By David Taylor / Managing Editor
Equistar Chemicals LP (LyondellBassell) has applied to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for an air quality permit to construct a new Ethylene Derivatives Unit at 8280 Sheldon Road, in Channelview and some residents aren’t happy about it.
The state agency will host a community meeting on Tuesday night at 7 in the Monument Room on the second floor of the Student Building on the campus of San Jacinto College North to hear comments from the community on their feelings about the plant’s responsiveness, responsible behavior, and reasons to allow or deny the permit.
TCEQ can either approve, amend, or deny the permit, but according to Air Alliance Houston, the agency rarely denies the permits.
“We just want them to be responsible and do the right thing for the community,” said Reem Tariq, environmental justice outreach coordinator.
A permit is required for the plant to begin construction.
The environmental organization claims LyondellBassell has committed a total of 78 violations since 2019 including several failures to prevent unauthorized emissions, several failures to maintain efficient flaring combustion, failure to notify National Response Center of release, failure to prevent exceedance of ammonia, NOX, failure to monitor fenceline benzene, failure to conduct regular sampling, calibration, inspections, and compliance tests, and leaking equipment, excessive flaring, poor maintenance practices.
In 2019, AAH alleges they committed 9 offenses, 19 in 2020, one in 2021, 11 in 2022, 16 in 2023, 13 in 2024, and 9 so far this year.
No LyondellBassell representative was at the meeting or available to comment on the allegations at the late night meeting.
Some residents at a meeting on Thursday night of the Channelview Health and Improvement Coalition were angry to learn that some of the settlement fines and penalties assessed to LyondellBassell in a 2024 violation was given to one of the state’s richest districts instead of nearby Channelview ISD. The Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) request was to pay $21,900 to the third-party administrator Barbers Hill ISD for their Alternative Fuel School Bus Replacement program (the “Project”). The Project is to reduce carbon monoxide (“CO”), nitrogen oxides (“NO”), particulate matter (“PM”), and volatile organic compounds (“VOCs”) emissions by replacing older school buses with new propane-fueled buses.
AAH was also concerned about the near $104 million in tax breaks that LyondellBassell has received, not including another $75 million-plus for Equistar.
The 2,200-plus residents who live within 2 miles of the plant have higher rates of asthma, cancer, heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lower life expectancy according to AAH, though they failed to provide a connection to the emissions.
The environmentalists say LyondellBassell is a well-known polluter and want TCEQ to deny the permit due to health and pollution impacts.
“They can’t even manage what they have right now,” they said.
If not denied, they want the permit to be strengthened with stricter pollution controls to hold Equistar accountable as a responsible neighbor. They also want to require fenceline air monitoring with open access to community members.
The community has a right to question LyondellBassell representatives at the meeting and the TCEQ and address them directly.
The meeting is open to anyone in the community and no ID is necessary or personal information needs to be shared. Security will be present at the meeting.
All speakers are required to sign up when they arrive.
To report complaints or concerns from odors, smoke, or other environmental hazards from concrete batch plants or industrial facilities, go to pcs.harriscountytx.gov and click on PCS Complaint Form. For emergencies, call 713-920-2831 for chemical spills, strong fumes, visible dust clouds, etc.
HERE’S THE PERMIT:
