On Nov. 8, 2023, the US Court of Appeals in New Orleans will hold oral argument on a challenge to the approval of a massive Gulf Coast deepwater oil export facility off the coast of Brazoria County, Texas. If built, the Sea Port Oil Terminal (SPOT) would be the largest offshore oil export terminal in the United States, allowing the export of 18% of US produced crude for the next 30 years. The project would encompass 140 miles of new pipelines, which pose a substantial risk of oil spills that threaten coastal and marine resources, including imperiled species of the Gulf. SPOT would generate ozone pollution that would exacerbate the region’s severely unhealthy air quality, and emit carbon emissions equivalent to operating more than 80 new coal-fired power plants.
Sierra Club senior attorney Devorah Ancel will argue the case on behalf of a broad coalition of community and environmental Petitioners. The groups will advance arguments that the Department of Transportation, charged with reviewing and licensing deepwater ports, failed to adequately assess the project’s significant oil spill and public health risks to communities and endangered and threatened species of the Gulf, including Leatherback sea turtles, sperm whales, and the 50 remaining Rice's whales.