Harris County officials to take legal action after TCEQ approves permit for concrete-crushing plant near LBJ Hospital
Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee announced that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality approved a permit for a concrete crushing facility to be built near LBJ Hospital. The action has prompted legal action from county officials.
Pollution lawsuits: Officials, community leaders call on Texas attorney general for action in high-profile cases
Several elected officials and community leaders gathered Tuesday morning to call on Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to move aggressively on several high-profile pollution cases impacting local communities.
Twitter feed alerts people to pollution problems
But, if youโre concerned about the dangers of pollution, there is a way you can track air pollution right on your phone. AdโWe were lacking some resources, yes,โ said Dr. Latrice Babin, director of the Harris County Pollution Control Services. Kuukibot: Pronounced โCookie botโNow, citizens are learning about a Twitter feed named Kuukibot, pronounced like cookie-bot, that robotically broadcasts air quality issues in short digestible burst via Twitter. New initiative with Harris County Precinct 2January Advisors is also working with Harris County Precinct 2 on a similar initiative. For now, though, Harris County Pollution Control does not appear to be onboard with January Advisorโs publicly facing Kuukibot.
3.5 million pounds of extra pollution released during the winter storm in Texas, reports say
TEXAS โ Fallout from the winter storm in Texas continues to roll in as plants and refineries that are required to self-report extra emissions, report millions of pounds of pollution during a period of forced shutdowns. In Harris County alone, plants, refineries and large industrial operations reported approximately 700,000 lbs. of extra emissions of various sorts, that are most commonly branded โpollutionโ. In Baytown, The Exxon Mobil Olefins plant emitted approximately 3.5 times more pollution during an 11-day period bracketing the winter storm, than during the Hurricane Harvey flooding event. The increased flaring, which causes the pollution, is a typical byproduct of shutdown and startup events at refineries and plants.
This Harris County Superfund site is โvulnerableโ to flooding
NBC News, the Texas Observer, and insideclimatenews.org have partnered for an extensive investigation into the role climate change is playing with Superfund sites across the U.S. He is convinced the EPA needs to revisit Superfund sites in areas prone to flooding, hurricanes and sea-level rise because these symptoms of climate change were never figured into Superfund site remediation plans. MAP: Superfund sites in Houston area (courtesy: NBC News)โAll of that overflows and it comes all over the properties,โ said John Barrett. AdPlan for major flooding eventsThe site has had a history of flooding; however, the site plans and selected remedy take those challenges into account. Iโm not familiar with this particular superfund site, but I have requested a briefing on it by the EPA.โ
8M pounds of pollutants released before and after Hurricane Laura but air quality monitors were taken offline
HOUSTON โ As Hurricane Laura barreled toward the Gulf Coast a few weeks ago, in and around Houston, plants and refineries scrambled to shut down. During the shutdown and restart process surrounding Hurricane Laura, energy companies reported to TCEQ (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality) that 8 million pounds of emissions were released in Harris, Brazoria, Jefferson and Orange counties. Thereโs some opinion there but hereโs a fact:During that exact same period that refineries shut down for Hurricane Laura, the state of Texas unplugged its air quality monitors in the stormโs path. Our stateโs version of the Environmental Protection Agency is the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). See what TCEQ did in response to Hurricane Laura.