Author/Source:The Texas Tribune
Texas has abundant natural resources, but efforts to impose environmental regulations to protect the resources have been difficult for many decades. Texas has a large share of the national's oil and chemical manufacturing industries, so state policymakers must balance economic considerations with the need to curtail environmental risk. Oil, gas and chemical manufacturing industries employ thousands of Texans and contribute billions to the Texas economy. State leaders also want to continue to attract new industries, complicating efforts for more environmental regulation.
The state's two largest environmental issues are dirty air and an endangered water supply. Environmental groups are also critical of the state's centralized environmental regulation at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality(TCEQ), complaining the agency favors economic development over environmental protection".
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