nvironmental and community groups that welcomed a recent ruling that El Paso County is in violation of federal air quality standards are now fighting to ensure local pollution sources face stricter state regulations.
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Posted inEnvironment
EPA announces plan to lower El Paso air quality grade
The Environmental Protection Agency said this week it will “correct” the passing designation for El Paso’s air quality due to the impact the city has on air pollution levels in Doña Ana County. The EPA designates an area with “attainment” if it has a passing air quality grade, and labels an area as “nonattainment” if […]
Posted inFeatured
Sunrise El Paso, Ground Game Texas aim for a city charter ballot measure on climate
Two progressive groups, Austin-based Ground Game Texas and Sunrise El Paso, are seeking signatures for a November ballot initiative to change El Paso’s governing documents to focus on climate goals, such as reducing emissions.
Posted inEnvironment
El Paso Electric’s Newman 6 project to go before judge
The Newman 6 project will have its day in court. An administrative law judge ruled Thursday that the Sierra Club and a citizen group from Chaparral, N.M., can move forward to challenge the state of Texas’ pending approval of a permit for El Paso Electric’s proposed gas plant. The Chaparral Community Coalition For Helping the […]
Posted inBusiness & Economy
What you need to know about the fight over the Newman 6 power plant
El Paso Electric’s goal of building a natural gas power plant on the city’s Northeast side is facing several hurdles that could delay or even derail the project. The proposed facility, called Newman 6, would replace older and less-efficient equipment and “ensure a long-term” positive environmental impact on the community, according to the utility. But […]
Posted inCommentary
Opinion: Air pollution from the Permian Basin is hurting El Paso; EPA should take action
By David Baake Every year, El Paso residents are exposed to dangerous levels of ozone, a corrosive air pollutant that attacks the lungs and other parts of the body, contributing to respiratory problems, cardiovascular issues, and premature deaths. The American Lung Association ranks El Paso-Las Cruces at number 12 on a list of the most […]
Posted inBusiness & Economy
El Paso Electric reaches settlement with environment and community groups on Newman 6
The fight on Newman 6 is over. El Paso Electric and the coalition of community and environmental groups opposing the construction of the new methane power plant unit in Northeast El Paso announced an agreement Tuesday, removing the roadblocks to Newman 6’s construction. The environmental groups will withdraw their opposition to the plant, and in […]
Posted inFeatured
2021 was a tumultuous year for El Paso’s climate and environment
Despite a winter storm and a historic monsoon season in El Paso, 2021 is on track to be the ninth-warmest in records that date back to 1887. Climate change shows a warming of the region’s average yearly temperature — meaning more hot days and hotter nights — with the last quarter century trending noticeably hotter. […]
Posted inCommentary
Opinion: With 50 years in the making, every day is Earth Day
By Jessica Christianson As El Paso Electric enters its 121st year of service to our region and we wrap up the 50th anniversary of Earth month, we take a moment to reflect on how our energy use impacts the planet and steps we can all take to mitigate those impacts. Over the past year, El […]
Posted inCommentary
Opinion: Improving I-10 Downtown is key to El Paso’s advancement
Regional transportation groups including the El Paso Metropolitan Planning Organization, the El Paso Mobility Coalition and forward-thinking elected officials understand the importance of the I-10 modernization project and are leading the way to get this done.
Posted inEducation, Environment, Featured
El Paso school districts urged to switch to electric buses using $5 billion in federal funds
U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, and EPA officials introduced the Clean School Bus Program which will allocate $5 billion over the next five years to replace school buses around the country, thus reducing emissions.
Posted inEnvironment
Court orders EPA to re-evaluate whether El Paso complies with clean air standards
The Environmental Protection Agency must re-evaluate whether El Paso is violating clean air standards, a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., has ruled. The decision stems from a federal lawsuit that challenged the EPA’s designation of multiple cities and counties around the country where pollution levels exceed 2015 National Ambient Air Quality Standards yet were […]
Posted inEnvironment
Chaparral residents seek alternative to new El Paso Electric natural gas unit
By Claudia Silva, New Mexico In Depth When Ida Garcia looks out the kitchen window during cool mornings, plumes billowing from a power plant less than a mile away in Texas obscure her view of the broad Chihuahuan desert skies and expansive vistas. During hot summer days the plumes disappear but she still worries. “We see […]
Posted in2022 Elections
Texas House District 79: Democratic Primary
The 150 members of the Texas House of Representatives consider proposed laws and resolutions, decide whether to refer proposed constitutional amendments for submission to the voters and appropriate all funds for the operation of state government.
Posted inEnvironment
What the new climate change report means for El Paso and the Southwest
The Southwestern United States is on the frontlines of climate change and the decades-long effects on the El Paso area will likely worsen, local and regional experts said, unless international governments curb fossil fuel emissions. The Earth’s climate has undergone “unprecedented” and rapid change due to human activity but there is a small window to […]
Posted inCommentary
Opinion: El Paso shouldn’t double down on decades of misguided transportation policy
By Robert Storch The El Paso region is at an inflection point of making a major transportation decision with generational consequences to our future quality of life. Will we triple down on the destructive transportation system that currently dominates our city, or seek a more sustainable system going forward? The Texas Department of Transportation is […]
Posted inImmigration
Sprawling complex on Fort Bliss houses nearly 10,000 Afghans, still growing
Nearly 10,000 Afghans are currently being housed at the Doña Ana Range Complex on Fort Bliss, 35 miles north of Downtown El Paso, the post commander said during a press conference Friday. The complex has undergone a dramatic and rapid expansion in order to house thousands of Special Immigrant Visa applicants and vulnerable Afghans who were […]
Posted inCommentary
Opinion: How to combat veteran homelessness in El Paso
There is no one-size-fits-all solution, so each veteran requires a customized and holistic network of support to build and stay on their path to thriving.
Posted inCommentary
Opinion: El Paso deserves a better long-range transportation plan
El Paso’s multi-billion-dollar, long-range transportation plan spends billions of dollars building more roads and highways which, in the end, will lead to more sprawl, more congestion and more pollution.
Posted inCommentary
Opinion: Downtown I-10 plans will cause great damage to El Paso
By Robert Storch The failure of local leaders to adopt a comprehensive strategy for implementing long-range urban plans will result in permanent damage to the quality of life in Downtown El Paso and surrounding neighborhoods. In 1925, urban planners recognized that a railroad running through Downtown El Paso hindered urban development. It was noisy, dirty […]
Posted inEnvironment
3 decades into El Paso’s ban on new mulberries, existing trees are nearing end of life
The mulberry is a storied tree in El Paso. El Pasoans have tales of either sitting under their shady boughs or being frustrated with the allergies the trees cause in the spring. And there are also memories of chowing down on the maroon or black fruits the tree produces. They populate public spaces from Memorial Park […]
Posted inVoter Guide: 2022 General Election
El Paso City Council District 1
Candidates running in the Nov. 8 election to represent the West Side and Upper Valley answer questions on key issues.
Posted inCommentary
I-10 expansion would be disastrous for El Paso
By Robert Storch The proposed plan to widen Interstate 10 through Downtown El Paso is a short-sighted, billion-dollar solution to a problem that doesn’t exist. Further, it is inconsistent with the city’s long-term development plan for the Downtown area. It must be stopped. The Texas Department of Transportation’s “Reimagine I-10” is a flawed plan lacking […]
Posted inGovernment
Regional libraries took differing approaches to services, employees during pandemic
When COVID-19 reached the Southwest last March, library systems faced multiple challenges. The impact on Texas and New Mexico libraries has varied when it comes to budget cuts, furloughs and the level of services provided. The El Paso Public Library system has faced greater reductions in services than most other Texas big-city library systems. The […]
Posted inCoronavirus
“I feel like we’re losing more than we’re winning.” El Paso hospital workers share dire messages to El Pasoans
An ICU nurse left a grueling shift treating COVID-19 patients and was dismayed at what she saw as she drove through El Paso — full parking lots at shopping centers. “Does everyone need to see the gruesomeness that I saw today to comprehend it?” said the nurse, who asked not to be identified because she […]
Posted inImmigration
Indigenous diaspora: Leaving home and the journey across Mexico
By René Kladzyk and Maria Ramos Pacheco/El Paso Matters and Veronica Martinez/La Verdad First of a three-part series Lea esta historia en español Running children and crying babies create a cacophony at El Buen Samaritano shelter, but in a far corner, Carmela holds her 2-year-old in silence. She can’t communicate with anyone — she doesn’t know Spanish, and no one at the […]
Posted inCommentary
My Dad’s lessons on how to love
The day before my dad had a stroke, he described the air as delicious. It was almost dusk and the sky was pale pink. We jogged along the irrigation canals in West El Paso, and the Franklin Mountains glowed a specific magenta glow that only happens on certain days for a minute or two. We […]
Posted inGovernment
State orders leadership changes at El Paso nursing home in wake of El Paso Matters story on WWII vet’s COVID-19 death
This story has been updated with information from a letter sent Tuesday to Eugene Forti’s family from the Veterans Land Board. Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush has ordered a leadership shake-up at the Ambrosio Guillen Texas State Veterans Home in Northeast El Paso, hours after an El Paso Matters story raised questions about the […]
Posted inCoronavirus
COVID-19 stalks workers at another Juárez maquiladora
This story is republished with permission from La Verdad, an independent news organization in Ciudad Juárez. By Itzel Ramírez and Gabriela Minjáres/La Verdad On the production lines of the Regal Planta CASA maquiladora in Ciudad Juárez, where electric motors and other mechanical components are manufactured, the COVID-19 virus spread with lethality. Witnesses say it caused the death […]
