Governor Perry’s political appointees at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) have gotten Texas into an environmental mess – threatening the health of Texas citizens and putting good Texas jobs at risk.  Currently, there are 12 proposed coal and pet-coke plants in our state, the Las Brisas Energy Center, in Corpus Christi, Texas being one such project. 

Las Brisas has proposed to build its 1200 MW pet coke plant in Nueces County, an area already plagued with environmental and health problems. A minimum of 3 million gallons of water per day, from an area of the state that is prone to prolonged droughts, will be necessary to operate this facility. Air quality will depreciate as 220 pounds of mercury, 100 pounds of lead, 8,096 pounds of sulfur dioxide, and 1,767 tons of particulate matter will be emitted from the plant on a yearly basis. Governor Perry’s TCEQ has been thumbing its nose at the federal Clean Air Act for years by issuing air permits that do not adhere to the Clean Air Act.  In the case of Las Brisas,  TCEQ officials have expressly stated that a case by case MACT analysis is not needed for this plant. That means that TCEQ is letting Las Brisas pollute at greater quantities and with less oversight.

The governor-appointed TCEQ granted Las Brisas its air permit, even though a panel of independent administrative law judges recommended denial-twice.

Nobody is above the law. Ask the EPA to enforce the Clean Air Act and ensure that Las Brisas does not become a reality.