Kiah Collier

Work On Trump’s Border Wall Begins – In National Wildlife Refuge – At Taxpayer Expense

Federal officials plan to start construction this fall on 3 miles of border barrier through a South Texas wildlife refuge.

Kiah Collier
By Kiah Collier
Pelicans pass over Boca Chica, Texas, where the Rio Grande meets the Gulf of Mexico. Wildlife enthusiasts fear the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge will be ruined by the fences and adjacent roads the U.S. government plans to erect along the Mexican border to keep out illegal immigrants and smugglers. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection will begin constructing the first segment of President Trump’s border wall in November through a national wildlife refuge, using money it’s already received from Congress. That’s what a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service official recently told a nonprofit group that raises money to support two national wildlife

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Former EPA Officials Sue EPA Over Failure To Enforce Air Pollution Rules

Environmental groups are taking the EPA to court, alleging the federal agency isn’t properly policing Texas air pollution permits they argue are too lax and complicated.

Kiah Collier
By Kiah Collier
Total Petrochemicals Port Arhtur refinery is shown Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009 in Port Arthur, Texas. Over the past several years, Total Petrochemical's sprawling oil refinery in southeast Texas has sprayed tons of sulfuric acid and carbon monoxide into the sky. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

A Washington, D.C.-based environmental advocacy group sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday, arguing the federal government isn't properly policing air pollution permits the state of Texas issued to some of the largest industrial facilities in the U.S. The Environmental Integrity Project — founded by former EPA officials

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ExxonMobil Hit With $20 Million Penalty For Polluting Air With Hazardous Chemicals

Environment Texas described the fine against the world’s largest oil company as the “largest penalty resulting from a citizen suit in U.S. history.”

Kiah Collier
By Kiah Collier
Exxon Mobil's Billings Refinery in Billings, Mont. (AP/Matthew Brown)

In a huge win for environmental groups, a federal judge has ordered ExxonMobil to pay nearly $20 million for spewing millions of pounds of excess air pollution from its Houston-area industrial facilities. The Sierra Club and Environment Texas sued the energy giant in 2010, alleging that over a five-year period it had emitted more than 8 million

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EPA Finally Admits Fracking Can Harm Drinking Water

Ordered by Congress in 2010, the report reaches a somewhat stronger conclusion than a draft version unveiled last year that said the agency had found no evidence that fracking has “widespread, systemic impacts” on the nation’s drinking water.

Kiah Collier
By Kiah Collier
In this Nov. 26, 2012 photo, Steve Lipsky demonstrates how his well water ignites when he puts a flame to the flowing well spigot outside his family's home near a fracking operation in rural Parker County near Weatherford, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

The controversial oil and gas extraction technique known as hydraulic fracturing can contaminate drinking water under certain circumstances, according to a long-anticipated U.S. Environmental Protection Agency report released Tuesday. Ordered by Congress in 2010, the report reaches a somewhat stronger conclusion than a draft version unveiled

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