May 3, 2019: Light project action on the Houston City Hall building.
The letter was sent in response to Mayor Turner’s attempt to influence the federal permitting process for the controversial fracked gas project. In 2018, Turner sent a letter on behalf of the City of Houston and the Climate Mayors group to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) endorsing the fracked gas project, in which he falsely characterizes liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a solution to the climate crisis. Turner and his staff have met several times with NextDecade (the Houston-based company behind the export facility). Staff met with a delegation of residents from the Rio Grande Valley in May, but Mayor Turner did not attend that meeting, and his office has ignored repeated follow-up requests.
May 3, 2019: Rio Grande Valley delegation meeting at Houston City Hall with Mayor Turner’s Chief of Staff: Lara Cottingham, Andy Icken, and James Koski.
The proposed fracked gas project is facing tremendous opposition from the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe and the communities of the South Padre Island, Port Isabel, Laguna Vista, and Long Island Village that would be negatively affected by the project.
If built, Rio Grande LNG would threaten pristine wetlands and the habitat of the endangered ocelot. The company has also failed to consult with the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe, the Indigenous people of the region. It would be the second-largest fracked gas export terminal in North America, releasing more than eight million tons of greenhouse gas pollution per year, making it the biggest polluter in the Rio Grande Valley region.
May 3, 2019: Protest against Rio Grande LNG and the Rio Bravo Pipeline outside the corporate office of the parent company NextDecade, and across the street from Houston City Hall.
“I'm calling on Houston's Mayor Turner to drop his support for the Rio Grande LNG terminal, a dangerous fracked gas project opposed by the communities near South Padre Island that will face the destructive impacts,” said Bryan Parras, Houston Sierra Club organizer. “Residents opposing the project have met with Turner's chief of staff earlier this year, and he has not answered their request.”
“Our local economy is eco-tourism, fishing, and families that have traveled to experience a pristine South Padre Island beach unspoiled by the polluting fossil fuel industry,” said Terrie Nuñez, Laguna Vista. “I'm asking Mayor Turner to support our communities, as my Mayor does, and rescind his support for Rio Grande LNG."
Mayor Turner needs to live up to his responsibility as co-chair of Climate Mayors and to the people of Texas and withdraw support for destructive fracked gas export terminals near South Padre Island in the Rio Grande Valley. As the Mayor of the oil and gas hub of the nation, Turner should be doing his best to change the status quo of green-lighting projects that sacrifice Texans’ well-being for fossil fuel exports. He should be distancing himself from the industries that could give Houston another Harvey, not gas-lighting the communities that are mobilizing to see a truly clean energy future for Texas.
Organization Letter to Mayor Turner
October 23, 2019
To:
Mayor Sylvester Turner
James Koski, Deputy Chief of Staff
Andy Icken, Chief Development Officer
Lara Cottingham, Chief of Staff & Chief Sustainability Officer
Subject: Rescind Support for NextDecade’s Rio Grande LNG and Rio Bravo Pipeline Project
Dear Mayor Turner,
We, the undersigned organizations from across the Rio Grande Valley and Houston, write in opposition to the NextDecade company’s Rio Grande LNG and Rio Bravo Pipeline proposed for the Port of Brownsville. You submitted a letter of support for the Rio Grande LNG project to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in November 2018. We call on you to formally rescind your support for this LNG project to the FERC because of tremendous community opposition in the Rio Grande Valley. In addition, we call on you to demand FERC to weigh the impact that Rio Grande LNG will have on climate change and the cumulative impacts of the other two proposed projects, Annova LNG and Texas LNG, in their decision of the permits.
These proposed LNG terminals, fueled by fracking the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale, will worsen climate change, bring harmful local pollution and safety risks to the Rio Grande Valley, and threaten fragile, pristine ecosystems as well as sacred sites. As co-chair of Climate Mayors, many look to you for bold positive - not detrimental - action on climate change. We believe your support for fracked gas exports in the Rio Grande Valley - which will produce more than eight million tons of greenhouse gases per year - is counter to the mission of Climate Mayors.
We are aware that your staff had the opportunity to meet with residents of the Rio Grande Valley earlier this year and learn more about the opposition. The communities of South Padre Island, Port Isabel, Long Island Village, and Laguna Vista have all passed anti-LNG resolutions because these projects threaten their economies and ways of life. Please respect the decision these cities have made to oppose LNG because of the negative impacts on local businesses, public safety, and the environment. Furthermore, we call on you to ask these three LNG companies to do their due diligence and consult with the Carrizo Comecrudo Tribe of Texas and the community about indigenous remains at the proposed sites.
Enclosed is a letter you can reference to retract support for this project.
Sincerely,
Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas
350 Action
Air Alliance Houston
Another Gulf Is Possible
Bayou City Waterkeeper
Big Bend Defense Coalition
Caring for Pasadena Communities
Climate Justice Alliance
Coalition of Community Organizations (C.O.C.O)
Earthworks
Extinction Rebellion Houston
Greenpeace USA* (Signed on 10/24/2019)
H.O.M.E. Coalition
Houston Sunrise Movement
Indivisible Houston
Living Hope Wheelchair Association
St. Elizabeth Riebschlaeger, ccvi
Oil Change U.S.
Public Citizen
Rainforest Action Network
Sierra Club Lonestar Chapter
Society of Native Nations
Southwest Workers Union
Texas Appleseed
Texas Campaign for the Environment
Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services [t.e.j.a.s.]
Texas Grassroots Network
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
West Street Recovery