TCEQ permits one Gulf Coast plant, fines another
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality issued a pair of decisions this week impacting the oil and gas industry on Texas’ Gulf Coast.
During a phone conference on Wednesday, the TCEQ granted an air quality permit to Annova LNG, one of three proposed liquefied natural gas facilities at the Port of Brownsville. It did so despite objections of the nearby cities of Port Isabel and South Padre Island, which wanted a hearing over possible pollution from the facility and are worried about the LNG industry’s impact on the tourism and fishing industries.
The TCEQ’s three commissioners denied the hearing request, saying it wasn’t filed timely. They also rejected a number of requests for a hearing made by nearby community members, saying all lived too far from the facility to qualify.
Annova LNG, which is majority owned by Exelon Corp., plans to build a facility that is capable of exporting 6 metric tons of LNG per year. It has already won FERC approval and is looking to have its final investment decision made by the end of the year, a company spokesperson said.
Also on Wednesday, the TCEQ issued a $600,000 fine against Buckeye Texas Processing LLC. The commission fined Buckeye for air quality violations at its Corpus Christi refinery. Between 2016 and 2018, Buckeye operated the refinery without a federal permit and several times exceeded the state limits on air pollution, according to the TCEQ. Half the money collected by the agency will be given to the Texas Association of Resource Conservation and Development Areas in order to repair or replace public water systems.
