(update) the oil industry in the gulf of mexico: a history of environmental injustices

7/31/2019 (Update) The Oil Industry in the Gulf of Mexico: A History of Environmental Injustices

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Much has happened since Southwest Workers Union released The Oil

Industry in the Gulf of Mexico: a History of Environmental Injusticesin

2003. The devastating hurricane season of 2005 altered the social,

physical and political landscape of the Gulf Coast as communities

struggle for survival and the basic human rights to return and rebuild.

Politicians and private developers seek to remake New Orleans with

the help of corporate welfare poorly disguised as government aid to

the region. In the name of energy security and job creation, weve

seen a push for more deep sea oil extraction in the Gulf, refinery

expansions and new power plants in communities already suffering

disproportionate impacts. Meanwhile major accidents in the industry

have demonstrated once again exactly how dangerous it is to work or

live near the petrochemical industry.

This update to SWUs 2003 report seeks to characterize the shiftingcontext of the energy industry in the Gulf, the devastating impacts of

climate change and racism, and provide a regional framework to

support movement-building and the strategic analysis of Gulf Coast

communities in resistance.

Executive Board

President:Nick Charles

Vice-President:Silvia Rosas

Secretary:Robert Alvarado

Co-Directors

Ch Lpez

Genaro L. Rendon

ProgramDeveloper

Ruben Solis

Research editor:Lara Cushing

This report was madepossible by theEnvironmental Justiceand Climate ChangeInitiative

September 2006

SOUTHWEST WORKERS UNION

Southwest Workers' Union

P.O. Box 830706San Antonio, TX 78283-0706

Phone: 210-299-2666Fax: 210-299-4009www.swunion.org


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A companion report to

The Oil Industry in the Gulf of Mexico: A History of Environmental

Injustices

A MAN-MADE DISASTER

1 New Orleans: No relief in sight

3 Indigenous and Immigrant Communities after the

Storms 3

4 Oil, Wind and Water

5 Hurricane Impacts in Mexico

6 Resistance and Reconstruction: the Grassroots Response

to Katrina

ENERGY INDUSTRY EXPANSIONS

6 Oil drilling

7 Refineries

8 Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)

9 Coal-fired Power plants

ACCIDENTS AS USUAL

10 Spotlight on Texas

10 Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana11 Mexicos ageing pipelines

THE PUSH TO PRIVATIZE IN MEXICO

PROFITS & POLITICS

TOWARDS CLIMATE JUSTICE


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A MAN-MADE DISASTER

On August 29th 2005, hurricaneKatrina hit the U.S. Gulf Coast with140 mph winds. Massive flooding andwind in Louisiana and Mississippi

leveled entire towns. Hundreds werekilled in the aftermath of the storm,as the federal governmentabandoned people for days withoutaid. In the weeks to follow,hurricanes Rita, Stan and Wilmawould decimate coastal Texas, SouthFlorida, Southern Mexico, and othernations of the Caribbean andCentral America.

These were no natural disasters.Climate change, oil industryoperations, and institutional andpersonal racism all interacted tocreate this tragedy for poor andpeople of color communities in theGulf Coast. The 2005 Atlantichurricane season was the most activeon record, with 27 major stormsincluding 14 hurricanes, five of thosebeing Category 5 storms. As seasurface temperatures in the Gulf ofMexico continue to warm, we willsee more such intense storm

seasons1,2

. That warming of seatemperatures is being accelerated bythe burning of fossil fuels, whichproduces the heat-trapping gasesthat fuel global warming.

Meanwhile, the intense extractionand shipping operations of the oiland gas industry have eroded themarshes, wetlands, and barrierislands that used to protect the GulfCoast from storm surges. Louisianasmarshes alone lose an average of 34

square miles per year, 90% of theannual wetland loss in the lower 48states3. Pipelines and shippingchannels are a big contributor tothat loss: 14,800 miles of pipeline and3,000 miles of navigation channelscriss-cross Louisianas coastalwetlands.4 Slicing through theswamps, these cuts bring salt waterinland that kills the grass and trees

needed to keep the wetlands fromeroding. Levees prevent MississippiRiver sediment from depositing andreplenishing wetland soils while thepumping of fossil fuels causes theland to submerge, leading toflooding. This destruction of thecoastline caused huge storm wavesfrom hurricanes Katrina and Rita tocrash directly into the Gulf Coast. InNew Orleans, the storm surge firstovertopped and then breachedmuch of the levee system, flooding

80% of the city, which remainedunderwater for over a month.

New Orleans: No relief in sight

The history of environmental racismis what led to the concentration ofthe petrochemical industry in theGulf Coast in the first place, wherepolluting facilities are most oftencited in poor people of colorcommunities. Similarly, African

American neighborhoods were theworst hit by the flooding of NewOrleans because they were locatedin lower-lying parts of the city. Theresponse to hurricane Katrina alsodemonstrated with painful claritythe depth of racism in the U.S.Those without the means toevacuate were abandoned in theflooded city for days. Tens ofthousands of evacuees (almost

exclusively black, in a city that wasover a quarter white) were herdedinto the Superdome and NewOrleans Convention Center withoutrelief supplies, medical care,adequate sewage systems, or basicsecurity. Many died waiting to berescued from the stifling heat,squalor and disease caused by lackof sanitation. Desperate survivorswho were searching for food wereaccused of looting. AfricanAmericans fleeing the storm were

turned away from towns, theirvehicles expropriated, survivalcamps destroyed, and even shot atby law enforcement5. Prisoners in theOrleans Parish Prison Tempelton III,again mostly people of colorimprisoned for petty offenses, wereabandoned in their locked cells forfour days as flood waters reachedchest level.6

14,800 miles of pipeline and 3,000 miles of navigation channels speed up

the erosion of the wetlands that used to protect Louisiana from storm

surges. These photos are of the Barataria Basin southwest of New Orleans

in 1945 (left) and 1998 (right). (1)

1


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The subsequent relief effort hasamounted to the massiveappropriation of AfricanAmerican-owned property,plundering by private-sectordevelopers and land-speculators,and the violent dismantling of the

one African-American politicalstronghold in the South. No effortwas made by government officialsto track where displaced peopleended up after their forcedrelocation meaning thatproperty can be more easily takenand residents evicted because theowners or renters supposedlycannot be located or contacted.Without affordable rentalproperties, loan refinancing orrebuilding assistance to deal with the

lack of insurance coverage, mostresidents in the hardest hit, African-American neighborhoods willpermanently loose their homes.Funds for rebuilding are beingdispersed based on the number ofresidents in a neighborhood andtheir ability to draw up their ownredevelopment plans. Poorcommunities without the means totravel back to New Orleans, muchless fix up their homes to a livablecondition or hire an urban planner,are being denied aid and insteadtargeted for razing and massive sell-offs to private developers.

What was a disaster for the residentsof the Gulf Coast was a hugebusiness opportunity for the oilindustry and large corporations.Within weeks of the disaster, lawyersfor the Murphy Oil refinery in St.Bernard Parish were offering to buyup homes in Meraux for a refinery

expansion. In an area alreadyhugely disproportionately impactedby industrial pollution, PresidentBush suspended environmentalregulations for new development.While people displaced by Katrinaare being denied the right of returnor any direct financial assistance torebuild their homes, the federal andstate governments are dolling out

huge give-aways to corporations.The majority of federal relief aidhas in fact gone to giant firms suchas KBR (a subsidiary of Halliburton)and the Shaw Group. Many of thelarge corporations that wereawarded federal clean-up andsecurity contracts have gotten awaywith massive fraud and profiteeringwhile insulating themselves fromworker abuse and poverty wageswith layers of subcontractors.Meanwhile, the Small BusinessAdministration denied loans to local

businesses and homeowners facingbankruptcy and foreclosures, whileallowing large corporations $2 billionin federal contracts and excludinglocal minority contractors. Less than17% of the money the Federal

Emergency Management Agencyhas awarded in contracts has goneto businesses headquartered inLouisiana, Mississippi, or Alabama,and only 1.5% went to minority-owned businesses.7

State officials have privatized thepublic schools in New Orleans, andthe teacher and sanitation workersunions have been dismantled. Incommunities desperately in need ofwell-paying jobs, Bush waived theDavis-Bacon provision that

requires federal governmentcontractors to pay the prevailingwage. This means that carpentersthat were once paid $13.42/hr inJefferson Parish, LA, for example,now only have to be paid federal

minimum wage of $5.15.Contractors are free toexploit migrant laborers,who are forced to workunder dire conditions forvery little pay becausethey lack legal protection.

This is an effort bydevelopers to pit AfricanAmerican residentsagainst Latino immigrantsfor scarce, low-paying,temporary jobs.

What is at stake in thereconstruction of NewOrleans? The forced

TURNING TRASH INTO GOLD

Ashbritt is one of many large companies that use

subcontracting to make big profit from federalrelief money. (4)

2

Oil and natural gas infrastructure in the path of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. (3)

Refineries

ii Crude Oil Terminals Federal Platforms


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relocation of thousands of people isdestroying the one African Americanpolitical stronghold in the South. Lessthan a year after Hurricane Katrina,the make-up of the city has reversedfrom more than 70% black toapproximately 70% white. In New

Orleans 2006 mayoral election,thousands of African Americanvoters were disenfranchised becauseno polls were established outside ofLouisiana, despite the fact that over80% of blacks were estimated to stillbe scattered in exile across thecountry (Iraqi citizens, though, wereable to vote in their countrys 2006elections from polls in the U.S.).Without the effective right to return,the black voices of New Orleans willbe drowned in the white majority ofthe electoral districts where theyrelocated.

Indigenous & Immigrant

Communities after the Storms

Up to 11,000 Native Americans inthe Louisiana coast lost their homesto hurricanes Katrina and Rita.8 Thetribes hardest hit in Louisiana werethe United Houma Nation, thePointe-au-Chien Tribe, the Isle de

Jean Charles Indian Band of Biloxi-Chitimasha, the Grand Caillou-Dulac Band and the Biloxi-Chitimasha Confederation ofMuskogees. Many of thesecommunities were already facingforced relocation as erosion andsubsidence, due to the activities ofthe oil and gas industry, floodedtheir traditional lands. Hurricane-

induced erosion of the barrier islandsonly made this worse; the Isle of JeanClaude, for example, now floods athigh tide. With land loss comes theloss of tradition and culture for thesenative communities.

The United Houma Nation wasone of the most impacted bythe storms. Over a thousandmembers of the United Houmacommunities were left homelessafter Katrina in lowerPalquemines, St. Bernard, andJefferson Parishes. HurricaneRita then pushed a huge stormsurge into the Houma bayoucommunities in LaFourche andTerrebonne parishes. 10,000homes were flooded in TerrebonneParish alone, and thousands in thesealready impoverished communities

lost their livelihoods as well.

The federal response has been one ofdenial and neglect. Many of thesmaller tribes, including the UnitedHouma Nation, are denied federalaid because they are not federallyrecognized. Many traditionalcommunity members speak French,

and are prevented by language andcultural barriers from navigating themountain of paperwork required toapply for FEMA aid.

The Vietnamese community in theGulf Coast region suffered heavily

from the storms and its aftermath.Many rely on shrimping for a living.Its been estimated that 4 out of 5shrimp boats in Port Arthur, TX weredestroyed during hurricane Rita, inan industry that has already beenhard hit by a declining shrimppopulation. The neighborhood ofNew Orleans East, the largestcommunity of VietnameseAmericans in the U.S., resisted thedumping of toxic waste from thedestroyed city into Chef Manteur

landfill. This waste included toxic

materials such as asbestos, electricalcomponents, paint, bleach, andmaterial contaminated with moldand petrochemicals. The landfill hadnone of the protective measures tocontain toxic waste, and wasapproved in a back-room dealwhere the private waste disposalcompany Waste Management Inc.promised the city a 22% kickbackfrom its revenue. After a longopposition struggle against thelandfill the community was able toget it closed.9

The Gulf Coasts undocumentedcommunities, including the largecommunity of Hondurans (many ofwhom emigrated after beingdisplaced 8 years ago by HurricaneMitch), Mexicans, Brazilians, andSalvadorians were denied any aid inthe wake of the hurricanes. The

Debris in front of a house on Isle de

Jean Charles, an indigenous

community heavily impacted by

hurricanes Katrina and Rita (6)

Residents of the primarily Vietnamese

community of New Orleans East stand up to

the landfill in their neighborhood designated

to accept toxic waste after Katrina. (7)

3


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Department of Homeland Securitythreatened to arrest and deport anyundocumented people seeking aid.The same agency then turnedaround and said that it would notpunish employers in the affectedregion who hire workers without thelegally required documents.

Latino, Native American, AfricanAmerican and other migrant

workers were lured from all over bythe promise of jobs to clean up andrebuild New Orleans in the wake ofthe storm. Forced to work long hoursin dangerous conditions withoutsafety equipment or healthinsurance, workers faced snakes,asbestos, and the toxic soup ofcontamination left by the floodwaters. They were systematicallyunderpaid or not paid at all for this

backbreaking labor, and major U.S.corporations on contract with thefederal government to rebuild NewOrleans have been sued forcheating thousands of immigrantsout of their already low wages.10Those that had come on H-2B guest

worker visas are not allowed to finda job with another employer, evenwhen they are not provided withthe amount of work or paypromised. Major U.S. companiesreaped huge profits from thesecrimes, while hiding behind layers ofcontractors and sub-contractors.11

Oil, Wind and Water

The oil industry also caused directdamage during hurricanes Katrina

and Rita. 600 toxic chemicalfacilities are located within the pathof Katrinas category 4 winds, andthe heavily industrialized towns ofBeaumont and Port Arthur, Texaswere amongst the hardest hit byHurricane Rita. It is commonpractice for these polluting industriesto intentionally dump chemicalsduring storms, when they will bediluted in the excess wastewaterand can go unreported. During theflooding, those pollutants no doubtended up in peoples homes, yards,schools and playgrounds. At least595 accidental spills of oil, naturalgas and other petrochemicals were

reported in the aftermaths ofhurricanes Katrina and Rita,dumping an estimated 9 milliongallons12. In one of the largest spillsever in Louisiana, 3.78 million gallonsof oil were released into the Cox Bay

southwest of New Orleans from theBass Enterprise Production Companyfacility. After flooding dislodged anabove-round storage tank at theMurphy Oil refinery, over 25,000barrels of crude oil were releasedinto the town of Meraux, LA,contaminating up to 10,000 homes.

The extent of leaks from off-shore oilplatforms and pipelines and theeffect on wildlife may never beknown. Over 2,000 platforms and

approximately 15,366 miles ofseafloor pipeline lay within the pathof hurricane-force winds. TheMineral Management Service hasreported that 457 pipelines were

Guest workers demand the pay

they were promised by Decatur

Hotels, LLC, one of New Orleans

largest hotel companies. (8)

4

150-200 migrant workers employed by

FEMA and the City of New Orleans

City are charged rent to live in this

makeshift encampment without running

water or electricity. (9)

The Chevron oil refinery in Empire, LA

sits underwater after Katrina. The third

largest oil spill of 991,000 gallons

occurred here in the aftermath of the

storm. (10)

(11) A toxic soup: Over 25% of soil samples taken in the five months after

Katrina from across New Orleans met the Environmental Protection

Agencys definition of hazardous waste, and over 90% of samples

contained toxic diesel fuel ingredients. Community soil sampling of

residential areas and a school playground in Chalmette and Meraux, LA,showed these toxins exceeded federal and state standards:

Heavy Metals Long-term Health EffectsArsenic bladder, skin, lung and other cancersCadmium cancer, kidney and bone damage

Chromium lung cancerSemi-Volatile Organic Compounds

Benzo(a)anthracene probable cancer agent

Benzo(b)fluoranthene possible cancer agent

Indeno(1 ,2,3-c,d)pyrene possible cancer agent

Benzo(a)pyrene probable cancer agent

Dibenzo(a,h)anthracene possible cancer agent


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damaged, 113 platforms destroyed,and six large oil spills released atleast 362,000 gallons into the Gulf inthe wake of Katrina and Rita13. Afull five months after Katrina shipswere still colliding with wrecked andsunken oil platforms, one crash

resulting in one of the Gulfs largestoil spills of between 1 and 3 milliongallons.14

Hurricane Impacts in Mexico

In early October 2005, hurricaneStan made landfall south ofVeracruz on the Gulf Coast of

Mexico, causing massive flooding,landslides and destruction insouthern Mexican, Guatemala, ElSalvador, Honduras, and Costa Rica.The regions indigenous communitieswere especially decimated by thestorms. Landslides aggravated bydeforestation buried hundreds in theGuatemalan highlands, where whole

villages were declared mass gravesand abandoned by governmentrescue forces. Some Mayancommunities in Guatemala refusedmilitary aid, haunted by memoriesof that same military massacringtheir people during the countrys 36-year civil war. Over 200,000 acresof corn in Veracruz State alone weredestroyed, and many campesin@s

faced famine aftertheir crops werewiped out. Threeweeks later,hurricane Wilma,the most intensestorm everrecorded in the

Gulf of Mexico,destroyed Mayancommunities onthe Yucatan coastbefore heading forCuba andFlorida.15Indigenouscommunities inthe municipality

of Tizimn were still underwater twoweeks after Wilma while Mexicanofficials rushed to rebuild the tourist

industry in the resort town ofCancn. Thousands of indigenous inthe highlands of Tapachula, Chiapashad yet to receive governmental aida month after Stan.15

200,000 hectares of farmland weredestroyed by the two storms andover half of the coffee, banana,papaya, and mango crops were lostin Southern Mexico.16 Facing famine,many farmers were forced tomigrate north in search of work.Their undocumented status andracism in the U.S. mean theseworkers face exploitation,harassment, and deplorable livingconditions.

Resistance and Reconstruction:

the Grassroots Response to

Katrina

Where the government failed, localcommunity-based organizations andfaith-based groups cared for theneeds of hurricane-displaced peopleand are building a movement forjust reconstruction. Despite the lackof electricity or sanitation services

and with their offices and recordsdestroyed, grassroots organizationsshifted their efforts to provide directrelief to their members. Forty-fivesuch organizations have cometogether in the wake of the stormsto form the Peoples Hurricane ReliefFund and Oversight Committee(PHRF) in order to build agrassroots, people-of-color ledreconstruction movement.

The failure of the U.S. government

to care for the poor and people ofcolor was broadcast internationallyand with the most searing brutalityduring the response to hurricanesKatrina & Rita. This tragedy must beseized as a catalyst for multi-racial,bottom-up organizing of a thirdReconstruction to lift up not onlythe Black community of NewOrleans, but the indigenous, urbanpoor, homeless, undocumented, andincarcerated communities.17Economic policies that pit workingclass African American communitiesagainst Latino immigrant laborersare a challenge to that vision, anddemonstrate the need for Black-Brown alliance building againstcommon systems of oppression. Themass immigrant mobilizations of thespring of 2006 have demonstratedthe power of the movement forimmigrant rights, and the potential

A tangle of underwater oil pipelines off the coast of

Louisiana (the green lines) lay directly in the path of

Hurricane Katrina. The black areas are oil slicks capturedin a satellite image from September 2, 2005.(13)

5

Katrina-related oil spills in Louisiana (12)

Bass Enterprises Production Company (Cox Bay) - 3.78 million gallons

Shell (Pilot Town) - 1.05 million gallons

Chevron (Empire) - 991,000 gallons

Murphy Oil Corporation (Meraux) - 819,000 gallonsBass Enterprises (Point a la Hache) - 461,000 gallons

Chevron (Port Fourchon) - 53,000 gallonsVenice Energy Services Company (Venice): 25,000 gallons

Shell Pipeline Oil (Nairn) - 13,440 gallons

Sundown Energy (West Potash) - 13,000 gallons


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that lies in Black-Brown solidarityorganizing.

ENERGY INDUSTRY

EXPANSIONS

2005s hurricane season clearlyillustrated how instrumental the GulfCoast is to the U.S.s petroleumsupply. 113 offshore oil platformswere destroyed during Katrina andRita, while the countrys refiningcapacity fell 28%. And yet beforeexisting infrastructure has even beenfully assessed for damages, dozens ofpermits to expand energy operationsin the region have been filed. Theexpansion effort by energy

corporations is taking advantage ofrelaxed environmental and laborregulations, weakened communityopposition as residents struggle tomeet basic needs in the wake of thestorms, and the political push for so-called energy independence asviolence rages in the Middle Eastand gas prices soar.

Oil drilling

The claim that the U.S. can ever drillitself to energy independence dies inthe face of a very basic truth: theU.S. uses a quarter of the crudepumped on the planet, yet it sitsatop just 3 percent of the worldsreserves. However, energy companyprofits over the last year havedemonstrated just how valuablethose dwindling barrels of oil,

violence in the Middle East, anddisasters in the Gulf Coast are to BigOil. With those kinds of profits atstake, oil companies are going toever greater lengths to exploit thelast existing reserves. For example,the giant oil rig Petronius, which is

co-owned by Chevron andMarathon Oil, cost over $500 millionto build. Taller than the SearsTower, Petronius wells boredownward through almost 1,800feet of seawater, a mile and a halfof rock, and then veer off laterallyunder the seabed for distances of upto 5 miles.18 Over 100 similargigantic rigs are operating in theGulf of Mexico and 45 of the 94exploration wells being drilled in theGulf in April 2006 were in water

depths of over 1,000 feet.19 Chevronsrecent announcement of thediscovery of 3-15 billion barrels overfive miles beneath the surface of theGulf is expected to create aresurgence of oil drilling in the Gulf.20This means even more oil moving

through the low-income and peopleof color communities living near oilindustry operations in the Gulf Coast.

The federal Mineral ManagementService is supporting the expansionin drilling by going ahead with leaseson over 42 million acres forexploration in the Western andCentral Gulf, without considering

hurricane damage to the coastalwetlands and oil infrastructure.Meanwhile, the U.S. House andSenate have passed bills that wouldopen up whole new sections of theGulf to drilling. These bills would liftmoratoriums that have been in

place for over 25 years in order to

protect coastal and fishingcommunities from the inevitablecontamination that accompaniesoffshore oil operations. Mexico hasalso announced a new era of oilexploration with the penetration ofa large deep sea oil field over 3miles below sea level. Drilling of thiswell off the coast of Veracruz willlead to more oil spills, further

impacting the fisheries, and bringmore oil into the heavily impactedcommunities living in and aroundCoatzacoalcos.

Refineries

CITGOs Lake Charles, Louisiana

refinery, which expanded itscapacity by 35% in 2005, is planninganother $1.3 billion post-hurricaneexpansion project. Expansions of the

Calcasieu Refinery in Lake Charlesand the ConocoPhillips refinery innearby Westlake are also planned.21All three refineries are in one of themost industrialized areas in thecountry, where 53 industrial facilitiespollute the water and air. Deathsfrom heart disease amongst residentsin nearby Mossville, an impoverishedAfrican American community, are

Workers wade through oil at Valeros

Port Arthur refinery, which was shut

for several weeks due to damage from

hurricane Rita. (16)

An oil rig beached on Dauphin Island

after hurricane Katrina (15)

6

Representative from over 30

organizations visit communities

ravished by hurricanes Katrina &

Rita to forge alliances to build

solutions from the ground up. (14)


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2.5 times higher than the nationalaverage. Cancer death rates are 1.6times higher than the rest of thenation, and residents also suffer froman incredibly high rate of nervoussystem, skin, and immune systemdisorders associated with toxic

chemical exposure.

22

Marathon announced plans for a$2.2 billion expansion of its refineryin Louisianas Cancer Alley

near Garyville, LA, just afterhurricane Katrina in October2005. The expansion will increaseMarathons refining capacity bynearly 75%.23 Other toxic industriesare following suit, with Dupontand Dow expanding existingoperations, and Dow proposing a

new vinyl plant for St. CharlesParish. Motiva has alreadyreceived large tax incentives toexpand its Norco refinery, and isconsidering expanding its Conventfacility as well.24 Hungry for industryin the wake of the hurricanes, localofficials are welcoming theexpansions with open arms despitethe huge disproportionate healthimpact for residents.25

In Shreveport, LA, Calumet

Lubricants & Waxes received apermit to re-start refining gasoline

and other petrochemical fuels inDecember 2005 despite publicprotest about the 235% increase intoxic air contaminants it will bring.

Chevron is finishing an expansion of

its Pascagoula, MS refinery, and is

considering another expansionproject that would boost refiningcapacity 60%. Chevron has alsoannounced it is consideringPascagoula for a new refinery andseparate liquefied natural gasproject, and asked the hurricane-ravaged state for $22 million toexpand access roads.26 This despite

the fact that industrial facilities here,including two Dow chemical plantsadjacent to Chevron refinery, wereflooded by over 14 foot storm wavesduring hurricane Katrina. Localresidents reported oil scum in their

yard and wells after the floods.27

In Port Arthur, TX, Motiva

Enterprises has proposed to morethan double its refining capacity,which would make it the largestrefinery in the nation. Emissionsincluding particulate matter,sulphur dioxide, sulphuric acid andcarbon monoxide would increaseby over 30%. At the same timeMotiva is fighting to get out ofpaying property taxes to the stateand local Port Arthur Independent

School District, insisting that its $3.8billion expansion project be valuedat less than 1% of its actual valuefor tax purposes. TotalPetrochemicals has proposed a

new $1 billion coker unit in PortArthur as well, and three large LNGterminals projects are being built inthe same area.28 Valero is nearlyfinished with a 30% increase in therefining capacity of its Port Arthurplant, and in 2003 finishedexpanding its Texas City refinery.29Industry is also pushing to expandthe Sabine-Neches Waterway toBeaumont, through which about

15% of thecrude oilsupplied torefineries eastof the Rockiesis delivered.30

Liquefied

Natural Gas

(LNG)

In addition tobeing a centerof the U.S. oilindustry, theGulf Coast isthe major hubfor U.S. naturalgas production,

In 2003 the Motiva refinery in Port

Arthur and neighboring Huntsman

chemical plant flared toxic

contaminants into the air of the

nearby El Vista community after therefinery lost power. Having a back-up

power supply is common safety

procedure. Motiva wants to double

the plants capacity. (17)

1. Altamira, Tapulipas

2. Port Pelican (Chevron Texaco)

3. Port Lavaca, TX (Calhoun LNG Gulf Coast LNG

Partners)

4. Beacon Port Clean Energy Terminal (ConocoPhillips)

5. Gulf Gateway Energy Bridge (Excelerate Energy)

6. Gulf Landing (Shell)

7. Main Pass McMoRan Exp.

8. Corpus Christi, TX (Ingelside Energy Occidental Energy

Ventures)

9. Corpus Christi, TX (Vista del Sol ExxonMobil)

10. Corpus Christi, TX (Cheniere LNG)

11. Sabine, TX (Golden Pass ErxxonMobil)

12. Port Arthur, TX (Sempra)

13. Freeport, TX (Cheniere/Freeport LNG Dev.)

14. Freeport, TX (Cheniere/Freeport LNG Dev. expansion)

15. Sabine, LA (Sabine Pass Cheniere LNG expansion)

16. Sabine, LA (Sabine Pass Cheniere LNG)

17. Cameron, LA (Creole Trail LNG Cheniere LNG)

18. Lake Charles, LA (Southern Union Trunkline LNG)

19. Hackberry, LA (Cameron LNG Sempra Energy)

20. Hackberry, LA (Cameron LNG Sempra Energy

expansion)

21. Pascagoula, MS (Gulf LNG Energy LLC)

22. Pascagoula, MS (Casotte Landing ChevronTexaco)

23. Bienville Offshore Energy Terminal TOPR

Existing and proposed LNG terminal projects

in the Gulf of Mexico (18)

Constructed

Approved

Proposed

7


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storage and distribution. A majorinitiative is under way to buildinfrastructure for receiving,processing, and storing liquefiednatural gas (LNG). LNG is naturalgas that has been super cooled intoa liquid, reducing its volume 600

times so that it can be transportedlong distances. LNG is imported from

overseas in giant tankers at -260F.It then has to be reheated into a gasin order to be transported throughpipelines to utility companies.

The three existing LNG terminals inthe Gulf Region are the Trunklineterminal in Lake Charles, LA, a

terminal in Peuelas, Puerto Rico,and the Gulf Gateway EnergyBridge offshore. Though the majormarkets for natural gas are theNortheast and California, 13 newterminals have already beenapproved for the Gulf and Texas,Louisiana and Tamaulipas coasts,more by far than any other region inthe U.S. Another eight have beenproposed. If all 21 are built, thatwould mean an over 10-fold increase

in the number of terminals, and ahuge expansion in the amount ofLNG received, re-heated, andtransported through the Gulf.Several new storage facilities havealso gotten approval, including oneto inject natural gas into salt cavernsin Calcasieu Parish, LA and two byExxon in Corpus Christi and PortArthur, TX.

What are theimpacts of LNG oncommunities? Thenatural gas industrylikes to portray gasas the clean fuel

because it has feweremissions whenburned than otherfossil fuels. However,like any giantindustrial facility,LNG terminals willbring huge increasesin the traffic thatcauses smog andrespiratory disease.Often offshore facilities areregulated as islands and their

impact on air quality in coastalcommunities does not have to beconsidered by regulators when theygrant permits. LNG can undergowhat is called rapid phase transitionwhen it comes into contact withwater. A huge explosion of energy isreleased as the liquid is instantlyconverted to gas. With LNGterminals necessarily come morenatural gas pipelines, and once theLNG is reheated, it is highlyflammable. Vapor clouds releasedin accidents can cause massive

vapor fires.

Offshore LNG terminals threatencommunities that depend on fishingbecause they harm sea life. Most ofthe offshore terminals proposedwould use a system for re-heatingthe gas called open loop. Billions ofgallons of warm sea water arepumped past tubes full of gas, killingmillions of plankton, fish eggs, and

other sea life that is essential tohealthy marine ecosystems. The coldwater, also contaminated with ableach-like cleansing agent, is thendumped back into the sea, withpotentially huge consequences forfisheries.

This giant, multi-billion dollarinvestment in LNG will do nothing to

stem global warming or lessen theU.S. reliance on fossil fuels. Just like

oil, natural gas is a finite fossil fuelthat releases greenhouse gases whenburned. In fact, LNG releases moregreenhouses than domestic naturalgas because it has a differentchemical composition.

Coal-fired power plants

New regulations and increasingnatural gas costs are creating a rashof new coal-fired power plants acrossthe country. Relaxed standards formercury pollution made cheap coalmore attractive for powercompanies, and the Energy PolicyAct of 2005 gave federal loanguarantees and over $3 billion infederal tax credits for dirty coal.Under orders from Governor RickPerry to fast-track approval for newpower plant construction, Texas iscurrently considering 17 new coal-burning power plants to be built inthe next 3-5 years. Texas already

leads the nation in mercury emissionsfrom power plants as well as inemissions of carbon dioxide thatcauses global warming31. Most of thepermitted or proposed plants areupwind of the Dallas-Fort Wortharea, which ranks as the U.S.s 8thsmoggiest city. Nitrogen oxides andvolatile organic compounds createthe ozone (smog) that leads to thenearly 450,000 people suffering

P er m i ts fo r 17 new c oa l- f i r ed pow er p lan ts a r e

be ing pushed th r ough no r m a l env i r onm en ta lregu la t ions by Texas Govern or Per ry s fas t -t r ac k ing o r de r . (19)

8

An LNG tanker moving into the

Calcasieu Ship Channel heading for an

LNG terminal south of Lake Charles,

LA. One modern tanker carries 20 times

the amount of LNG that incinerated a

one mile radius area of Cleveland in an

LNG accident in 1944.

(20) Health Impacts of Emissions from

Current Coal-Fired Power Plants in

Texas:

Deaths 1,160 / yearHeart Attacks 1,791 / year

Lung Cancer Deaths 144 / year

Asthma Attacks 33,987 / year

Hospital Admissions 1,105 / year

Asthma ER Visits 1,796 / year


11/15

from asthma in the Dallas-FortWorth area. 32 Power plants are amajor source of smog-causingpollution, and yet regulators are notconsidering the cumulative impactsof the 17 plants on smog.

Eleven of the Texas plants areproposed by TXU in an attempt tooutrun federal regulations on globalwarming pollution. Most industryanalysts expect the federalgovernment to regulate carbon

dioxide emissions in the future, andTXUs 11 new plants would begrandfathered in if they are builtbefore regulations are passed. Evenother utility companies are criticizingTXUs reckless plans that put theplanet at further risk from climatechange.33

A new coal-fired plant hasalready received approvaloutside San Antonio. CityPublic Service is building afourth plant at CalaverasLake, despite evidencethat conservation efforts

can reduce the citysenergy consumption byenough to offset theoutput of the new plant.23% of householdhouseholds in SanAntonios Southeast have

one or morefamily memberswho suffer fromasthma, and morestudents in theareas four school

districts have toreceive asthmamedication atschool than anyother sector of thecity.34

ACCIDENTS AS

USUAL

Releasing toxicsinto the air is

standardoperating procedure for the fossilfuel industry. Even so-called upsetsor accidental releases are actuallybusiness as usual for most refineriesand power plants and never makethe news. 7.6 million pounds ofpollution were released in Houstonarea upsets in 2003, on top of thehundreds of millions of pounds ofpollution allowed to be releasedunder state permits. 80% of thatupset pollution came from just

petrochemical plants, including theExxonMobil, BP, Citgo,ConocoPhillips and Valerorefineries.35 Several disasters werealso big enough to make headlinesover the last three years.

Spotlight on Texas

On March 23, 2005 multipleexplosions at British PetroleumsTexas City refinery killed 15 workersand injured over 150 others. Many ofthose killed were working intemporary work trailers placeddangerously closed to the unit at the

center of the blasts, which were solarge that they destroyed trailers upto 1,000 feet away and shatteredwindows in neighboring homes. TheTexas City plant had been on theOccupational Safety and HealthAgencys watch list for willfullyignoring employee safety standardsat the time of the disaster. SinceMarch 2004, four additionalincidents,including an explosion, fire, andmajor oil and gas leaks, killed two

workers and forced evacuations ofthe same facility.36

In January of this year, thick, oil-laden fog from ExxonMobils refineryin Baytown, Texas (the largest U.S.refinery), covered the neighboringArchia Courts public housingcomplex. Homes and cars werecoated in oil. ExxonMobil, the worldslargest and most profitablecorporation, failed to notify city,state or federal officials until 36hours after the leak started, andthen claimed the spill was containedon their property. At the same time,

TXU is in a rush to build 11 new power plants before the

government starts regulating greenhouse gas pollution.

Texas already leads the nation in mercury emissions from

power plants. This plant at Martin Lake, owned by TXU, is

the largest emitter of mercury in the country. (22)

Explosions at BPs Texas City

refinery in 2004 (23)

9

Carbon dioxide emissions, in millions of metric

tons. If Texas were a nation, it would rank 7th.

Data shown is for 2001. (21)


12/15

the company dispatched contractors

to start removing evidence of the oilfrom peoples homes and cars beforeregulators could show up.

The Houston Ship Channel wasclosed twice in 2004 due to spills ofthousands of gallons of

petrochemicals, and 33,000 gallonsspilled from another ship accidentinto the Neches River near PortArthur later that year. Pipelineaccidents in 2004 cause two menhad to be hospitalized and 4,000fish to die near the Flint HillsRefinery in Corpus Christi, andpoisoned the San Marcos Riveroutside Luling, Texas. Another63,000 gallons of crude spilled intothe Corpus Christi harbor from theValero and Citgo refineries in June

2006.

Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana

Over 4 billion gallons of waste oilwere leaked in a major incident inJune 2006 at the CITGO LakeCharles refinery and manufacturingcomplex. The oil spilled from over-filled storage tanks that becameflooded with rain and eventuallyflowed into the Calcasieu Ship

Channel. The Channel had to beclosed to ship traffic and marine lifewas severely threatened in thelargest oil spill in the area in over 20years. CITGO claimed air monitoringpicked up no harmful contaminantsin residential areas near the complexdespite admitting that benzene,ethyl benzene, toluene, and xyleneswere all present in the leaked oiland that the heat caused them tovaporize.37 At the same time, failuresat the plant caused repeated flaring

and sulfur dioxide emissions twice itspermit level in nine hours. Twomonths later, parts of the spill arestill being cleaned up.

MEXICOS AGEING PIPELINES

The pace of accidents in MexicosGulf Coast states has continued to

10

A plague of accidents from Mexicos ageing

pipelinesJune 2003 - February 2006

Compiled from multiple news sources


13/15

rise with Pemexs ageinginfrastructure. Ruptures andexplosions of natural gas and crudeoil pipelines cause dozens of

environmental emergencies eachyear in Veracruz State.38

Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz is a Pemexepicenter, where one refinery andfour chemical plants process 13.5million tones of petrochemicals everyyear and released over 114 millionpounds of pollution in 200439. Morethan 1500 fishers rely on theCoatzacoalcos River, one of the mostcontaminated rivers in the Americas,and have to fish through oil spillsbecause they have no other sourcesof livelihood.40

THE PUSH TO PRIVATIZE IN

MEXICO

Pemexs plague of disasters is beingused as further ammunition in thepush to privatize the oil industry inMexico by the administration ofVicente Fox. Pemex claims it isunable to dedicate funds to restoringits infrastructure because of the

federal governments high rate oftaxation (a third of Mexicos federalbudget comes from Pemex), andthat foreign private investment istherefore to only way to preventfurther accidents. Already, the rise ofContractos de Servicos Multiples, orMultiple Service Contracts (CSMs),has introduced private contractorsinto an industry that had been

whollyoperated byPemex andthe FederalPetroleumWorkersUnion

(STPRM) sincenationalization of theindustry in1938. CSMs arenowresponsible formost oilindustryactivity in

Campeche State, which has createda race to the bottom in terms ofwages and working conditions, with

contract workers making a fractionof what unionized workers make.41

Democratic union movements havearisen in response to the politicalhegemony and corruption of STPRMand the covert privatization ofPemex, and have faced violentrepression. The Union of ProfessionalWorkers in the Petroleum Industry(UNTCIP) officially formed in 2004.Included in its demands are a halt tothe privatization of Mexicos energyindustry, themeaningfulparticipation ofworkers and affectedcommunity membersin decision-making,and an energy policyfounded on atransition torenewable sources ofenergy.42 Despite thefailings of Pemex,

privatization ofMexicos oil industrywill only mean evenless accountability tocommunities andworkers.

PROFITS &

POLITICS

Who suffers when hurricanes shutdown oil production and causemassive spills at refineries, and warin the Middle East causes gas pricesto soar? Its not the oil companies.Big Oil made record-breaking profitsin 2005. ExxonMobil, the most

profitable company in the world,broke its own records with a $36.1billion in profit in 2005. The profit ofthe U.S.s largest refining company,Valero Energy, shot up 99% over its2004 level.43 The average price ofgas in the U.S. rose 23% in the sameyear. That increase is felt the hardestby low-income families: the poorest1/5 of U.S. households spend 5 timesmore on gas proportionately thando the richest 1/5.44

Politicians at the state and federallevel only worsen the situationbecause they take largecontributions from oil companies.Bushs Energy Policy Act of 2005gave away $2.6 billion in tax breaksto the oil and gas industry. As schooland health care systems face fiscalcrises, the Bush Administration alsolet oil and gas companies keep moreroyalties from domestic drilling. Thatis $7 billion in additional money overthe next five years for some of the

Fishermen try to clean up three weeks after the Dec 22, 2006 oil

spill in the Coatzacoalcos River. (24)

1112


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Coast. Accessed August 2006 atwww.corpwatch.org

8 October 10, 2005. Indian Tribes and Katrina:Overlooked by the federal government, relieforganizations and the corporate media.Democracy Now! Accesed August 2006 atwww.democracynow.org

9 Citizens for a Strong New Orleans East. August15, 2006. Press Release: Federal court denies

Waste Management an injunction to reopenthe Chef Menteur landfill. Accessed August2006 at www.saveneworleanseast.org

10 Southern Poverty Law Center. February 2,2006. Center seeks justice for Katrina's migrantworkers. www.splcenter.org

11 Southern Poverty Law Center Immigrant JusticeProject. Broken Levees, Broken Promises: NewOrleans migrant workers in their own words.Accessed August 2006 atwww.splcenter.org/pdf/static/IJPorleans.pdf

12 Cappiello, D. November 13, 2005. HurricaneAftermath. The Houston Chronicle, Section A,Pg. 1

13 Sayre, Alan. May 1, 2006. Agency: Katrina, Ritadestroyed 113 petroleum platforms. AssociatedPress Newswire.

14 Raines, Ben. January 29, 2006. Broken oil rigsdanger Gulf. The Press-Register.15 Villalba, Rodolfo y Luis A. Boffil. November 10,

2005. Persiste el abandono en zonas rurales deChiapas y Yucatn. La Jornada

16 Confederacin Nacional Campesina PressRelease. October 30, 2005. Plan de emergenciapara el campo, demanda la CNC.www.cnc.org.mx

17 Mann, Eric. 2005. Letter in Support of Supportof the Movement in New Orleans and the GulfCoast: Notes on strategy and tactics. FrontlinePress, Los Angeles, CA. www.frontlinepress.com

18 Salopek, Paul. July 29, 2006. A tank of oil, aworld of trouble - Chapter 1: the pay zone.Chicago Tribune.

19 Mineral Management Services. RegionalDirectors Message. Accessed July 2006 at

www.gomr.mms.gov/homepg/whoismms/regdir.html

20 Hensel, Bill. September 6, 2006. New oil fielddeep in the Gulf a potential giant. The HoustonChronicle

21 Wall, Karla. July 2006. Southwest LouisianaReport: post-hurricane growth spreads acrossregion. South Central Construction

22 Mossville Environmental Action Now, et al.Breathing Poison: the toxic costs of industries inCalcasieu Parish, Louisiana. Acccessed August2006 atwww.mapcruzin.com/mossville/reportondioxin.htm

23 Quinn, Steve. June 15, 2006. Bills passage hasTexas town eyeing new refinery. AssociatedPress.

24 March 2006. Taxing Problems. Oil and GasNews Vol. 23, No. 8

25 Bartels, Paul and Matt Scallan. July 16, 2006.industry expansion on upswing in River: bigplants have big plans to grow. The Times-Picayune.

26 Pender, Geoff. March 31, 2006. Chevronsurprise. The Sun Herald.

27 Duncan, Heather. Septemer 9, 2005. EPA:South Miss. Facoties escaped majorenvironmental impacts. The Sun Herald.

28 Rappleye, Christine. August 22, 2006. PortArthur poised for economic progress. TheBeaumont Enterprise.

29 Environmental Integrity Project. October 2005.Factsheet: Refining Capacity and Gasoline Price:Separating Fact from Fiction. Accessed August2006 atwww.environmentalintegrity.org/pub344.cfm

30 Myers, Ryan. July 21, 2006. Sabine-NechesWaterway accounts for $4.7 billion in income,84.000 jobs. The Beaumont Enterprise.

31 Environmental Integrity Project. July 2006. Dirty

Kilowatts: Americas most polluting powerplants.

32 American Lung Association. April 28, 2005.State of the Air 2005.

33 Smith, Rebecca. July 21, 2006. Burning debate:as emission restrictions loom, Texas utility betsbig on coal. The Wall Street Journal.

34 Song, Lisa. August 7, 2003. The toll of coal. SanAntonio Current

35 Cappiello, Dina. February 8, 2004. Study linksupset pollution to Houston smog. The HoustonChronicle

36 Lozana, Joan. August 11, 2005. Recent accidentsat BP plants raise safety concerns. AssociatedPress State and Local Wire.

37 Schmidt, Theresa. August 11, 2006. Citgo VPupdates spill. KPLC-TV. Accessed August 2006

at www.kplctv.com38 Kraul, C. January 28, 2005. Oil giant Pemexsspill makes a mess of livelihoods in Mexico. LosAngeles Times.

39 Cappiello, Dina. March 6, 2006. Testing theirown air. The Houston Chronicle.

40 Reyes, Mariusa. February 10, 2006. A lasombra del petrleo. BBCMundo.com

41 Zalik, Anna. 2006. Re-Regulating the MexicanGulf. Center for Latin American StudiesWorking & Policy Papers Series, the Regents ofthe University of California.

42 Unin Nacional de Trabajadores de Confianzade la Industria Petrolera, A.C. June 2006.Proyecto Alternativeo Integral para PEMEX.Nuevo Rumbo Petrolero Nmero 2.

43 Data from Hoovers www.hoovers.com44 Cooper, Mark. September 2005. The impact of

rising prices on household gasoline expenditures.Consumer Federation of America

45 Andrews, Edmund L. March 27, 2006. Vaguelaw and hard lobbying add up to billions for BigOil. New York Times.

46 Robison, Clay and Janet Elliot. August 25, 2006.Donations to Perry raise eyebrows. The HoustonChronicle

FIGURES & PHOTOGRAPHS

1.University of New Orleans & NationalGeographic 2. www.flickr.com/photos/ pavesina/ 3.American Petroleum Institute 4. King, Rita J.August 2006. Big, Easy Money: Disasterprofiteering on the American Gulf Coast.www.corpwatch.org 5.Four Directions SolidarityNetwork www.eswn.org 6. United Houma Nation

www.unitedhoumanation.org 7. Citizens for aStrong New Orleans Eastwww.saveneworleanseast.org 8.Southern PovertyLaw Center www.splcenter.org 9. New OrleansIndymedia http://nola.indymedia.org/ 10.Greenpeace International 11. National ResourcesDefense Council. February 23, 2006. Press Release:State, federal officials paper over toxiccontamination in New Orleans.www.nrdc.org/media/pressreleases/060223a.asp;and Subra, Wilma. October 25, 2005. Results ofsediment/sludge deposited by hurricane Katrinaon the residential area of Chalmette/ Meraux.http://labucketbrigade.org/press/ pr_102605.shtml.

Photo from Louisiana Bucket Brigade. 12. Llanos,Miguel. September 19, 2005. 44 oil spills found insoutheastern Louisiana. MSNBC http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9365607/ 13. Skytruth 200514. Marni Rosen and Penny Fujiko Willgerodt15.http://community.theolympian.com/albums/album310/TOPIX_HURRICANE_KATRINA_OIL.jpg 16. BBC Newshttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4273934.stm 17.

Hilton Kelley, C.I.D.A. 18. Federal EnergyRegulatory Commission 19. www.stopthecoalplant.org 20. Clear the Air "Dirty Power, Dirty Air". www.cleartheair.org/dirtypower/docs/dirtyAir.pdf 21. Energy Information Administrationand San Antonio Express News 22. EnvironmentalIntegrity Project. July 2006. Dirty Kilowatts:Americas most polluting power plants. 23. ChadGreen, Galveston County Daily News.24. MSNBC

(update) the oil industry in the gulf of mexico: a history of environmental injustices

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