Public Meeting Announced for Formosa Plastics Facility Expansion
Point Comfort, Tex. – Next month the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality will host a public meeting for a proposed off-channel reservoir at the Formosa Plastics petrochemical facility. The meeting will be held on September 24 at 7:00 PM at the Edna High School Auditorium at 1303 West Gayle Street, Edna, Texas.
This comes six months after the Lavaca Navidad River Authority was issued a draft permit from the TCEQ. The 2,500 acre reservoir will largely serve two customers: the City of Corpus Christi and Formosa Plastics, making way for a future expansion at the Point Comfort facility. Up to 25% of the amount of water going to Corpus Christi is for Gulf Coast Ventures, Exxon and SABIC.
Local fishing communities and environmental groups have voiced concerns for the impacts on the Matagorda Bay system, which spans approximately 352 square miles, and could suffer the removal of freshwater inflow and increase salinity in the bay. This environmentally sensitive area is important not only as an ecological resource, but for supporting economically significant fisheries. Research has shown that the plastic pellets are picking up mercury from the nearby Alcoa mercury superfund site in Lavaca Bay and becoming vectors to carry toxins across the bay.
In addition to those impacts, the nearby Formosa Plastics facility has a record of ongoing plastic pollution discharge into Lavaca Bay. In 2019, Formosa Plastics agreed to pay $50 million to settle the largest Clean Water Act citizen suit in U.S. history. As part of the settlement, Formosa Plastics agreed to zero discharge of plastic from the facility. Since June 2021, however, they’ve faced over 650 violations and have been fined over $20.5 million. Currently, their penalties are more than $1 million per month.
Last year, Diane Wilson of San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper and the International Monitor Formosa Plastics Alliance hosted an encampment and month-long hunger strike on site at the petrochemical facility in protest of the company’s ongoing public health violations around the world. Activists from environmental justice groups including RISE St. James, Justice for Formosa Victims, and Friends of the Earth are committed to holding Formosa Plastics accountable to their ongoing pollution in the U.S. and internationally.
“The bay is endangered and enough is enough!” said Diane Wilson, San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper.
“Exploitation of Mother Earth has gone on far too long. These corporations are not thinking of the imbalance they have caused to our bays,” said Love Sanchez, Corpus Christi resident, as well as Environmental Representative of the Karankawa Tribe of the Texas Gulf Coast & Co-founder of Indigenous Peoples of the Coastal Bend. “The people behind the projects that cause pollution in the water don’t care for the truth, they don’t listen to the data, they don’t live in alignment with our waters & land like we do. That is why they don’t care if this dredging project happens. Noone deserves to be a Sacrifice Zone. These waters are beautiful. They have life in it. People live off the land & water. This needs to stop.”
“Expanding the Texas facility is a bad investment for everyone,” said Paloma Henriques, campaigner at Friends of the Earth. “This proposal benefits no one, from the community and Lavaca Bay to Formosa Plastics and its financiers. TCEQ must wake up to the fact that plastics are a bad idea. Communities don’t want plastic production poisoning their air and water, consumers don’t want toxic products, and governments are increasing regulations.”
Members of the public may attend the meeting and submit comments (enter WRPERM 13728 in the search field) to voice opinions on the issue. For more information, contact the TCEQ District Clerk’s office at 512-239-3300.
Communications Contacts: Shaye Skiff, Friends of the Earth, [email protected]
Dan Lê, San Antonio Bay Waterkeeper, [email protected]
Love Sanchez, Indigenous Peoples of the Coastal Bend, [email protected]