EPA will center climate change response in Texas on sea level rise, floods, drought and severe storms

The Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday it will roll out a suite of new actions and communication strategies to help Texans adapt to the impacts of climate change — particularly flooding, severe storms and drought.

The plan for EPA’s Region 6 — which includes Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Louisiana — found that Texas’ largest vulnerabilities to climate change are to the impacts of more severe droughts, sea level rise, more intense coastal flooding and increased intensity of storms — particularly stronger hurricanes, longer-lasting heat waves and extreme rainstorms.

EPA officials will take several proactive actions, including increasing inspections at industrial facilities along the Gulf Coast that are vulnerable to hurricanes; incorporating climate change adaptation measures into environmental permitting; and increasing enforcement on water systems that fail to comply with federal rules.