David J. Phillips/AP
Residents along the Houston Ship Channel have warned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that they plan to sue to force the agency to take over the permit for a Valero oil refinery in Houston, a legal battle whose outcome could affect the health of tens of thousands of people.
Attorneys representing the residents said the EPA had delegated oversight responsibility for the Valero refinery to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality under Section 5 of the Clean Air Act. The plaintiffs filed a complaint with the EPA in 2021, alleging that the TCEQ had failed to hold the refinery to federal air quality standards and asking the federal agency to take over the Section 5 permitting process. The EPA granted the plaintiffs’ petition the following year but took no further action.
“We’re now putting the EPA on notice that it’s time to take over this permit within the scope of its regulatory authority,” said Amy Ding, litigation director for Lone Star Legal Aid’s environmental justice team.
More than 85,000 people, most of them people of color and many of them living below the federal poverty level, live within a three-mile radius of the Valero refinery and experience disproportionately high rates of cancer and other serious health problems.
“This facility has often skirted regulations,” said Rodrigo Cantu, a senior attorney with Earthjustice’s Gulf of Mexico regional office. “It’s the only major refinery located within the city of Houston, and it’s right next to an overburdened, vulnerable community, an environmental justice community, so we’re going to be keeping a close eye on this facility.”
The EPA has until Feb. 25, 2025 to respond by either taking over the refinery’s permitting process or contesting the lawsuit.
