In a major ruling yesterday, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) turned down Valero Energy’s request, on bogus grounds, for a tax rebate that would have cost Texas school districts up to $93 million out of budgets already pushed to the brink by the disastrous results of the 2011 Texas Legislative session. State Senators Wendy Davis and Rodney Ellis were instrumental in applying the political pressure to TCEQ and released this statement celebrating the victory for Texas’ teachers, children, and hard pressed communities along the Gulf Coast:
Senators Wendy Davis and Rodney Ellis today commended the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) staff for protecting potentially hundreds of millions in public education funds from a flawed tax exemption request.
Following a call by Senators Davis and Ellis to protect Texas schools, TCEQ rejected a pollution control tax break request filed by a refinery company that failed to meet the statutory criteria of providing on-site environmental benefits. The tax exemption would have required a school district outside of Houston to refund tens of millions in tax dollars. It was a pivotal decision because dozens of similar requests remain pending.
“School districts across the state are certainly breathing a sigh of relief today that the TCEQ staff has not buckled under political pressure and that the agency is rejecting this request that would potentially bleed hundreds of millions from Texas classrooms,” Davis said. “We must fight for every dollar for our public schools, especially following the more than $5 billion in state funding cuts that are impacting our schoolchildren.”
Senators Davis and Ellis had called on TCEQ to reject the request because the company’s investment failed to meet the letter or spirit of a 1993 Texas constitutional amendment that allows for tax exemptions when companies install pollution control equipment that provide an on-site environmental benefit. Earlier this month, Senators Davis and Ellis submitted a formal request for an opinion from the Texas Attorney General to clarify the law. In their letter to the AG, they wrote that the request does not meet the statutory guidelines of the law because “... the equipment at issue provides no environmental benefit at or near the site.”
In communications with TCEQ and the Texas AG, Senators Davis and Ellis had said that San Antonio-based Valero Energy Corp.’s request, if approved, would require a school district just outside of Houston to cough up tens of millions of dollars. And the refinery company’s request before TCEQ could have had a broad impact on Texas school funding as dozens of other requests similar to Valero's remain pending.
The request that was rejected today by TCEQ staff was filed by Valero in 2007. It was already rejected once by the TCEQ staff. But that earlier recommendation was disregarded by Governor Perry's politically-appointed TCEQ Chairman Bryan Shaw, who asked the agency staff to re-evaluate Valero’s request. Shaw has been criticized as an industry ally. Perry has received the second-most donations in Texas from Valero - more than $147,000 from the company, its PAC and employees since 2004, according to the National Institute on Money in State Politics. Shaw has also stood with Perry in public denials of climate change being caused by humans and he was recently accused of censoring an environmental report on Galveston Bay by a Rice University oceanographer, removing any references to a causal connection between human activity and the rises in sea level or the changes in the climate.
Senators Davis and Ellis requested the AG opinion to clarify the intent and the application of the 1993 law in order to assure that Texas taxpayers and schoolchildren are not victimized by political maneuvering that would override the intentions of the constitutional amendment.
Lane Lewis, Democratic Chair for Senate District 15, was elected tonight as the next Harris County Democratic Party Chair. He will serve the remainder of Gerry Birnberg's term who had retired after the 2010 election. Lewis has also completed his filing as a candidate for HCDP chair on the April 2012 primary ballot.
"Words cannot express the profound sense of responsibility I feel right now," said Lewis moments after his election as HCDP Chair. "I am grateful so many fellow Democrats have entrusted me to lead during such a pivotal time. We have much work to do over the next several months to get our county and our candidates ready for the November 2012 election. This enormous task will take the work of current elected officials, precinct chairs and activists working in unison. My job will be to foster a new vision for our party and work to keep us all focused on our common goal."
During Lewis' acceptance speech, he spoke briefly about the direction and his vision for the party.
"A unified effort from every Democrat is the key to winning elections," Lewis said. "It's plain and simple. The middle class is under attack; the work we do in 2012 will be key to protecting the future and the promise that the American Dream provides."
Up to 200 school teachers, parents and children protested outside today’s Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) hearing in North Austin today against a proposed property tax rebate for Valero Energy which would refund up to $93 million in property taxes to the energy giant. The protesters claim that the funds would overwhelmingly come directly from local school district budgets that are already cash strapped due to over $4 billion in cuts to school funding during the last legislative session.
Patricia Gonzalez, Vice President of the Pasadena branch of the Texas Organzing Project (TOP), stated that Pasadena I.S.D. alone would be forced to repay $11.3 million and would lose a huge source of future school revenues. She added that several other refinery companies were waiting to file similar claims if Valero’s is successful. She implored the commissioners to deny the request, as they had in 2009, stating “everyone should pay their fair share.”
Jennifer Sylas of Houston said that HISD would lose $13.3 million from a district budget that has already seen the loss of such critical programs as buses, books for each individual student, and one on one help for students with dyslexia.
Despite the impassioned pleas from gulf coast residents in attendance, and the clearly audible chants from protesters outside, the three commissioners were unable to comment on this issue as their mandate prevents them from commenting on issues not in the current agenda. As the TCEQ’s general counsel put it, the Valero “matter is not ripe for consideration at this time.”
While their was no pronouncement on the Valero tax rebate issue, their were several other interesting issues up before the commission during the 3+ hour long hearing. One was a hearing request for a “major ammendment” of a Rio Grande Mining Company Texas Land Application Permit which would allow the mining company to directly discharge wastewater into state waters at a “daily average rate not to exceed 360,000 gallons per day” at a facility near Shafter Township in Presidio County. Presidio County Judge, Paul Hunt, argued, via letter, that the permit should be denied due to concerns about arsenic contamination, though the commission will let the hearing go forward.
The other major topic at hand was how the commission should interpret House Bill 2694 in the commissions rules. The law can be interpreted to deny the ability of state agencies to become conflicting parties in litigation, as I understand it. It could then, for instance, limit the ability of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Deparment from suing the Railroad Commission for threatening wilderness areas.
I will keep checking in with TCEQ to see if there are any new developments with the Valero case, or any of these other cases in the future.
Despite the crippling budget shortfalls afflicting Texas’s school districts and county budgets in the wake of the 2011 Legislative session, energy giant, Valero, has requested a $92 million property tax refund from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). Valero claims that this refund is due to them based on a 1993 consitutional amendment, proposition 2, that helps property owners comply with local pollution regulations by granting them property tax exemptions. This is a good law that requires owners to “provide an environmental benefit at the site.”
The problem here is that Valero’s proposed environmental improvements have nothing to do with reducing on or near site pollution. The exemptions would fund the installation of hydrotreaters at several of its Texas refineries. These hydrotreaters reduce the sulfur content of the gasoline produced so that it can be used in all modern automobiles. According to the TCEQ’s own staff, these hydrotreaters “do not provide an environmental benefit to the site.” In fact, according to TCEQ engineer Minor Hibbs they “actually increase pollution.”
(Last day to comment on this crucial issue, y'all! Also check out the awesome "Built to Spill" poster below the jump. - promoted by Katherine Haenschen)
The State Department is currently considering TransCanada's application for a Presidential Permit to build and operate the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. This massive pipeline would be the third and largest dedicated tar sands pipeline running between Canada and the US, and would deliver up to 900,000 barrels a day of this toxic oil from Canada to Texas.
Allowing TransCanada, a foreign company, to profit from a dirty and dangerous tar sands oil pipeline at the expense of of Americans' drinking water, food supply and economy is not in our national interest. Please stand up for our clean energy future and submit your public comment today.
Here's just a few reasons to oppose KXL:
Producing tar sands oil creates 3x more carbon pollution than conventional oil and will push our climate system past the tipping point. Also, the refining of tar sands oil will further threaten the public health of communities in Houston and Port Arthur.
Regarding water security, the first Keystone tar sands pipeline has already spilled 12 times in its first 12 months, and a recent study concludes this new KXL pipeline poses a major threat to our water supply, especially the Ogallala and Carrizo-Wilcox aquifers.
In addition to being bad environmental policy, there appears to be a conflict of interest between some officials in the State Department and TransCanada lobbyists and consultants. According to the New York Times, "The State Department assigned an important environmental impact study of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline to a company with financial ties to the pipeline operator, flouting the intent of a federal law meant to ensure an impartial environmental analysis of major projects."
There are many problems with bringing Canada's dirty oil to Texas, but we can still stop this mistake before it's too late.
(Thanks, Kuff! Houston readers, what are your thoughts on this November's elections? - promoted by Katherine Haenschen)
Howdy. This is Charles Kuffner from Off the Kuff, and I was asked by the fine folks at BOR to write an overview of the 2011 Houston municipal elections. What follows is my effort to summarize it all for you. For more information, please see my 2011 Election page, which contains links to interviews I have conducted with the candidates (more are to come), campaign finance reports, and endorsement lists. On to the overview...
The odious King Street Patriots(not patriots) are having the grand opening of their brand new headquarters up on 290 just south of I-610 ( 7232 Wynnwood Lane) on Monday, May 16, 2011. It's from 7-9 p.m. Here's a blog post about the opening. http://www.kingstreetpatriots....
RICK PERRY is coming to the event. We should welcome them and Gov. Goodhair with hundreds or thousands of protesters.
Early Tuesday morning, the Travis County Clerk's office conveyed 250 pieces of voting equipment to Harris County. Travis County Commissioners approved the loan agreement to help Harris County after its entire election inventory was lost in a warehouse fire on August 27.
Since the devastating fire destroyed all of that county's equipment, the Texas Secretary of State and counties across Texas have rallied to offer support for the voters of the state's largest county. Charles Kuffner noted the assistance in post last week remarking on the breadth of support.
The first batch of election equipment which totals 875 pieces comes from Ft. Bend and Tarrant County. Harris County has accepted assistance offers from 14 counties and one city. Together, the assisting counties are providing 2,146 pieces of electronic voting equipment and accessories, including 399 Judges Booth Controllers (JBC) 1,104 eSlates with booths and 278 Disabled Access Units with booths. Additionally, counties are providing 4,056 booths, 1,675 ballot boxes with accompanying locks and keys.
At this point, the assisting entities include Bexer, Brazoria, Comal, Dallas, Denton, Ft. Bend, Galveston, Gregg, Grimes, Jefferson, Lubbock, Montgomery, Travis, Tarrant and Wharton County, the City of Friendswood, and Arapahoe County in Colorado.
(Great live coverage from a big event in Houston. Broad coalition of Texans working for clean air and water! - promoted by Katherine Haenschen)
Hey all, We're live at the Discovery Green in Houston, moments from kicking off the Great Texas Clean Up Festival, what is being touted as the largest environmental event in Houston in decades. That's right, decades!
We'll be updating between acts and speakers, bringing you all the action and all the fun.
Juan Parras of Tejas (tejasbarrios.org) is calling the event a success before it even starts, simply because "it's brought a lot of people from a lot of different backgrounds together to fight for environmental justice."
The speakers' lineup is pretty long and pretty deep- expect some food for thought from Houston Director of Sustainability Laura Spanjian and Representative Ana Hernandez, representing a large portion of the Houston area. We'll give you their comments when they happen!
From the unverified rumor-mill: there are Tea Party protesters nearby.
From the verified rumor-mill: there's a woman working for BP public relations going around with a flip cam asking people if the entire oil industry should be penalized for the spill. Spin much? We're onto you, sister.
Note: It's currently 105 degrees, but we've still got a turnout from people concerned with cleaning up Texas and having a good time (at the same time, of course). We'll be right back!
BP has a long history of cutting corners and ignoring basic safety guidelines, and now the survivors of the Deepwater Horizon explosion are publicly confirming that BP ordered shortcuts on the day of the blast.
On a related matter, BP and the other oil companies are now proposing that tar sands oil production can help replace dangerous offshore drilling. This is a giant step in the wrong direction. The proposed Keystone XL pipeline would carry toxic tar sands oil across the Ogallala Aquifer and 32 Texas rivers and streams. Given the gulf oil disaster, can we really trust BP and the big oil companies when they claim that tar sands oil spills are unlikely?
The Houston Chronicle editorial board shines a spotlight on this controversy in today's paper:
But the process of approving new pipelines coming into this area must be undertaken with great care. We share the concerns of local Sierra Club officials that such care is not evident in the approval process for the proposed Trans- canada Keystone XL Pipeline, which has two destinations on the Texas Gulf Coast, one in east Houston and the other in Port Arthur.
We share their worry about proposals to use a thinner-than standard pipe (0.465 of an inch versus 0.515) and run the cargo through at higher-than-stan-dard pressures (80 percent of design strength versus 72 percent). Surely, concerns about cutting corners raised by the BP spill ought to mean a belt-and-suspenders approach on pipe thickness and pressures on this project.
And then there's the Keystone cargo itself: 500,000 barrels per day of heavy, high-sulfur tar sands crude from Canada. The Sierra Club folks say the refinery process for the tar sands could put air quality here at risk. Would it? We need to know. Hearings on the project are scheduled for 7 p.m. this evening in Channelview.
Please spread the word about the tar sands public hearing tonight, and let's make our voices heard and stop this mistake before it's too late. Refining tar sands oil causes 3x more air pollution than conventional oil, and it would further degrade our air quality in Texas.
If you can't attend tonight's hearing, then please go online and register your public comment before the July 2nd deadline. To learn more about the threat from tar sands pollution, go to the Sierra Club site or watch the video below.
