All along the Texas Gulf Coast, fossil fuel and petrochemical giants are proposing to expand or build major new facilities that not only pollute the air and water in our communities, but also put our global climate at risk.
The Coastal Bend region in particular is under assault by a rogue’s gallery of fossil fuel and petrochemical profiteers, and no place more so than San Patricio County, where some of the state’s (and world’s) biggest polluters operate.
The letter pauses MARAD’s review process while regulators seek additional information about the project’s possible impacts on water, climate change and animal habitats. Bluewater Texas is the focus of intense opposition from Coastal Bend residents alarmed by the project’s draft air pollution permit, which would make it the largest single emitter of harmful VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and Benzine in the United States. The project would be located just 17 miles off the coast of San Patricio County. Stay tuned...
Breaking news! The U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) has put the proposed Bluewater Texas offshore crude oil export terminal in time-out. With regulatory authority over the Gulf, MARAD has issued a “Stop Clock” letter to Phillips 66, a partner in the plan to build a massive new deepwater terminal capable of loading over a million barrels of crude oil per day onto ‘supertanker’ carrier ships.
County Judge David Krebs
(Incumbent running for reelection)
235 Terlingua
Portland, TX 78374
361-364-9301
david.krebs@co.san-patricio.tx.us
For years these companies have put the health, safety, culture and livability of our communities at risk, while draining local resources and short-changing local government. For example:
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The ExxonMobil/SABIC plastics plant in Portland. Not only does the plant use almost as much water as all San Patricio County residents and businesses combined, it’s also allowed to dump 9.3 million gallons of industrial wastewater and 1,400 pounds of oil and grease into Corpus Christi Bay every day!
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Cheniere’s LNG plant on the La Quinta Channel, which releases hundreds of pounds of pollutants into the air every time its flare is lit, including volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide. For the privilege of breathing it all in, local taxpayers get shortchanged by Cheniere’s $857 million tax break, robbing us of much-needed funding for local public services like road repairs and emergency services. Now the company wants to expand production – and pollution – by 50%!
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Enbridge’s $3 billion acquisition of the Moda Ingleside Energy Center, the largest crude oil export hub in North America. Bringing its long history of trampling on Indigenous communities to San Patricio County, Enbridge is proposing to expand the facility onto ancestral land of the Karankawa Kadla Tribe, where it is believed thousands of cultural artifacts remain.
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Trafigura’s proposed massive offshore crude oil export terminal, Bluewater Texas, with an onshore tank farm located near Taft and new oil pipelines running through Redfish Bay. The draft air pollution for the project (which could load ‘supertanker’ carrier ships with over a million barrels of crude oil per day) would allow scandal-ridden Trafigura to emit more volatile organic compounds than any other polluter in the country!
This is to say nothing of the risk of siting fossil fuel and petrochemical facilities near schools and delicate ecosystems in hurricane-prone areas!
Our public officials should be doing everything in their power to hold corporate polluters accountable. But instead, local governments in the Coastal Bend have bent over backwards to give them billions of dollars in tax breaks and subsidies, while Port leaders have enthusiastically paved the way for their rapid expansion.
Now the City and Port of Corpus Christi are out to give Coastal Bend polluters their biggest subsidy yet – taxpayer-funded desalinated baywater. In fact there are FIVE proposed baywater desalination plants on the drawing board, all of which would serve industrial development.
If they’re built, it won’t just mean higher water bills and taxes for residents, but also potential catastrophe for the Corpus Christi Bay. Why? Try billions of gallons per year of salty wastewater discharged into the bay, polluting wetlands that serve as the spawning ground and habitat for shrimp, crabs, fish, birds and turtles. With the potential impact on fishing and tourism, what’s on the line is a lot more than bills and taxes – it’s families' entire livelihoods, and our region's entire way of life.
That’s why San Patricio County residents, and communities throughout the Coastal Bend region, are coming together to DEMAND that our local officials protect us from industrial polluters – and from the Desal Disaster planned for their benefit.
Please, contact our County leaders TODAY and ask them to commit to holding polluters accountable; to commit to ending the practice of giving local tax breaks for fossil fuel and petrochemical corporations; and to commit to STOPPING all five of the proposed baywater desalination plants. Tell them: it’s our bay and our say!
Commissioner Gary Moore
Precinct 2, Portland
(Incumbent running for reelection)
604 E. Broadway Blvd.
Portland, TX 78374
361-587-3630
gary.moore@co.san-patricio.tx.us
Commissioner Howard Gillespie
Precinct 2, Ingleside on the Bay
801 Sandpiper
Ingleside on the Bay, TX 78362
361-758-5276
howard.gillespie@co.san-patricio.tx.us
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Rudy Davila
(County Judge Candidate)
515 W George St
Sinton, TX 78387
361-364-4835
Tom Yardley
(Commissioner Pct. 2 Candidate)
102 E Janin Circle
Portland, TX 78374
361-813-2784
tom.yardley.portland.tx@gmail.com
Corpus Office: 361-400-0314