Media Contact:
Camila Ruiz Gallardo, camilarg@earthworksaction.org
BRAZORIA COUNTY, Texas — After years of organizing by residents and community groups based in Freeport, Surfside, Jones Creek, and surrounding Gulf Coast communities, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has vacated a critical federal approval for the Texas GulfLink crude oil export terminal, dealing a major blow to the controversial project.
Texas GulfLink, developed by Sentinel Midstream, would ship crude oil overseas from a deepwater port roughly 27 nautical miles off the Brazoria County coast, connected to an underwater pipeline and onshore tank farm proposed for Jones Creek. Local residents, public health professionals, and elected officials have long opposed the project, warning it would deepen air and water pollution in a county already in violation of pollution and federal ozone standards, threaten flood-zone safety at the tank farm site, and raise the risk of spills along the Texas coastline. Earlier this year, the project received a boost in federal financing tied to a trade arrangement with Japan, even as community opposition intensified.
In its ruling this week, the Fifth Circuit found that the Maritime Administration (MARAD) incorrectly approved the project’s “application area” under the Deepwater Port Act, which intersected with a pipeline connected to the neighboring Sea Port Oil Terminal. The court held that licensing two overlapping projects was a serious procedural failure and vacated MARAD’s Record of Decision, the primary federal authorization GulfLink needs to build. The Deepwater Port Act is intended to protect communities from this kind of error because of the massive scale of these projects.
Better Brazoria brought the case on behalf of Jones Creek and Freeport residents, and it represents a victory for the entire Gulf Coast.
“This decision is an important victory for Brazoria County communities, especially for residents of the Town of Jones Creek and City of Freeport, for lawful, transparent decision -making by the 5th Circuit Court”, said Melanie Oldham, executive director of Better Brazoria. “Federal agencies, such as MARAD, must follow the safeguards Congress established before approving major industrial oil/gas export projects off our Coast. Better Brazoria will continue to ensure community voices are heard and that any further agency proceedings fully comply with the law.”
“The court’s ruling reflects legal concerns that Better Brazoria and communities along the Texas Gulf Coast have raised for years,” said Allison Woolverton of Earthworks. “As the Trump Administration fast-tracks oil and gas projects, accelerating harms to communities, ecosystems, and the planet, we’re grateful that Gulflink may not be constructed. This ruling is a result of Texans coming together to protect their community.”
“This is a big victory, not only for the Brazoria County communities who would’ve been forced to live with this disaster waiting to happen, but also for plain ol’ common sense,” said Jeffrey Jacoby of Texas Campaign for the Environment. “We’re thrilled the courts have affirmed what residents have been saying all along: Gulflink is a terrible idea, in a terrible location, which very well could have had terrible consequences for Brazoria and the Gulf at large.”
“I have a happy heart seeing the 5th Circuit’s decision affirming the rules limiting one deepwater port and pipeline per area,” said Sue Page, of Brazoria County, Texas. “It is a relief to see that the court upholds the rule of law, standing with the people and not at the whim of a powerful government. Working as a Brazoria County community collective, we have helped to care for the residents and visitors in our area.”
“This court was right to uphold the law, and putting two of these massive export terminals so close to each other would have devastating impacts for Brazoria County communities, wildlife, and the Gulf of Mexico,” said Michael Brown, senior attorney at Earthjustice. “As the Administration and oil-and-gas corporations fast-track fossil fuel export projects, often acting as if the environmental or public health laws don’t exist, this decision is an important reminder that communities can still stand up and force major, polluting projects to follow the law.”
“This is a win for local residents of Jones Creek and Freeport who have been fighting for fair and transparent development in their communities,” said Riley Bennington, lifelong Brazoria County resident and lead organizer at Texas Campaign for the Environment. “Despite being told that Gulflink was a done deal, residents and community groups organized and exposed the rubber stamp process used to force this risky project on a community that doesn’t want it.”
“This decision is a necessary speed bump for corporate interests pushing to extract and ship fossil fuels regardless of the immense, harmful consequences,” said Devorah Ancel, Sierra Club senior attorney. “Invalidating the license for the Gulflink export terminal is a victory for clean air and water, the health of Gulf communities, and all the vulnerable wildlife affected by this project. The cumulative pollution impacts of this and other projects, like the similar massive Sea Port Oil Terminal, do not stand up to scrutiny, and it is our hope that we can stop the exorbitant flow of oil overseas that pollutes our environment and drives up energy prices.”
“This victory of ordinary citizens over a billion-dollar corporation proves that together we can halt projects that threaten our communities,” said Gary Witt, resident of Surfside Beach, Texas. “We do not have to accept government-approved projects that harm our way of life. We can fight back and win. Never has the Lincoln quote rang truer: ‘Of the people, by the people, and FOR the people.”
“This is a great win for the citizens of Jones Creek, Texas, and all the participants and the environmental groups,” said Manning Rollerson, executive director of Freeport Haven. “We are truly grateful.”
“This project would have been within seven miles of the approved Sea Port Oil Terminal; it would have posed significant environmental risks including oil spills, destruction of coastal wetlands, and threats to ecosystems and communities,” said Joanie Steinhaus, ocean program director for Turtle Island Restoration Network. “We are grateful for the court’s decision to vacate the record of decision and follow the law. This decision will prevent further entrenched fossil fuel dependency, increased pollution, and further damage to Gulf communities already facing climate disasters.”
The ruling strips GulfLink of its Deepwater Port Act License, though the project still holds separate Title V Clean Air Act permits. Earthworks, Better Brazoria, Turtle Island Restoration Network, Texas Campaign for the Environment, Earthjustice, Texas Community Law Partners, Sierra Club, and Center for Biological Diversity will keep monitoring the project and continue opposing any attempt to revive the license or advance construction while community and legal opposition remains.