I'm just in Dane with a brief look of the latest news in Texas politics
and policy from the Texas Tribute. Governor Greg Abbott has issued a wildfire disaster
declaration for about seventy five percent of Texas counties, allowing them to use all
available state resources to respond to any new fires as the state continues to bake
under triple digit temperatures. The declaration was issued on Friday as wildfires continued to
spark across the state. The Texas A and M Forest Service, which monitors
wildfire conditions, reports that at least eighty five hundred acres of Texas land have
burned since August first. The governor's declaration covers one hundred and ninety one of
the state's two hundred and fifty four counties, including Bear, Dallas, Elpaso,
Midland, and Travis. Many counties across the state have already issued their
own burn bands. Wildfires have destroyed homes, buildings, and forests statewide.
Last week, a brush fire and cedar Park about twenty miles north of a
tore through apartment complexes and town homes, forcing evacuations in Williamson County and surrounding
areas. Earlier this year, an Eastland County sheriff's deputy was killed trying to
rescue others when a massive wind whipped wildfire swept into Eastland, about one hundred
and twenty miles west of Dallas. Hundreds of families evacuated their homes. On
Monday, the Forest Service issued an alert about an unusual August cold front expected
to sweep south as far as Interstate ten that could possibly create scattered thunderstorms in
north and central Texas through Tuesday morning. Lightning could start new fires, while
winds from many storms could help fire spread quickly. Texas has filed a civil
lawsuit against oil giant Shell, claiming the chemical fire that burned for close to
three days at its facility near Houston in May caused environmental damage from airborne contaminants
and waste that flowed into nearby waterways. The lawsuit, which seeks a million
dollars in damage from the oil company, was filed last week in Travis County
by the Texas Attorney General's Office on behalf of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
It alleges that Shell violated state environmental laws protecting air and water from pollution.
The May fifth fire was at Shell's Deer Park chemical facility north of State
Highway to twenty five. The lawsuit states that when the facility caught fire,
it began unlawfully emitting mass quantities of air contaminants into the environment, and that
the vast quantities of water used to put out the fire resulted in nearly seventy
million gallons of wastewater unlawfully discharged into the Houston Ship Channel. The lawsuit comes
amid ongoing debates over the regulatory oversight of industries contributing to such incidents and their
consequences on local environments and public health. Horrified by the skyrocketing number of fentyl
related deaths and motivated by families who lost a child to the dangerous drug,
US Senator John corn has made addressing the crisis a priority. Cornan has introduced
legislation to decriminalize fetinel test strips and address drug trafficking at the US border with
Mexico, where criminal cartels are blamed for producing the vast majority of fetnyl.
He's also led public gatherings to raise awareness about the dangers of fetanyl, which
is commonly mixed with other drugs and is up to fifty times more powerful than
heroin. He introduced a bill that would allow the Department of Defense to train
Mexican military forces to combat cartels and fetinyl tracking in Mexico. Additionally, Cornan
has pushed for a study on how drug trafficking organizations are financed with the intent
of disrupting their operations. While critics argue that supply side approaches might not be
effective, Cornyan says policymakers must take a comprehensive approach to the fetinal crisis.
From twenty nineteen to twenty twenty two, fetinel deaths in Texas rose from three
hundred and seventeen to two thousand, one hundred and sixty one to Texas Department
of State Health Services. We have a favor to ask, if you have
a moment, would you go to Texas Tribune dot org slash brief survey to
take a five minute listener survey. This is the best way for us to
know what works and what doesn't for our podcasts. The link again as Texas
Tribune dot org slash brief survey. There's also a link in the show notes.
We appreciate your feedback. Check for updates on any of the stories you
heard in today's episode at Texas Tribune dot org, and follow the Brief podcast
for daily news updates wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Justin Dane for the
Texas Tribune. You've been briefed. Today's Brief is brought to you by Educate
Texas. Educate Texas stimulates creative solutions to key educational challenges throughout the state.
Learn more at eedtx dot org.