Media Contact:
Rebekah Staub, Earthworks, rstaub@earthworks.org
WASHINGTON — Yesterday, the Department of Transportation announced they awarded Texas GulfLink its deepwater port license under expedited permitting. The announcement happened the same day that a gas pipeline associated with the Delfin LNG deepwater port exploded, highlighting the real-world risks of massive fossil fuel projects being fast-tracked under the Trump administration.
Residents and elected officials of Brazoria County have raised powerful opposition to Texas GulfLink since 2018. The crude oil export terminal would involve building a tank farm in a flood zone in Jones Creek, a new pipeline near Surfside Beach, and a crude oil export platform about 30 miles off the coast to load supertankers. Brazoria County faces significant impacts to health and air quality issues due to industrial activity, including higher rates of cancer. In July 2022, an explosion at Freeport LNG in Freeport, Texas released 120,000 cubic feet of methane, carbon monoxide, benzene, and other highly dangerous chemicals into the air. An oil spill from Texas GulfLink would be catastrophic to the Gulf of Mexico’s ecosystem and local fishing industries.
Statement from Kelsey Crane, senior policy advocate at Earthworks:
“This administration’s ‘Unleashing American Energy’ agenda is unleashing harm by flooding already overburdened communities with dangerous infrastructure. While families in Louisiana are grappling with a pipeline explosion, Secretary Duffy chose to approve the Texas GulfLink license, a shameful decision that shows whose lives this administration is willing to continue sacrificing to protect corporate fossil fuel interests.”
Statement from Melanie Oldham, Freeport resident and director of Better Brazoria:
“As someone who lives near where Texas GulfLink is proposed, I am very disappointed in this decision. Texas GulfLink is one of two massive oil export projects our communities have been opposing since 2019. Despite living with uncertainty as these two projects hang over our homes and our coastal way of life, we’ve been showing up at every opportunity to demand cleaner air and water. This license does not deter us from fighting for what’s right. We will continue standing up to these projects until our lives stop being sacrificed for corporate greed.”