b'A leadpipefitterwithtwoyearsexperiencemakesIf we are all to be honest, we accept that the northwest corner of Corpus Christi The Big BalanceBay in San Patricio County has been environmentally sacrificed to industrial de-velopment. Fine. But as technology advances along with our expectations for a $28.50 per hour at Bechtel in Ingleside, a major indus- high standard of living that includes clean air and water, the old, high-polluting trialconstructioncontractorthatsalmost$60,000industries are being pushed out of American communitiesthe Texas Coastal per year for semi-skilled labor that does not require aBend included.high school diploma. For decades, until domestic alu- It should be said that very little organized opposition has emerged to LNG minum production fell to foreign competition, Reyn- facilities like Cheniere, or to highly-efficient chemical plants like that which olds Metals (later Sherwin Alumina) operated a majorproduces half of the countrys auto air conditioner refrigerant in Ingleside. The manufacturing facility between Portland and Inglesiderepurposed former Naval Station Ingleside is now a major crude oil export ter-on Corpus Christi Bay. The Port of Corpus Christi acquired the property afterminal, located just one nautical mile from some of the Coastal Bends best fish-its owner filed for bankruptcy in 2016, and court filings show how generationsing waters in Redfish Bay, and which has been developed with no major politi-of aluminum production have contaminated hundreds of acres of coastal landcal or legal opposition. Even Tianjin Texas, the massive plant in Gregory that with toxins that include arsenic, lead and mercury. The contamination is mostproduces pipe for the oil and gas industry, and Chinas biggest industrial invest-pronounced in its visible form, as giant beds of rust-red mud can be seen fromment in the U.S., was proposed, constructed and now operates free of scrutiny the air, or more conveniently on Google Earth.from the local community.Next door to the abandoned aluminum site, a remnant of a long-lost indus- In Portland, organized opposition to two major industrial facilities emerged trial past, is the newly constructed Cheniere Liquified Natural Gas terminal.at different stages in each projects respective history. Voestalpine is an Austri-The $11 billion investment is fueled by the boom of Texas natural gas produc- an ironmaker that brought a $700 million investment to a site on Corpus Christi tion, particularly in Eagle-Ford Shale, and the growing demand for natural gasBay, located a short distance from the affluent North Shore Country Club subdi-in European, Asian and South American markets. While LNG presents a risk ofvision. While opposition to the smelting plant was mild before its construction, explosion, its transportation safety record is the best by far of any petrochemi- the list of complaints and violations related to Voestalpine Texas, LLC, in its first two years in operation, is significant. Immediate complaints from nearby residents were related to sound at the around-the-clock facility. Citations were issued by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), and the company spent over $8 million trying to fix the problem. Over 140 complaints were filed by homeowners related to a mysterious black dust, that turned out to be harmless magnetic iron ore, which fell upon homes, vehicles, swimming pools, and made its way into air condition-ing systems. In October 2018 a fire shut the plant down for two weeks, and the overall cost of the facilitys construction ended up $270 million over the companys original budget of $740 million. As in all industries, some operators do better than others.Ethane is a chemical byproduct of natural gas that is used (Left) Pirates Cove, an upscale, canal-front community on west Galveston Island, won a national conservationto produce ethylene through a process perfected 100 years ago award; (Right) Cinnamon Shore in Port Aransas survived Hurricane Harvey nearly untouched. called cracking. Ethylene is used to make plastic pellets, the core component of many plastic materials. ExxonMobil, in partnership cal product. Since LNG was introduced in 1964, not a single major spill, explo- with Saudi Basic Industries Corp., has created Gulf Coast Growth Ventures for sion or environmental disaster has occurred, and due to its chemical character- the purpose of building and operating the worlds largest and most advanced istics, LNG dissipates quickly if spilled, is non-toxic (though flammable), andethane cracker plant on a 1,300-acre parcel of former farmland, located where transfers no residue into the ocean or on its surface. Portland meets Gregory. Despite highly organized, vocal opposition led by a Environmental protection is a direct function of economic and social evo- group called Portland Citizens United, and joined by environmental groups lution. For generations, the United States led the aluminum smelting industry,in Austin and Washington, D.C., the $10 billion plant is on track, having been a high-heat process that requires an ample energy supply and that produces agranted a first round of permits by the TCEQ. Those in opposition cite concerns large volume of toxic biproducts. Alcoa and Reynolds were the worlds largestover wastewater, the threat to the wildlife presented by plastic pellets, and the aluminum suppliers, exporting the material across the world for applicationsplants close proximity to Gregory-Portland schools and neighborhoods.ranging from household foil wrap, to automotive and aircraft manufacturing.It should be mentioned that the campaign to win the ethane cracker plant Today, China produces more than 55% of the worlds aluminum, followed bywas highly competitive, with San Patricio County beating out Victoria County Russia, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrainall countries withand other sites on the Gulf Coast for the facility and the thousands and con-little or no environmental or labor standards compared to the U.S. or any west- struction jobs, and hundreds of permanent, high-paying, full-time jobs that ern country. Thus, it is impossible for the U.S. to match those countries cost,come with the project. Gulf Coast Growth Ventures has vowed to employ the and price, of aluminumand, in a way, why would we want to? highest standards and most advanced methods for environmental protection When you look at the result of 50+ years of aluminum production in Ingle- and safety, and the picture of inevitability has formed on the issue of the plants side, and the giant footprint of toxic red mud that was left behind, should theredevelopment. The results are yet to be seen. Will the ethane cracker plant oper-be any desire to attract a replacement industry that pollutes at such a high rate?ater meet the standards promised by its owner, or will it anger and disappoint residents after the fact, as predicted by the opposition? We shall see.26 THE COASTAL BEND MAGAZINEWinter 2018-19 TheCoastalBend.com124 THE COASTAL BEND MAGAZINEFEATURED: The Stories that Mattered TheCoastalBend.com'