Bay Area Sierra Club Meeting

Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Bay Area Community Center in Clear Lake Park
5002 NASA Parkway, 77586

Bay Area meetings are on 3rd Wednesday of the month and start at 6:30 pm for social hour; speaker and discussion are from 7-8:30 pm.

The program for the October 16 meeting is the petrochemical pollution crisis. Doug Peterson will be the speaker and will address the flood of petrochemical pollution issues in our region.

What can concerned citizens do to protect our families from the toxic health threats of the now routine petrochemical disasters near our homes?

Hurricane Harvey's widespread dangerous pollution was unknown and under reported for months because Governor Abbott suspended TCEQ regulations including reporting releases. It took Chronicle investigative reporting to identify the toxic chemicals released, including benzene, dioxin, butadiene, etc. Yet, floating tanks continue in use in part because a Texas State House committee chair tabled basic legislation to begin regulating the tanks, saying it would be bureaucratic. Imelda proves that such delay can not be accepted as climate change impacts accelerate.

In parallel, the petrochemical industry's explosive Permian-induced growth in multi-billion-dollar facilities, pipelines, transportation, tanks, and products in Houston and southeast Texas will double the industry's production, increasing, perhaps doubling, likelihood of accidents and toxic pollution. Major chemical toxic releases, like the Celanese explosion, occur on average every six weeks currently. For plastics development, 1/3 of 45 plant expansions or new plants seek permits to release a total 14,000 tons of pollution annually, a probable 40,000 ton baseline for additional accidental releases, proving the critical, immediate need for advanced safety systems and procedures.

Industry needs much better safety systems for much bigger, busier facilities and must take major preventative actions when frequent extreme storms loom. State and federal leaders should follow the lead of Harris County's new Commissioners Court addressing pollution problems with smart action instead of crippling EPA enforcement, suspending TCEQ regulations, ignoring dangerous risks.