Public meeting with EPA and Corps on June 22nd
HOUSTON — Concerned with the health and environmental risks connected to Port Houston’s $1 billion expansion of the Houston Ship Channel, known as Project 11, Healthy Port Communities Coalition representatives and legal and scientifc experts will gather for a day of meetings, presentations and tours with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Port, and the Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 6 on Thursday, June 22, 2023.
Media availability starts at 4 p.m. in Pleasantville at the Judson Robinson, Sr. Community Center at 1422 Ledwicke Street, 77029, following a schedule of presentations by community members from Channelview and Pasadena; discussion of the results of third-party soil testing by Environmental Defense Fund, Lone Star Legal Aid and Public Citizen; and a tour through Galena Park, Clinton Park and Pleasantville to sites the Army Corps is considering for the deposit of the dredge spoils from the project. (To see an interactive map of the sites, see website.)
Among those expected to be available to comment:
EPA Region 6
*Dr. Earthea Nance, Regional Administrator
*Iris Gonzalez, Chief of Staff
*Charles Maguire, Water Division Director
*Robert Houston, NEPA Division
*Gerardo Acosta, EJ Division
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
*Col. Rhett Blackmon
*Byron Williams
*Rob Thomas
*Brian Harper
*Chris Frabotta
*Carlos Tate
*Eric Schourek
Port of Houston
*Roger Guenther – Executive Director
* Charlie Jenkins – Chief Channel Infrastructure Officer
*Lori Brownell – Director, Channel Improvement
*Maria Aguirre – Director, Community Relations
City of Houston
*Mayor Sylvester Turner (invited)
Harris County Attorney’s Office
*Christian Menefee (invited)
The Healthy Port Communities Coalition (HPCC) is a coalition of nonprofit, community-driven organizations that work to create a healthier Houston by empowering residents to recognize local issues and advocate for their communities. Coalition members include Achieving Community Tasks Successfully, Air Alliance Houston, Bayou City Water keeper, Coalition of Community Organizations, East Harris County Empowerment Council, Environmental Community Advocates of Galena Park, Healthy Gulf, Public Citizen and THEA-Texas Health and Environment Alliance.