The NPF judges said: “The Houston Chronicle investigation broke new ground about the dangers of chemical plants and storage facilities and packaged it in a way that showed this to be a significant problem. The Chronicle reported that federal agencies are under-funded and under-resourced, and the federal void leaves oversight to a patchwork of often inadequate state and local regulators. The Chronicle also created an interactive tool that allows readers to look up chemical facilities that exist in their own backyards.”

From left to right: Matt Dempsey, Susan Carroll, Mark Collette and Michael Ciaglo

Susan Carroll is a reporter on the Chronicle’s investigative team. She joined the Chronicle a decade ago after covering the U.S.-Mexico border for the Arizona Republic and the Tucson Citizen.

Michael Ciaglo is a staff photographer at the Houston Chronicle. He previously worked at the Colorado Springs Gazette, where he was the lead photographer on the Other than Honorable series that won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting.

Mark Collette is an investigative reporter for the Houston Chronicle. He also has been a staff writer for the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Galveston County Daily News and Tyler Morning Telegraph.

Matt Dempsey is the data reporter for the Chronicle’s projects team. He joined the Chronicle in 2014. Matt previously worked for the Arizona Republic and Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

2016 The Feddie Reporting Award
Matt Dempsey, Susan Carroll, Mark Collette, Michael Ciaglo / Houston Chronicle