Port Arthur Residents Name For Civil Rights Probe Into How Texas Has Dealt with Air Air pollution In Their Neighborhood – Houston Public Media

The Oxbow factory in Port Arthur by night.

Port Arthur residents are calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to investigate whether Texas violated their civil rights by allowing a nearby facility for decades to pollute the air without the need for advanced pollution control technologies.

The petition, filed Wednesday by Lone Star Legal Aid and the Environmental Integrity Project on behalf of the Port Arthur Community Action Network, claims that the Texan Environmental Quality Commission has failed to adequately treat emissions from the Oxbow calciner and allow her to continue polluting high levels of sulfur dioxide.

“(The TCEQ is) responsible for protecting the Texas state population from harm from air pollution, and there is a failure at TCEQ to adequately regulate Oxbow’s harmful sulfur pollution,” said Colin Cox, an attorney with the Environmental Integrity Project. “The greatest harm from this failure hits the people of Port Arthur, who fall on a black, low-income neighborhood. And that’s a civil rights problem. “

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in federally funded programs. The petition alleges that TCEQ broke the law by not requiring Oxbow to introduce modern pollution control devices, such as scrubbers, which can remove up to 95% of sulfur dioxide and are common in modern facilities.

The petition points to a recent approval extension granted by the TCEQ in 2020 despite concerns from the community.

The petition not only calls on the EPA to open an investigation, but also requests that the TCEQ issue a stricter permit for the facility and require additional aerial surveillance, and that Oxbow hold a briefing with the community.

“The most important thing we want is to reduce their sulfur pollution,” said Cox. “It will have a huge impact on the air quality in the west side of Port Arthur and regionally.”

The TCEQ reached an agreement with the EPA earlier this year on a separate Title VI civil rights complaint alleging the agency was in breach Federal law by denying non-English speakers the opportunity to participate in the approval process.

The Texas Department of Transportation is also facing a Title VI complaint for its Houston I-45 expansion project, which is currently on hold while the federal government conducts its investigation.

The 85-year-old Port Arthur plant produces calcined petroleum coke, which is used to make aluminum. It is Jefferson County’s largest sulfur dioxide polluter, releasing more than 22 million pounds of sulfur dioxide annually, according to the latest EPA data.

Short-term exposure to sulfur dioxide can cause breathing difficulties such as wheezing and shortness of breath. It can also react with other compounds in the air to form particulate matter, which can also cause health problems such as decreased lung function.

“Everyone has the right to breathe clean air and live in a safe, clean environment,” said John Beard, founder of the Port Arthur Community Action Network. “And that’s just what doesn’t happen in Port Arthur in general and on the west side of Port Arthur where I live.”

According to the petition, almost 3,000 residents live within a five-kilometer radius of the plant. Of these residents living nearby, 98% are colored and 62% have a lower income.

Beard said he had seen firsthand how industrial pollution has affected his neighbors, and many said they felt like they had a cold that they couldn’t get rid of. With many residents on lower incomes, moving isn’t really an option, he said.

“You don’t have the ability to do this economically and get out of those areas. You’re basically stuck,” he said. “And they have to breathe polluted air that contains harmful particles that affect their heart, lungs and kidneys.”

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