"Flaring pollutes our air, warms our climate, and puts our health at risk. Giant balls of fire in the sky should not be a part of business as usual," said Emma Pabst, Global Warming Solutions Advocate with Environment Texas.
AUSTIN -- The Railroad Commission of Texas is set to approve 11 new permits to vent and flare gas today. The permits, which appear on the consent agenda for their September 1 meeting, come amid calls from environmentalists to end routine flaring and venting by 2025.
Ahead of Hurricane Laura, a number of facilities in Texas shut down, a process that requires releasing hazardous pollutants. The companies that run those plants, including Motiva Chemicals, told the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) that they planned to emit over 4 million pounds of pollution collectively. Early this morning, Motiva, restarting its facility in Port Arthur, Texas, said that it would release nearly 49,000 pounds of pollution.
AUSTIN -- A massive fire and explosion broke out this morning along refinery row in Corpus Christi, Texas. This fire follows fires at a Poly-America plastic manufacturing plant in Dallas and Pasadena Refining Systems near Houston earlier this week. Officials say a barge hit the pipeline, causing the explosion and fire.
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