Southwest (AZ NM OK TX)

"Exxon Mobil Corp. and environmental groups will square off once again in circuit court on Tuesday in a 13-year-old lawsuit over pollution from the energy giant’s Baytown, Texas, refinery."

"The Tucson City Council is moving forward with the effort to return the ancestral homelands near the base Sentinel Peak to the Tohono O’odham Nation for its continued preservation and reverence."

"Members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation are criticizing federal emergency managers for missing deadlines as residents seek recovery assistance following the largest wildfire in the state’s recorded history."

"The U.S. nuclear energy regulator on Tuesday issued a license to Holtec International to build and operate a temporary facility to store nuclear waste from power plants, despite a New Mexico state law that could present a hurdle to the project."

"The units at a Houston-area Shell refinery that caught fire this weekend repeatedly malfunctioned in recent years without recourse from Texas regulators."

"An estimated 500,000 people live in thousands of colonias along the Texas-Mexico border. Largely built between the 1950s and 1980s, these communities have been promised water — but it has never come."

"Maria Martínez constantly calculates how much water is left in the 2,000-gallon tank that sits outside her home near El Paso.

When there’s less than 600 gallons, it’s time to place an order. A few loads of laundry and dirty dishes will use every last drop.

"A fire burned for a third day on Sunday at Shell Plc's chemical plant in the Houston suburb of Deer Park, Texas, a company spokesperson said."

"As the Biden administration moves to curb health threats caused by toxic chemicals, the debate hits home for families living near petrochemical plants."