Join Your Neighbors at the Nueces County Courthouse Tomorrow Morning at 10AM!
The Contested Case Hearing challenging the issuance of the EXXON/SABIC Air Permit will begin at 10 AM tomorrow morning in the Central Jury Room on the first floor of the Nueces County Courthouse. An Administrative Law Judge from the State Office of Administrative Hearings will preside over the hearing.
This event is open to all members of the public.
This is the first step in a process that may last 6 months or longer. Citizens who are concerned about the health effects of small particulate matter, sulfuric acid mist, and other contaminants should attend to lend support to those who are challenging the permit.
The facility cannot be constructed until the air permit is granted. Everyone who opposed the water permit should oppose the air permit. Challenging the processes used in making the plastic pellets affects the air we breathe, the transport of the pellets, as well as the quality of the resultant effluent discharges into our bays.
Texas Campaign for the Environment (TCE) requested the contested case hearing and will fight the issuance of the air permits on behalf of its local members from Portland and Gregory. TCE is represented by attorneys from the non-profit Environmental Integrity Project. The Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club has also joined in the contested case hearing.
Any other groups or individuals can appear on Sept. 6 and ask to be a party to the contested case. You can do this with or without a lawyer. But, the contested case is a legal proceeding, similar to a trial that will proceed over many months and will take place mainly in Austin. The September 6 hearing at the Nueces County Courthouse is just the first step in that process.
Any person or group wishing to participate as a party in the case will be asked to demonstrate they are “affected” in a way that is not common to the general public. For example, close proximity to the proposed site, and respiratory problems of you or a family member could be relevant facts that the judge would consider.
Whether or not folks want to be a party to this case, your appearance at the hearing will give strength to those who are and will send Exxon and their Saudi partner a clear message this facility is a bad idea for our environment and delicate ecosystem.
Why Should I Attend the September 6 Hearing?
The Exxon/SABIC Air Permit will authorize the construction of a facility that will use 20-25 million gallons of water per day, emit thousands of tons of air pollutants, send 9-13 million gallons of warm industrial wastewater into Corpus Christi Bay, send unknown quantities of process and equipment runoff into Copano and Corpus Christi Bays, manufacture billions of polyethylene pellets that will most assuredly end up in our streams, estuaries and bays to be consumed by fish and birds alike, and construct a mile long railyard along 181 that is large enough to accommodate 1,000 railcars to transport these pellets to other nations to produce plastics to be distributed worldwide.
If one, or all, of these impacts concern you, you should attend the hearing to demonstrate support for the residents of Gregory and Portland, the Sierra Club and the Texas Campaign for the Environment who are challenging the permit. If you are a member of the Sierra Club, TCE, or any other group that is concerned with these issues, we hope you will attend. 10 am is not a great time for folks. But, there is no better time to demonstrate the growing concerns we all have to this facility’s impact on our environment and delicate ecosystem.
Located at the corner of Tancahua and Lipan, there is ample free parking at the Nueces County Courthouse. The central jury room is simply a large room on the first floor of the courthouse. You do not go through courthouse security.
Coming from Portland, just before 181 hits I-37, take the Tancahua St/Staples St exit to the right. Turn left on Tancahua. Do not go to Staples St as that has been closed for Harbor Bridge construction.
See you there!