research & news
TCE Fund Leadership Recognizes New Staff Union
Joint statement: Recently, TCE & TCE Fund staff initiated the formation of their own union—Texas Environmental Workers Union—affiliated with the Communications Workers of America. Management and the board members were pleased to sign a neutrality and voluntary recognition agreement with the union.
Indigenous Leaders in Texas Target Global Banks to Keep LNG Export Off of Sacred Land at the Port of Brownsville
Houston Chronicle: Since Congress lifted the oil export ban in 2015, three proposed LNG export facilities have fallen victim to the protest. But the war in Ukraine is an impetus for two remaining projects.
Four environmental advocacy groups, gas company settle Clean Air Act lawsuit
Odessa American: The Environmental Integrity Project, Sierra Club, Environment Texas, and Texas Campaign for the Environment reached an agreement with gas plant owner, DCP Operating Company, after the company agreed to make improvements that reduce gas flaring.
‘Significant interest’ leads TCEQ to schedule public meeting on Max Midstream’s air permit application
Victoria Advocate: If granted, the permit will allow Max Midstream to increase emissions of greenhouse gases measured in carbon dioxide equivalent by more than 100,000 tons per year.
The Corpus Christi Water Wars
Rolling Stone: A coalition of residents is trying to halt the region’s rapid industrial sprawl. The fight is now centered on the water supply for a massive new Exxon SABIC plastics plant in the drought-prone Texas city.
South Texas’ Indigenous tribes seek to block Moda Midstream’s terminal expansion
Corpus Christi Caller-Times: Moda Midstream’s plans to expand its crude oil export terminal in Ingleside could disturb a site sacred to the Indigenous Karankawa and other tribes in the Coastal Bend.
Environmentalists push back on Phillips 66’s offshore crude oil plant
Corpus Christi Caller-Times: Environmental groups say they will fight Phillips 66’s plans to build a Bluewater crude oil export terminal off the coast of Port Aransas.
Dallas Apartment Recycling Law Takes Effect
NBC News DFW: A 2018 law that requires landlords to make trash recycling available for tenants of apartments with eight units or more took effect Wednesday.
Missing the Mark
We examined the benchmarks for more than 80 pollutants in Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Missississippi, Oklahoma, Arkansas and at the federal level. We have found that Texas benchmarks are substantially weaker than those used in other nearby states. As a result, many sites that could be eligible for Superfund status in other states are not being remediated at all in Texas. Sites that do undergo cleanup in Texas may still be polluted at levels that would require more cleanup in other states.