July 20, 2018
Earlier this year, hundreds of local residents, as well as the Sierra Club, Texas Campaign for the Environment, and others, told the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) that the air pollution permit for what could be the world’s largest proposed ethane cracker was too weak and would not protect public health or the environment (background here).
On July 13th, TCEQ officially addressed those concerns -- as required by law. They grouped all of the comments into 30 major comments and responded to them. If you want the "tl;dr" (too long, didn't read) version, just skip to the last page (70): where they state “No changes to the draft permit have been made in response to public comment.”
In other words, none of the legitimate concerns raised by Texans living near the proposed site changed the minds at TCEQ about ExxonMobil’s proposed permit or the level of pollution it would allow.
If permitted and constructed, the ethane cracker would sit right amidst the cities of Gregory and Portland, near a local high school, and produce a variety of gas and plastic-related products - much of it intended for foreign markets. The proposed plant’s official name is GCGV Asset Holding LLC, is a joint venture between ExxonMobil and Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC). If permitted, it would release the following pollution:
particulate matter
nitrogen oxides
carbon monoxide
sulfur dioxide
hydrogen sulfide
ammonia
organic compounds
ethylene oxide
sulfuric acid
hazardous air pollutants
greenhouse gases
However, in a somewhat rare move, ExxonMobil asked that their proposed permit be directly referred to the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) for a potential contested case hearing. The Sierra Club is currently considering - along with many Texans and members in the area - how to best fight the proposed plant, proposed by one of the world’s most powerful companies.
Stay tuned.
Photo: GCGV Training Facility, Gregory, Texas. Courtesy of Bryan Parras