skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

Report: Texas Faces Health Crisis from Toxic Oil, Gas Emissions

play audio
Play

Thursday, June 22, 2017   

PLANO, Texas – Methane and other toxic byproducts from oil and gas exploration will, by 2025, make Texas the worst state in the nation for public health problems from toxic pollution, according to a new report.

The study, produced by the Texas Grassroots Network, said up to 7,400 Texas oil and gas wells would be allowed to spew toxic emissions into the atmosphere if the Environmental Protection Agency's New Source Performance Standards are suspended or eliminated. Sharon Wilson, Gulf regional organizer with Earthworks, said without industry compliance, thousands of Texans will likely become sick and many may die.

"It's a very commonsense, no-brainer rule,” Wilson said. "It would help the people who live nearby who are being affected by these emissions, and it helps the industry because they're not losing the product into the air."

The regulation requires producers to repair new or modified wells that leak gases or capture and sell the methane.

Wilson said that since there are few state regulations requiring detection and repair of leaks, Texans must rely on federal rules for protection. However, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has proposed eliminating many federal pollution rules.

Oil company lobbyists routinely complain that EPA regulations are expensive and unnecessary. But Wilson said she believes the industry isn't really concerned about high costs or red tape.

"This is an industry that just does not want any rules, and so they're going to fight against any rule whether it's in their best interests or not,” she said.

The report utilized Wilson's research using infrared images to show normally invisible methane, benzene and other emissions escaping from Texas oil and gas operations.

She also documents cases of people living near these wells who experience serious health problems. But, she added, Texans need not live close by to be affected.

"The air in Denton, Texas, doesn't stay in Denton, Texas. The air in Odessa and Midland doesn't stay in Odessa and Midland,” Wilson said. "It doesn't know where the city boundary is."

A coalition of environmental groups, including Earthworks, recently filed suit seeking an injunction against Pruitt and the EPA over their plans to suspend the standards.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Iowa families can apply for up to $7,600 a year for private school costs. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

An ethics committee in the Republican-led Iowa House has dismissed a complaint filed by a group of community activists against a state lawmaker for hi…


play sound

Each spring, hundreds of thousands of California high school seniors have to figure out if they can afford to go to college in the fall - and two new …

Health and Wellness

play sound

A health care workforce shortage in New Hampshire is leaving Alzheimer's patients and their families with few options for treatment. Patients facing …


South Dakota ranks 49th in the country for its contribution to indigent legal defense costs, according to a 2023 report from the Indigent Legal Services Task Force. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

South Dakota is creating an Office of Indigent Legal Services after House Bill 1057 passed the Legislature with nearly unanimous support this month…

Social Issues

play sound

This year's high school graduates will be eligible for 14,000 new scholarships offered through Opportunity Next Colorado, a $21 million investment …

The new law will apply only to future sales of Indiana farmland. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

A bipartisan law set to take effect this summer prohibits foreign adversaries from buying Hoosier farmland. The signature of Gov. Eric Holcomb was …

Social Issues

play sound

Today, people across Arizona are voting in the Presidential Preference Election, a chance for registered Democrats and Republicans to choose their …

Environment

play sound

Traffic deaths are trending higher in Minnesota this year after a decline the previous year. Groups pushing for safer roads are convinced a small …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021