(Source: Corpus Christi Caller)
State District Judge Stephen Yelonsky recently ruled that Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) failed to follow the law when it issued an air permit to Las Brisas Energy Center for a 1320 MW power plant in Corpus Christi, Texas. Judge Yelonsky found that the permitting was “flawed”, “misleading” and “wrong” and that it violated the Clean Air Act air toxics standards for particulates, sulfur and hazardous air pollutants (HAP). The Las Brisas power plant would run on petroleum coke, a dirty solid byproduct of oil refineries that contains heavy metals and other hazardous impurities. Judge Yelonsky also pointed out that TCEQ failed to require Las Brisas to account for the storage of petroleum coke fuel before combustion.
Quintana Capital Group has provided much of the $3.2 Billion in funding for the project. Quintana is not only is trying to build this dirty plant, but it is also leading efforts to roll back health laws that protect our children.
Electricity providers, like Las Brisas, should understand that cheap electricity is not cheap. We pay for the dirty power in sick kids and medical bills. This power plant would be located in downtown Corpus Christi—within a mile of local schools, churches, and neighborhoods. The fact that Las Brisas tried to avoid complying with the law through legal technicalities shows an extraordinary degree of disregard for the most basic standards of health, safety, and community in Corpus Christi.
Here are the plant’s annual emissions according to their own TCEQ and EPA applications:
- Approximately 13 million tons of CO2 equivalent
- 68 tons of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs)
- 3,823 tons NOx
- 8,154 tons CO
- 283 tons VOCs
- 3004 tons PM
- 2901 tons PM10
- 10,480 tons SO2
- 1996 tons H2SO4141 tons ammonia
- 47 tons HCl
The electricity we need to power our homes and businesses should not come at cost of breathing clean air. This is a trade-off we do not have to make. We applaud the courage of State District Judge Stephen Yelonsky to apply and follow the law fairly, and call on TCEQ to fulfill its mandate, and protect Texas’ environment for our children and grandchildren.