The single worst incident in the San Antonio area last year was on May 8, when the Mars Production Facility, also owned by EOG, released 59,221 pounds of pollutants. Because of people like you, another world is possible. “Every single day in 2019, an industrial facility somewhere in Texas illegally polluted our air, and that’s maddening. “Their health compromised by years of exposure, these majority black and brown residents are highly susceptible to respiratory health issues. Unauthorized emission incidents resulted in 135 million pounds of illegal air pollution, according to a new report by Environment Texas. The report calls on EPA to eliminate the affirmative defense loophole and step up enforcement actions against violators. Then they eviscerated him: "Feast of falsehoods," "Pathetic lie after lie," "There's only words here." “It’s like they’re speeding and the cops out on the beat are not issuing any speeding tickets,” Levin said Wednesday. Backed by our members, Environment Texas is standing up to ExxonMobil and other polluters, pressing regulators to act, and taking legal action. The report shows how the state’s major cities compare in terms of air pollution caused by industrial malfunctions and maintenance. But Some Fear EPA Rollbacks. •  resources to help you create a cleaner, greener future. The event, which began during equipment startup at the plant on August 29, 2018, lasted for more than 5 days and emitted over 53 million pounds of carbon dioxide pollution – the equivalent of adding 369,000 passenger vehicles to the roads for that duration. Emergency response rushed injured workers to the hospital – some by ambulance, some by helicopter –and as the reports rolled in, officials counted a total of approximately 270 workers on-site that day. Houston-area petrochemical facilities violated clean air laws at least 405 times in 2015, illegally releasing 5 million pounds of pollution, including chemicals linked to asthma and cancer. Harris County, home to some of the largest polluters in the state, continues to prosecute polluters under the Clean Air Act. We need you. Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, The University of Texas M.D. Ilan Levin, associate director of The Environmental Integrity Project, said regulators such as the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality need to have stricter oversight of air pollution permits while penalizing polluters who violate the terms of those permits.

(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Congress should maintain, and increase, funding for enforcement by the EPA. Environment Texas is part of The Public Interest Network, which operates and supports organizations committed to a shared vision of a better world and a strategic approach to social change. Three metro areas of Texas are considered to be in "nonattainment" under the Clean Air Act, meaning they do not meet federal air quality standards because pollutant levels are too high: Houston/Galveston, Dallas/Fort Worth, and El Paso. According to the UT School of Public Health, children living within two miles of the heavily industrialized Houston Ship Channel face a 56% greater risk of contracting leukemia, which researchers link to oil refineries and chemical plants.