From the Texas Tribune: Nearly all unplanned chemical releases in Texas go unpunished

Passing legislation is one thing. Enforcing it is another.

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On July 26, black clouds rose from flares at a Chevron Phillips chemical plant in Baytown after a power outage hit the plant and the surrounding area.

The company estimated in a preliminary report to the state that it released thousands of pounds of chemicals during the hourslong incident, including 17,500 pounds of carbon monoxide and 980 pounds and 280 pounds, respectively, of the carcinogens benzene and 1,3-butadiene.

It was one of 108 unplanned chemical releases, known as emissions events, the facility has reported since September 2015, records show. But only 11 of those leaks have been deemed illegal and resulted in penalties from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, or TCEQ.

Put another way, about 90% of the plant’s accidental releases have gone unpunished.

Chevron Phillips, it seems, has gotten off easy. But it’s not that simple.

Releases like Chevron Phillips’ may be smelly, unsightly and even terrifying, but not all exceed permitted limits and are illegal. It’s hard to know for sure because TCEQ data can be difficult to navigate. And in Texas, even polluters that break the rules often get the benefit of the doubt.

The TCEQ’s most recent enforcement report shows that Texas had 3,032 emissions events that unleashed a collective 39.4 million pounds of chemicals in fiscal year 2021, which ran from September 2020 through August 2021. TCEQ Executive Director Toby Baker concluded that only 23 of those releases were “excessive” and worthy of enforcement. (Fiscal year 2021 saw a relatively low number of events due to the pandemic-related economic slowdown; the year before there were 4,257.)

Relevant terms:

- Chevron Phillips chemical plant
- Baytown
- emissions events
- penalties
- Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
- permitted limits
- TCEQ Executive Director Toby Baker
- Nikos Zirogiannis, a professor of environmental economics
- Indiana University
- Public Health Watch
- agency enforcement records
- affirmative defense
- Texas Sunset Advisory Commission
- voluntary, proactive compliance
- spokesperson for the TCEQ
- industry groups and events
- standard processes
- Harris County
- Galena Park
- Harris County Pollution Control Services
- University of California, Berkeley
- offset credits