Clean Water

Runoff in our streets, pollution in our waters

Stormwater runoff has become one of the top causes of water pollution in Texas. According to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, 431 miles of streams are polluted by urban runoff. Dirty stormwater is threatening some of our most iconic waterways, including Galveston Bay, Lady Bird Lake, and the Trinity and San Antonio rivers.

In order to cut runoff pollution, Texas cities have begun to use rainwater retention features such as green roofs, rain gardens, permeable pavement and rain cisterns. Known as Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) and Low Impact Development (LID), these features can cut runoff by catching rain where it falls.

With the support of our members, Environment Texas recently persuaded Austin to adopt a resolution supporting the increased use of GSI/LID. We’re now working to win similar commitments in Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, and San Antonio. Texas will keep growing, but together, we can make our new growth as green as possible.

Conservation

You’re standing up to save the bees

Millions of bees are dying off, with alarming consequences for our environment and our food supply. That’s why, with your support, Environment Texas is going all out to ban the pesticides that are harming bees and other pollinators. After all, it’s bees, not pesticides, that make our farms and food possible.

This year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it would conduct a risk assessment of four types of neonicotinoids, a widely used class of bee-killing pesticides, and opened a 60-day public comment period. Our members leapt at the opportunity to save our pollinators, and by the end of July, Environment Texas and our coalition partners delivered more than 164,000 comments urging the EPA to declare a moratorium on bee-killing pesticides.

We also held bee-friendly BBQ and picnic events over the summer to highlight the many foods we enjoy that depend on bees for pollination—everything from strawberries and watermelons to the alfalfa grown to feed dairy cows.

Litigation

Your support is bringing polluters to justice

Over the past 25 years, Environment Texas and our partners have found dozens of cases where companies have dumped illegal amounts of pollution into our air, rivers, bays and harbors.

In April, Environment Texas, secured a $19.95 million penalty against ExxonMobil after filing an environmental “citizen suit” against the oil giant for violating the Clean Air Act on more than 16,000 days at its Baytown, Texas, petrochemical complex. A federal judge found that Exxon had profited to the tune of $14 million by delaying pollution control measures, and released more than 10 million pounds of illegal emissions into the air, including carcinogens and other toxic air pollutants.

Our lawsuits have resulted in more than $250 million in court-ordered penalties and pollution reduction actions. And with the Trump administration giving a free pass to polluting industries, we’re launching an Environmental Enforcement Initiative to hold polluters accountable. With support from our members, we’ll continue taking illegal polluters to task when they break the law.