Texas tree die-offs

Courtesy the AP, an article about "a vegetative wasteland" near Bastrop, Texas, a bit southeast of Austin. The article claims the likely culprit is a coal-fired power plant that, for most of its operating lifetime of almost 30 years, has operated without scrubbers to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions.

The die-offs are not limited to this area:

Now, extensive tree deaths are being reported elsewhere in Texas, home to 19 coal-fired power plants — more than any other state. Four more are in planning stages. In each area where the phenomenon is reported, a coal-fired power plant operates nearby.

The trouble is that this article is long on accusations and short on evidence. For instance, there's a long-running drought that might well have contributed to the problem, or indeed, might be the primary cause. There's a passing reference to increased irrigation, but it's not clear how widely the recommendation was followed or what farms it covered. It's also not clear if die-offs are occurring in areas not near coal-fired power plants.

Perhaps the best evidence in support of the article comes from Charlie Faupel, who, it is implied, is a "seventh generation rancher" whose family owns what used to be an extensive stand of pecan trees:

On Dec. 9, Faupel filed a formal air pollution complaint against the Coleto Creek plant and demanded the state environmental commission investigate the emissions.

"I have noticed for over 20 years how the Coleto Creek power plant's sulfur dioxide has been damaging hundreds of the trees on our property — live oaks, white oaks and pecans," Faupel wrote. "Most of the white oak trees are already dead. The surviving trees don't have as much foliage and they're becoming more diseased, I believe, from the plant's sulfur dioxide weakening the trees over time."

That historical context is what this article sorely lacks. Without it, how are we to decide if this is just the expected result of a drought? For that matter, it's not clear how much any of these ranchers relies on a ground-water aquifer rather than rainfall or river water.

That all said, I expressed my disdain for Texas' disregard of environmental concerns not long ago, and I'm inclined to believe the ranchers rather than Texas' Commission on Environmental Quality. If it turns out the ranchers are correct, Gov. Rick Perry and his henchmen had better not come begging to the E.P.A. for any bailouts.