• alerts on new threats to Texas' environment It’s clear we need to take firm action to force Texas’ biggest polluters to clean up their act. • opportunities to join other Texans on urgent actions About 3.8 million pounds of pollutants were released during 177 malfunction and maintenance incidents in this area in 2015. For example, ExxonMobil broke clean air laws at its Baytown oil refinery and chemical plant near Houston more than 4,000 times over five years—compounding Texas’ pollution problems and endangering the health of nearby residents. Trump challenged about Texas pollution in debate, New report: Illegal air pollution in Texas has doubled since 2015, Testimony on proposed changes to TCEQ Penalty Policy, TXE_Issue B- TX clean air project_Credit-Vladislav Gajic _shutterstock_38060851.jpg, METRONext: Cleaner, greener transportation for Houston, Enforcement against unauthorized pollution by state regulators all too often results in just a slap on the wrist. Congress should reject efforts to weaken or eliminate the ability of citizen groups to sue to enforce environmental laws when government agencies are not enforcing the law. Between April 15 and April 20, 2015, the BASF Total Fina Nafta Complex in Port Arthur, on the Texas-Louisiana border, released 13,065 pounds of cancer-causing benzene due to a cooling tower leak. 2. Texas’ air quality has made huge strides in the past few decades.
elemental heavy metal found naturally in the environment as well as in manufactured products Called by the Houston Chronicle one of the "toughest enforcers of clean-air laws in Texas," Environment Texas is taking a powerful stand against Texas' biggest air polluters.winning real results for clean air. According to TCEQ data analyzed by EIP, companies claimed the affirmative defense, a loophole which allows polluters to escape financial penalties if they meet certain criteria 97% of the time in 2018. Air Quality Has Improved Since Houstonians Have Been Forced Indoors. “Upon release to the public we will review the full study, but there is no doubt that the phenomenal growth of energy production in the Permian Basin, which has elevated the United States to become the world’s top oil and natural gas producer, is providing undeniable benefits to Texas in the form of abundant, reliable and affordable energy, hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs, and billions in state and local tax revenues,” said association spokeswoman Lauren Clay in a statement. While some of these malfunctions may be unavoidable, many breakdowns are the result of operator errors, poor plant design, and a lack of preventive maintenance. During a malfunction on February 2, 2015, the facility released 1,407 pounds of benzene over a 13 hour period, even though its state permit allows no more than 339 pounds. Under state law, Texas could collect more than $297 million in penalties for violations in 2018. Houston-area petrochemical facilities violated clean air laws at least 405 times in 2015, illegally releasing 5 million pounds of pollution, including chemicals linked to asthma and cancer. Help protect the places we love, the values we share, In our emails, sent once or twice a week, you'll receive: Austin: Last year, 32,142 pounds of air pollution were released by industries in 11 events in the Austin area. according to a new report by Environment Texas Research and Policy Center, Beaumont Gas to Gasoline Plant only opened in 2018, black smoke plumed over Houston for days after a fire in March, forced the evacuation of thousands the day before Thanksgiving, more than a dozen air quality safeguards for industrial facilities, EPA’s reinstatement of a policy which provides polluters an “affirmative defense”, modest improvements to the agency’s penalty policy, As Trump Threatens Postal Service Amid Pandemic, #SaveUSPS Urges Bulk Stamp Purchases and Congressional Action, Amplifying Food Supply Chain Concerns, 230+ Coronavirus Cases Close Down Top US Pork Producer, Trump and the GOP Don't Care About Your Grandchildren, Fine Print of RNC-Trump "Election Fraud" Fundraising Shows Half the Money Can Go to Pay Off Existing Campaign Debt, 'This Is a Grave Crime': Rep. Ilhan Omar Condemns Israeli 'Ethnic Cleansing' After IDF Destruction of Palestinian Hamlet, As Centrist House Democrats Attack Medicare for All, Fox News Poll Shows 72% of Voters Want 'Government-Run Healthcare Plan', Ocasio-Cortez Dismisses Centrist Attempts to Blame Left for Dem Losses, Calling on Party to Listen to Progressive Demands, 'Trump Is Trying to Steal the Election and Wall Street Is Silent', 'They Had One Job and They Blew It': Progressives Fire Back as Centrist Democrats in House Blame Left for Election Failures, As Trump Melts Down, Biden Campaign—Verging on Win—Says It Will Be 'Perfectly Capable of Escorting Trespassers' From White House.
Get more information on the Texas SIP and contact the TCEQ What is carbon monoxide? State and federal regulators need to start cracking down on this problem.”, Luke Metzger, Director of Environment Texas, said: “By their own admission, polluters in Texas are routinely and egregiously violating the law and endangering public health with unauthorized emissions. It doesn't work that way. But Some Fear EPA Rollbacks. A resident of Midland County, Texas filed a complaint with TCEQ on June 6, 2018, stating that “fracking across the street creates oily frac dust to settle on everything! "When you look at 2019, it's been a record year in all the wrong ways," Ramanan Krishnamoorti, the Chief Energy Officer at the University of Houston, said at a press conference.
AUSTIN -- More than 68 million pounds of mostly illegal air pollution poured from 679 facilities in Texas during 3,421 incidents of breakdowns and maintenance in 2015, according to a new report based on state records. The report, Breakdowns in Air Quality, by the Environmental Integrity Project and Environment Texas, ranks the state’s worst industrial sites in terms of air pollution releases during equipment malfunctions and maintenance. If you can help today—because every gift of every size matters—please do. Particulate matter is linked to a range of cardiovascular problems, including heart attacks, strokes, and congestive heart failure. 4. According to self-reported company data filed with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), the fire began when pressure in the facility’s reactor triggered a safety valve release, emitting over 2,000 Backed by our members, Environment Texas is standing up to the polluters and demanding they follow the law and stop polluting our air. In some cases, industries have successfully argued that they should not be fined by regulators for air pollution released during “malfunction incidents.” Some malfunctions continue for days or even months. • updates on the decisions that impact our environment Indoor Air Pollution. Corpus Christi: Corpus Christi is home to six major oil refineries and a large petrochemical complex, which are the primary contributors to air pollution from industrial breakdowns and maintenance.
We need you. But that breaks down to only about $11 per ton for the illegal pollution, which is a tiny fraction – one or two percent -- of the $567 to $842 per ton in health-related costs caused by the pollution, including for emergency room treatment of asthma and heart attacks, according to federal and state data and a widely used scientific model for estimating public health impacts. AUSTIN, Texas - During Thursday’s presidential debate, moderator Kristen Welker of NBC News asked President Donald Trump about information recently detailed in an Environment Texas Research and Policy Center report showing illegal air pollution in Texas has risen 155 percent since 2015.