Tag Archives: water

From the “Shit happens” department

Posted on May 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I apologize, I couldn’t help myself. City health officials and Rice University scientists have begun testing Houston wastewater samples for COVID-19, a process they hope will reveal the true spread of the new coronavirus as clinical testing continues to lag. … Continue reading →

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City wins water rights lawsuit

Posted on December 26, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

A bit of pre-holiday good news. A Travis County state district judge on Friday tossed a state law that would force the city of Houston to sell its water rights in a proposed reservoir west of Simonton. The law, which breezed … Continue reading →

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Consent decree to fix sewers approved

Posted on July 25, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

As we have discussed before, there are concerns about how the extra cost of this decree will affect low-income residents. Houston is facing a federal mandate to upgrade its embattled sanitary sewer system, stirring concerns among advocates and civic leaders … Continue reading →

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Houston sues over water rights

Posted on July 24, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This could be interesting. The city of Houston sued the state and the Brazos River Authority Monday, seeking to block the implementation of a new law that would force the city to sell its water rights in a proposed reservoir … Continue reading →

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We have a consent decree

Posted on July 11, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It appears to be a done deal. Houston would add $2 billion to its planned sewer system improvements over the next 15 years under a proposed deal with state and federal regulators that is expected to produce higher water bills … Continue reading →

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We’re about to find out how much we’ll pay to fix Houston’s sewer system

Posted on March 13, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Be prepared. Houston would ramp up spending on its sewer system by $2 billion over 15 years under a proposed deal with state and federal regulators that is expected to produce higher water bills as soon as next year. The … Continue reading →

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Now how much would you pay to fix Houston’s sewer system?

Posted on September 24, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

We may be about to find out. Federal and state authorities sued the city of Houston over its long-running struggle to limit sewage spills on Friday, marking the beginning of the end of a years-long negotiation that could force the … Continue reading →

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One for the road

Posted on January 21, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

How about one last lawsuit against the federal government, for old times’ sake? Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Tuesday announced he, along with 13 other mostly Republican-led states, would sue the federal government yet again to block a recently … Continue reading →

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MUDs and debt

Posted on October 18, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Another story about the least-understood form of debt and taxation in Texas. In Houston’s conservative suburbs, where local governments are loath to raise taxes, the thankless task of hiking revenues has fallen to hundreds of so-called municipal utility districts created … Continue reading →

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Stuck in the MUD

Posted on September 3, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Tricky things, these municipal utility districts. MUD 187 came to be when a Houston developer arranged for two people to move their trailer onto a 519-acre site on the edge of Richmond in Fort Bend County, which at the time … Continue reading →

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The zebra mussels keep invading

Posted on July 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Can anything stop them? When zebra mussels exploded in the Great Lakes region during the early 1990s, fisheries managers in Texas and many other southern states certainly noticed, but most weren’t overly alarmed. Yes, the alien freshwater mollusks, native to … Continue reading →

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How much would you pay to fix Houston’s sewer system?

Posted on June 17, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Whatever your answer to that question is, the real answer is that

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Clean Power Plan can proceed for now

Posted on January 23, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A federal appeals court has denied a request from Texas and other states to block President Obama’s Clean Power Plan, leaving the controversial climate change rules in place as a legal challenge winds through the courts. The U.S. Court … Continue reading →

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Dealing with climate change whether you believe in it or not

Posted on January 4, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Writer Taylor Hill visits West Texas to talk about drought, wind energy, and the topic that dare not speak its name, also known as climate change. Actions, though, do speak louder than words. AzTx Cattle and other ranching and farming … Continue reading →

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The inevitable latest lawsuit against the EPA

Posted on October 26, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

As night follows the day. As promised, Texas is suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over President Obama’s plan to combat climate change, Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Friday, just after the new regulation had been finalized. The state is … Continue reading →

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Droughts will always be with us

Posted on October 21, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Remember how wet and rainy it was earlier this year? It ain’t like that now, though we do have some rain coming later this week. After an uncharacteristically wet early-summer across Texas, the Lone Star state’s weather has turned dry … Continue reading →

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Paxton asks judge to block EPA water rules in Texas

Posted on September 12, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The basic story: Texas has asked a federal judge to block enforcement of a new rule that expands authority over which water bodies the U.S. government can regulate. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton made the request Tuesday in an 88-page … Continue reading →

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Hempstead landfill clarification

Posted on August 19, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I recently blogged about an update to the Hempstead landfill story, in which Green Group Holdings asked to amend its original filings regarding groundwater levels. I received an email on Monday from a Green Group representative, who sent me the … Continue reading →

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Hempstead landfill would indeed hurt the environment

Posted on August 15, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Raise your hand if this surprises you. Pintail Landfill developers backpedaled from arguments that their proposed dump site outside Hempstead would not harm the environment, agreeing for the first time this summer that their review of groundwater under the property … Continue reading →

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Texas sues the EPA again (and again, and again, and…)

Posted on July 10, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Attorney General Ken Paxton on Wednesday filed a lawsuit over the agency’s rejection of parts of a Texas clean air program, launching the state’s second battle against EPA regulations in less than … Continue reading →

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Now Texas is suing the EPA over its clean water plan

Posted on July 3, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Another day, another anti-environmental lawsuit. It’s what we do. For the 20th time since the Obama administration took office in 2009, the federal Environmental Protection Agency is facing a lawsuit from Texas. Joined by Louisiana and Mississippi, Texas is challenging … Continue reading →

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We still face water shortages

Posted on June 14, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Yes, we’ve had a lot of rain lately. No, that hasn’t solved all our water problems. The recent rainfall that drenched much of Houston and the state was thought to put the drought and the state’s water supply concerns at … Continue reading →

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Good news for Texas lakes

Posted on May 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

All that rain has had a positive effect. Statewide, estimates from the National Weather Service indicate the first four months of this year have been the fifth wettest since 1895 and the wettest since 1997. So far this year, estimates … Continue reading →

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Texas plans to sue over EPA’s latest clean air plan

Posted on May 9, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

So what else is new? Attorney General Ken Paxton said Tuesday that he plans to sue the Obama administration over the proposed “Clean Power Plan,” its plan to combat climate change by slashing carbon emissions from power plants. “Texas has … Continue reading →

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Just a reminder, we still need to use less water

Posted on April 4, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

In particular, we need to water our lawns less. Even Texans with the greenest of lawns water them too much, many landscape experts say. And if everyone would turn on the sprinklers only twice a week — still probably more … Continue reading →

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Reusing wastewater

Posted on January 25, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Get used to it. Reclaimed wastewater soon will irrigate the trim lawns and wooded parks of some Houston suburbs. Instead of being dumped into the bayous, some of it might even undergo more extensive treatment in order to flow from … Continue reading →

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ERCOT acknowledges that meeting EPA clean air requirements won’t be that big a deal

Posted on December 27, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From Texas Clean Air Matters: Well, it didn’t take long before the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) released, at the request of Texas’ very political Public Utilities Commission, another report about the impacts of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) … Continue reading →

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Other towns consider fracking bans

Posted on December 5, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

If Denton can do it… A Texas hamlet shaken by its first recorded earthquake last year and hundreds since then is among communities now taking steps to challenge the oil and gas industry’s traditional supremacy over the right to frack. … Continue reading →

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EPA climate change plan would save water

Posted on November 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Well, what do you know? As state regulators fret about how President Obama’s effort to combat climate change would affect the Texas power grid, a new study says the rules would be simpler to adopt than those regulators suggest – … Continue reading →

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More on the initial bill filings

Posted on November 12, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From the Trib, a sampling: As of Monday afternoon, a bill repealing the Texas Dream Act, which allows undocumented immigrant students to pay in-state college tuition rates, had yet to emerge. Lt. Gov.-elect Dan Patrick promised while campaigning that he would work … Continue reading →

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News flash: Greg Abbott wants to sue the EPA again

Posted on August 14, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Nobody could have foreseen this! Foretelling a new environmental battle between state and federal regulators, Attorney General Greg Abbott on Monday demanded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency back down from a proposal to expand the definition of federal waters to … Continue reading →

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On “potty water”

Posted on May 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Wastewater reuse in Wichita Falls has been in the works for years and would have happened with or without the drought. It was fast-tracked as the city deals with reservoirs that are … Continue reading →

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The other reason why Huy Fong won’t move to Texas

Posted on May 20, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

In a word, water. Huy Fong Foods, which is staying put for now, is different from Toyota and other companies that have recently been wooed or moved to Texas. It is an agribusiness, relying on thousands of tons of local … Continue reading →

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Give up the green

Posted on May 16, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Note: From time to time, I solicit guest posts from various individuals on different topics. While I like to think I know a little something about a lot of things, I’m fortunate to be acquainted with a number of people … Continue reading →

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