Environment

The West Texas Veterans State Cemetery is open for burial services starting today. KTTZ’s Riley Wilson reports Burials may take place Monday through Friday from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm, with the main office being open from 8:00 am - 5:00 pm. A pre-registration packet with more information can be found here. An environmental group wants the federal government to consider the health impacts of legal nitrate contamination in public drinking water. Harvest Public Media’s Celia Llopis-Jepsen has more on the report finding nearly one-fifth of Americans rely on community water supplies that showed elevated nitrate in recent years.

Since news first surfaced late last year that border walls could be built for the first time in the Big Bend region of West Texas, the story has been marked by shifting, unannounced changes and few clearly communicated details from the Trump administration.

Representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have started meeting with Big Bend area landowners about the prospect of border walls on their land. Landowners say they're concerned about flood risks and the destruction of archeological sites.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection updated its map of planned border wall projects to add vehicle barriers and patrol roads to portions of Big Bend National Park on Tuesday. It's not clear if the barriers would be temporary or permanent.

The Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality does not have to produce thousands of documents related to carcinogenic emission limits requested by the Sierra Club.

Across the central U.S., nitrate from crop fertilizer and livestock facilities is seeping into water underground. Many family wells are no longer safe to drink from without pricey treatment.

The Texas Department of Transportation, alongside Lubbock’s city and county leaders, cut the ribbon for drivers on the first portion of the anticipated Loop 88 in south Lubbock, this southern portion of the outer loop project broke ground four years ago, but the full freeway is expected to take 15-20 years to complete, depending on state and federal funding. An environmental group is suing the Trump administration over its plan for a border wall in parts of the Big Bend region of Texas. Marfa Public Radio’s Travis Bubenik reports the Big Bend border wall plan has prompted widespread pushback from Democrats and Republicans.

A West Texas river guide and church preservation group, along with a national advocacy group, argue in a lawsuit filed Thursday that the administration illegally bypassed a range of environmental protection laws as it plans a 175-mile stretch of border wall in the state's Big Bend region.

From a field on an Illinois university campus, to rare, untouched land in Texas, here are some efforts to replant once-abundant prairie in the Midwest and Great Plains.

Elevated to critical fire weather is expected to persist across the South Plains and broader West Texas region as record-breaking March heat, strong winds and ongoing drought conditions continue to dry out vegetation. Officials warn that despite a brief cooldown from a passing cold front, wildfire risk will remain moderate into early next week, with recent fires in the Panhandle and South Plains underscoring the growing danger.