Texas
Texas repeatedly raises pollution limits for Cheniere LNG plant
/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/XUB7YJ5ZOFPP3E4SZD7RX4XFKY.jpg "Texas repeatedly raises pollution limits for Cheniere LNG plant")
PORTLAND, Texas, June 24 (Reuters) – Cheniere, the biggest U.S. exporter of liquefied pure fuel, boasts that it’s serving to to “enhance native air high quality in communities globally” as a result of the cleaner burning gasoline it ships displaces coal in energy crops.
However within the Corpus Christi, Texas area, the place the gasoline is ready for cargo, the corporate is making air high quality worse -with the consent of state regulators.
Cheniere’s large LNG plant, on the outskirts of the Gulf Coast metropolis, has exceeded its permitted limits for emissions of pollution similar to soot, carbon monoxide and unstable natural compounds (VOCs) a whole lot of occasions because it began up in 2018, in accordance with a Reuters assessment of regulatory paperwork.
As a substitute of levying penalties for such violations, the Texas Fee on Environmental High quality (TCEQ) has responded by granting Cheniere massive will increase within the plant’s air pollution limits, the paperwork present. The power is now allowed to chuff out some 353 tons per 12 months of VOCs, double the restrict set out in its unique allow eight years in the past. The state raised limits on 4 different pollution by greater than greater than 40%.
The difficulty has infuriated close by residents who cite the frequency of huge flares, used to burn off extra fuel to alleviate stress, and proof that native air high quality has deteriorated considerably for the reason that facility’s start-up. They’ve petitioned the state to crack down on the plant’s air pollution moderately than permitting it to emit extra.
Texas regulators have acknowledged the plant’s influence on the native air high quality: In its annual enforcement report for fiscal 12 months 2019, the company blamed the Corpus Christi area’s 83% enhance in emissions from the prior 12 months partly on the startup of the Cheniere facility.
Cheniere mentioned in an announcement to Reuters that it had initially underestimated emissions from the plant as a result of it was required to use for the unique allow earlier than its engineering work was accomplished. The corporate mentioned its design and tools adhere to federal requirements requiring the “finest accessible management know-how” to restrict air pollution.
When precise emissions exceeded these estimates, Cheniere sought amendments from regulators to “reconcile” the upper air pollution with its early assumptions, the corporate mentioned.
The plant couldn’t run constantly and effectively underneath the decrease air pollution limits, which might require frequent shutdowns, plant common supervisor Ari Aziz mentioned in an interview.
The emissions from Cheniere’s Corpus Christi LNG facility highlights a broader hazard of surging air air pollution as the USA and different nations search to develop U.S. fuel exports. LNG amenities are substantial polluters, and regulation can be key to making sure their emissions don’t pose massive well being issues for residents close to the crops.
The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden views increasing the LNG trade as a key device for serving to Europe cut back its vitality dependence on Russia, which has been aggressively sanctioned by Western nations since invading Ukraine in February. The LNG growth coverage, nonetheless, may undermine the administration’s guarantees to fight local weather change and supply cleaner air to communities residing close to industrial websites. learn extra
Biden’s Vitality Division mentioned in an announcement to Reuters that increasing LNG to handle world vitality shortages “should be balanced” with the fossil gasoline’s environmental impacts. The administration mentioned it helps analysis into applied sciences that may mitigate such impacts “in a simply and sustainable manner,” with out specifying any explicit know-how.
U.S. LNG export capability is on observe to soar by 40% within the subsequent two years, in accordance with the Division of Vitality, with corporations together with Cheniere, Freeport LNG, and Sempra LNG eyeing new tasks and large expansions.
“They inform us we have to export extra, we have to assist our mates in Europe. However what about us?” mentioned Elida Castillo, director of Chispa Texas, a corporation representing the low-income, largely Hispanic communities of Gregory and Taft, close to the terminal. “We are the ones who’re left to endure with all of the air pollution.”
VIOLATIONS, BUT NO PENALTIES
In July of final 12 months, the TCEQ opened an enforcement probe into the Corpus Christi facility following 293 cases in 2020 when plant emissions exceeded permitted limits. The surplus air pollution resulted in 19 violations that the company investigated for potential enforcement. All had been resolved with out penalties on the corporate.
The probe discovered, for example, that the ability’s condensate tank, the place compounds faraway from pure fuel are saved, emitted greater than two and a half occasions its allowable degree of VOCs for a interval of 13 months. The chemical compounds, which may embrace compounds like benzene, ethylene, toluene and formaldehyde, are faraway from pure fuel through the liquefaction course of and may trigger a spread of well being results from eye irritation to most cancers.
In line with state data, the violation started in October 2019 and led to November of 2020 when TCEQ officers granted Cheniere’s request to have the ability to emit extra air pollution. That allow modification additionally resolved two different violations, for exceeding, on a number of events, the hourly limits of VOCs and carbon monoxide emitted from fuel flares, an enforcement doc confirmed.
A TCEQ spokesperson mentioned altering the plant’s permitted air pollution limits was “an appropriate decision” as a result of Cheniere may exhibit that these will increase in emissions haven’t put the Corpus Christi space’s air high quality in violation of federal requirements.
The U.S. Clear Air Act’s Nationwide Ambient Air High quality Requirements impose limits on the quantity of air pollution in a given space and prohibit additional industrial growth solely when air pollution ranges exceed these limits.
The modification stands out as a unprecedented lodging of an industrial polluter on the expense of air high quality for native residents, mentioned Wilma Subra, a Louisiana-based environmental scientist and president of the environmental consulting agency Subra Firm, who reviewed the Reuters reporting. Subra mentioned Texas regulators are basically telling Cheniere: In the event you can’t meet clean0air requirements, “we might be glad to assist.”
The TCEQ has granted the Cheniere plant two further amendments that raised air pollution limits and is contemplating a 3rd.
The Cheniere plant is regulated as a serious air pollution supply underneath federal legislation as a result of it emits greater than 250 tons of air pollution. The designation requires the plant to exhibit that it makes use of state-of-the-art air pollution controls, however particular limits are left as much as state regulators.
Kelly Haragan, an environmental legislation professor on the College of Texas legislation faculty, mentioned that the sample of adjusting emissions limits greater to resolve air pollution violations at Cheniere raised questions on whether or not the ability was certainly utilizing probably the most dependable emissions management know-how.
Cheniere mentioned it was complying with the regulation.
Residents close to the Cheniere plant fear concerning the well being results of the realm’s increasing industrial sector.
“They should not be granted permits that simply enable the emissions to maintain going up,” mentioned Jennifer Hillard, an architect whose residence within the waterfront city of Ingleside on the Bay faces the LNG tankers coming out and in of the Cheniere plant. “What’s the influence of these kind of deviations? … Does anybody know? Is anybody watching?”
Encarnacion Serna, a retired chemical engineer whose residence in Portland’s East Cliff neighborhood is lower than 3,000 ft from the Cheniere terminal, mentioned a large flaring occasion there final month created “insufferable warmth and glare” that compelled him to ship his visiting grandkids to a different relative’s home additional away.
Serna, 70, has already filed three complaints with involved neighbors towards Cheniere this 12 months in response to giant flaring occasions. “We’re defending our communities from being obliterated,” he mentioned.
Serna and different residents of Portland, Gregory and Ingleside will problem the most recent Cheniere air allow software at a contested case listening to on June 30.
Cheniere is presently searching for even greater limits on its carbon monoxide and VOC emissions on the Corpus Christi facility, in accordance with regulatory paperwork, citing the presence of extra impurities in its pure fuel stream than it initially anticipated.
Longer-term, Cheniere has launched a serious growth of the plant. The TCEQ has already permitted the required air permits.
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Reporting by Nichola Groom and Valerie Volcovici; enhancing by Richard Valdmanis and Brian Thevenot
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Texas women’s basketball nonconference schedule
Texas women’s basketball nonconference schedule
After a 103-57 win over South Dakota State on Sunday, the Texas Longhorns will head into their holiday break on a high note.
Sunday’s lopsided win at Moody Center came five days after Texas beat La Salle by a 111-49 score. Texas hadn’t scored 100 points in consecutive games since it did so against McNeese State and UTSA in November 2017.
Texas never trailed on Sunday, and freshmen Jordan Lee and Justice Carlton served as first-half catalysts for the No. 6 team in the USA Today Sports Coaches Poll. Lee started and scored 10 first-quarter points while Carlton came off the bench to score 17 first-half points on 7-of-9 shooting. Combined, Lee and Carlton had 29 points in the first half. South Dakota State’s entire team had 26.
While Texas built its 53-26 lead in the first half, eight of the nine Longhorns who played scored. The surprising exception was All-American Madison Booker, who distributed three assists and grabbed three rebounds but missed her three shots.
A perennial NCAA tournament qualifier that had split its prior games against ranked Creighton and Duke teams, South Dakota State (10-3) never cut into its 27-point halftime deficit in the second half.
Here are three observations from Sunday’s 46-point rout:
Mwenentanda remains patient with her process
Carlton finished with 19 points and nine rebounds while senior forward Taylor Jones had 15 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks. Lee and senior guard Rori Harmon respectively added 14 and 13 points for a Texas team that shot 53.9% from the field. Booker was limited to nine points, but Harmon pointed out after the game that Booker’s +/- of 41 was the best among the Longhorns.
Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda was the fifth Longhorn to record a double-digit scoring total. Over 11 minutes, Mwenentanda scored 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
Mwenentanda grew up in South Dakota and was that state’s Gatorade Player of the Year in 2022. The school in Sioux Falls where she won a state championship is about an hour drive from South Dakota State’s campus. Mwenentanda was recruited by the Jackrabbits but she said that she was attracted to what Texas could offer her athletically and academically.
Since arriving on campus, Mwenentanda has shown glimpses of her potential since arriving at Texas, but she has mainly been a role player for the Longhorns. Sunday was the 11th time that she scored at least 10 points in a game. Just twice in her career has she played more than 25 minutes.
Mwenentanda sees herself as a Swiss Army Knife on the Texas roster. She’s listed as a 6-foot-2 guard on the team’s roster, but Vic Schaefer has mainly used her as a “4” player this season. Mwenentanda played some in the paint last season, but she got more playing time as a guard. Training more with the post players this offseason has helped her adjust to that role this season.
“I physically prepared for it, I mentally prepared for it. I’m enjoying it,” Mwenentanda said.
Schaefer praised the play of Mwenentanda in his postgame press conference on Sunday. Earlier in the week, Mwenentanda said that she was staying patient with her process.
“Everybody’s process is different. I feel like comparing myself to other people’s process would be one reason to give up,” Mwenentanda said. “Everybody on this team are great players, are great women so even though this process is a little bit different for me, it’s not something I look at negatively because I know everybody’s working hard and everybody’s pitching in.”
Status for sidelined Laila Phelia remains unclear
Texas senior Laila Phelia missed her third straight game on Sunday. Phelia suffered a detached retina during the offseason. Texas has not announced a timeline for her return, but Schaefer has said the program will soon release an update.
The leading scorer at Michigan last season, Phelia has played in just eight of the Longhorns’ 13 games. She is averaging 6.1 points and 19.4 minutes per game while shooting 40.5% from the field.
What’s next for Texas? Rest and one final tune-up
Next on the schedule for Texas is a home game against UTRGV (6-6) on Dec. 29. That will be the Longhorns’ final game until their Southeastern Conference debut at Oklahoma on Jan. 2, 2025.
But first, the Longhorns will get some rest. Mwenentanda won’t be able to fly back to South Dakota until Monday morning, but the rest of the Longhorns headed home after Sunday’s win. The Longhorns will return to practice on Dec. 27.
How will the Longhorns spend their break? The three players who attended Sunday’s postgame press conference – Carlton, Harmon and Mwenentanda – said they’d take some time off, but they added that they’ll get some workouts in with family and hometown trainers.
As for Schaefer? He’ll do some work over the break, but he won’t be in his office.
“I’m going to be standing in about knee-deep water in the morning calling a duck and having my son (Logan) with me and my dog, my hunting dog, not my show dog. We’ll enjoy some time together in the morning and then we’ll wet a line and fish in the afternoon,” Schaefer said. “I’ll probably sit in my bow stand a couple of nights with my computer in my lap and watch film. I don’t really care if I see anything or not, but I usually see a lot. I get more work done sitting in a bow stand in a bow blind than I do a lot of times sitting at my desk.
“I’ll just enjoy time with family. I’m really blessed with Holly and Logan and Blair here and we’re all together at Christmas, and it’s just a special time for us. We really embrace the Christmas season.”
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Former Colorado Buffaloes defensive end Dayon Hayes is set to continue his collegiate career at Texas A&M after transferring following a season-ending injury. Hayes, a 6-foot-3, 265-pound defender, began his journey at Pitt, where he played from 2020 to 2023, accumulating 13 sacks and 80 tackles over four seasons.
At Pitt, Hayes showcased his potential in his sophomore and junior years, logging around 500 combined snaps and producing 30 pressures. His breakout came in 2023 when he amassed 44 pressures and a 13% pass rush win rate, ranking 12th in the ACC. Hayes also demonstrated solid run defense, posting an average tackle depth of 1.6 yards and recording 10.5 stops for loss. His ability to set the edge and prevent runners from escaping outside made him a critical piece of Pitt’s defense.
Following his success at Pitt, Hayes transferred to Colorado as a highly sought-after addition to Deion Sanders’ revamped Buffaloes roster. He made an immediate impact, registering two sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss in Colorado’s first three games. However, his promising start was cut short by a knee injury in the fourth game, sidelining him for the rest of the season.
Deion Sanders says he won’t attend the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay
Despite the setback, Hayes’ strong early performance likely earned him a medical redshirt, granting him another year of eligibility. With his final collegiate season on the horizon, Hayes opted to join Texas A&M, bringing his pass-rushing skills to the SEC. The Aggies, coming off an eight-win season, are set to face USC in the Las Vegas Bowl. Hayes’ ability to pressure quarterbacks and defend the run should bolster Texas A&M’s defensive front, adding experience and depth to their edge rotation for the 2024 season.
ARLINGTON — North Crowley showed out on Saturday in its dazzling 50-21 victory over Austin Westlake in the 6A Division I state title game, winning the program’s second state championship and putting Fort Worth high school football on the map in front of 36,120 fans at AT&T Stadium.
Until North Crowley took the field at 7:30 p.m., there was a possibility the Dallas-Fort Worth area might boast only one state champion in 2024. Celina routed Kilgore 55-21 in the 4A Division I state championship to capture the program’s ninth state title and its first under coach Bill Elliott.
But North Texas teams came up short in the next three title games, the region’s worst showing at state since 2021, when South Oak Cliff became the first Dallas ISD school to win a recognized state championship since 1958, but Denton Guyer and Duncanville fell in the 6A state championship games.
Two-time state champion South Oak Cliff missed a last-second field goal, falling 38-35 to third-year program Richmond Randle in the 5A Division II state title game Friday night. It was SOC’s second straight loss in the state championship game.
“The future is still bright,” South Oak Cliff coach Jason Todd said. “We just gotta find out what’s going to get us over this hump.”
Smithson Valley, from the San Antonio area, topped Highland Park 32-20 as the six-time state champion faded in the second half of the 5A Division I state title game Saturday afternoon.
In the second game of the day, eight-time state champion Southlake Carroll extended its title drought to 13 years with a 24-17 loss to Austin Vandegrift in the 6A Division II game.
“It’ll happen one day. I’m excited about what the future holds,” said Carroll coach Riley Dodge, who fell to 0-2 in state title games as a coach.
The Dallas area claimed three football state champions in 2023 with Anna winning the 4A Division I state title and Duncanville and DeSoto sweeping the 6A Division I and II state championships, respectively. The southern Dallas County schools also swept the 6A state championships in 2022, when South Oak Cliff won its second straight 5A Division II state title.
But this year, the rest of Texas didn’t let the Dallas area, a high school football mecca, run the table. Teams from each of the state’s major metros — Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio —- won a title in each division of the UIL’s two highest classifications.
Even before this week’s state championship games, 2024 seemed to mark a changing of the guard. Neither Duncanville, DeSoto nor Houston-area power Galena Park North Shore made it to AT&T Stadium this year. Nor did 12-time UIL state champion Aledo, the juggernaut west of Fort Worth that had won the last two 5A Division I state championships.
But North Crowley did, after knocking off both DeSoto and Duncanville this season. North Texas might not have dominated the competition as it has in recent years, but for a third straight season, the king of 6A reigns in Dallas-Fort Worth.
“When you get to this point, there’s only one team that’s standing that’s hoisting the trophy. And fortunately for us, this year it’s us and we just happen to be from 817,” North Crowley coach Ray Gates said. “We’re elated to be able to bring that type of recognition back to our community, just to let people know that when you talk about this area, when you talk about Metroplex football, you can’t forget about us.”
On Twitter/X: @t_myah
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