harsher enforcement methods: an order to shutdown production because a well operator has failed to correct violations. The Railroad Commission says the majority of violations are corrected before that happens.
But when operators correct problems only after the severance order has been issued, they then have to pay the fee before they can legally resume production after bringing wells into compliance with state laws. Continue Reading →
Scientists in the Gulf are conducting groundbreaking research on shark behavior.
Itâs early August, and that means that this week millions of Americans are watching one of TVâs greatest aquatic traditions: Shark Week on the Discovery Channel.
Texans, whose state borders a body of water teeming with sharks of all sizes and species may want to take special notice. According to Dr. Greg Stunz, there are some sizable specimens in the Gulf of Mexico.
âBig ones,â he said in describing some of the Gulfâs sharks. â9-feet, 600-pound kind of [sharks]. âThey-could-easily-eat-peopleâ kind of size.â
Dr. Stunz is a Professor of Marine Biology and an Endowed Chair for Fisheries and Ocean Health at Texas A&M University â Corpus Christiâs Harte Research Institute. Heâs currently researching shark behavior and population trends off the Padre Island National Seashore.
Stunz is one of the first scientists to gather data on shark growth and movement in the Gulf. He and his team have tagged over one thousand sharks in order to better understand which species are most common, where they occur, and how often they breed.
âWe donât have answers to those questions,â Stunz said.
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Texas is changing — with more people, less water, and a surge in oil and gas drilling that is changing communities. To see some of that change up close, we here at StateImpact Texas have embarked on an occasional trip across the state — what we’re calling a “Road Show” — to engage with those communities. We’re traveling to hear from local, everyday Texans directly about how issues of energy and the environment are impacting them.
