A pipeline carrying fossil gas liquids exploded next to a residential area in suburban Houston on Monday morning, sending a huge column of flame into the sky as first responders evacuated about 1,000 nearby homes.
Energy Transfer, which operates a 20-inch fossil gas pipeline near the border of Deer Park and La Porte outside Houston, has a long record of spills and accidents. The company, formerly known as Energy Transfer Partners, is an international advocate for major pipeline projects, including the Dakota Access Pipeline, which sparked massive indigenous-led protests at Standing Rock in 2016. It has faced intense scrutiny and intense protests.
More than 12 hours after Tuesday’s first explosion, remaining liquid gas continued to burn, spewing pollution directly into the atmosphere. Thousands of area residents were temporarily without power. Students at nearby schools and university campuses were ordered to shelter in place on Monday, and aerial footage showed firefighters rushing to douse nearby homes with water as flames shot skyward. was reflected.
Although local authorities reported few injuries or deaths by Tuesday morning, the explosion underscores the dangers to local communities posed by the rapid expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure in the southern Gulf Coast and surrounding areas. It reminded me.
LaPorte, about 40 miles southwest of Houston, has the world’s highest concentration of petrochemical plants, with nearly 50 factories, two ports and miles of pipelines transporting hazardous materials, according to the report. It is said that there is. Pipelines zigzag through the community, carrying oil and gas products used to make a variety of plastics, chemicals, and fossil fuels.
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Energy Transfer said in a statement that it was aware of initial reports that an “unidentified passenger vehicle” crashed into the pipeline valve station where the explosion occurred. An investigation into the explosion is ongoing, but officials said it appeared to be an “isolated incident,” according to reports.
Energy Transfer shut down the pipeline and burned off the remaining gas liquids, a process that continued Tuesday. Firefighters spent hours trying to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby homes when the pipeline burst into flames.
Unfortunately, explosions and leaks of toxic pollutants are a reality in areas with high concentrations of refineries, petrochemical plants, and fossil fuel export terminals. Texas produces more oil and gas than any other state, and Houston has long been considered the center of the petrochemical industry. Neighboring Louisiana also has large factories and refineries, and residents also deal with pollution and toxic explosions from fossil fuel infrastructure.
Still, the industry is pushing for a massive expansion of liquefied natural gas (LNG) export infrastructure on the Gulf Coast and elsewhere to send more U.S.-produced fracked gas overseas, in areas where residents are fed up. There are growing concerns that the number of fires and accidents will increase. It coexists with petrochemical pollution. Climate scientists recently warned federal regulators that LNG is dirtier than coal throughout its lifecycle.
Energy Transfer operates an LNG export business that condenses fossil gas at extremely low temperatures and transports it, but the company told the press that the “natural gas liquid” burning in the pipeline that exploded in the suburbs of Houston was mainly He said it is used in petrochemical manufacturing.
However, in Deer Park and LaPorte, confusion persisted over which specific gas chemicals were being burned near surrounding communities. In a statement Monday, the Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Service called on federal regulators to accurately identify the chemicals so residents can take necessary precautions. Statements from Energy Transfer and local companies did not say what type of liquid gas was combusted, such as ethane, butane or propane.
“Today’s massive pipeline fire at Energy Transfer Partners in LaPorte, Texas, continues to raise concerns about natural gas pipelines and natural gas liquids, especially as these pipelines pass through residential areas. This is another reason why we are doing so,” the group said.
Energy Transfer has a long history of facing environmental and climate protests as it aggressively pursues pipeline and other infrastructure expansions. The company’s two major oil projects, the Dakota Access Pipeline and Bayou Bridge Pipeline in Louisiana, came under challenge from an indigenous-led direct action campaign that drew international attention from 2016 to 2019. Ta.
In 2017, Energy Transfer sued members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and Greenpeace over protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline, but the lawsuit was dismissed. In 2019, the company filed a similar lawsuit against Greenpeace in North Dakota state court over the protests, paying it $300 million.
Set to go to court next year, Greenpeace slams the lawsuit, which claims the group organized resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline, as “laughingly false and deeply racist” However, the protest camp was actually organized by indigenous-led water conservation groups and organizations. Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Greenpeace also claimed the lawsuit was an abuse of the legal system and an attack on free speech.
“This lawsuit makes allegations that affect people far beyond Greenpeace,” the group said in an open letter to Energy Transfer. “Greenpeace is attempting to rewrite the history of the Indigenous-led opposition at Standing Rock by absurdly claiming that it organized the entire resistance movement.”
At least 290 allied organizations signed an open letter in solidarity with Greenpeace.
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