By Olka Forster
UPDATE: The Texas Senate Nominations Committee has approved Energy Transfer Partners CEO Kelcy Warren's appointment to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Commission on a party-line vote. All four Committee Republicans voted for the nomination of the pipeline billionaire behind the notorious Dakota Access pipeline, as well as the Trans-Pecos and Comanche Trail pipelines in Texas. All three Senate Democrats voted against it. If your State Senator is Sen. Kirk Watson (D-Austin), Sen. José Menéndez (D-San Antonio), or Sen. Borris Miles (D-Houston), please take a minute to thank them on Twitter!
Now, Warren's confirmation vote will go to the full Senate where it CAN be blocked if all 11 Senate Democrats vote against it. Senator Watson, Miles, and Menéndez have already commited to voting against Kelcy Warren's nomination meaning we only need 8 more votes! Calls and tweets are needed to:
Sen. Eddie Lucio (D-Brownsville) - @SenatorLucio - (512) 463-0127
Sen. Sylvia Garcia (D-Houston) - @SenatorSylvia - (512) 463-0106
Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa (D-McAllen) - @TxChuy - (512) 463-0120
Sen. José Rodriguez (D-El Paso) - @JoseforTexas - (512) 463-0129
Sen. Carlos Uresti (D-San Antonio) - @CarlosUresti - (512) 463-0119
Sen. Royce West (D-Dallas) - @SenRoyceWest - (512) 463-0123
Sen. John Whitmire (D-Houston) - @whitmire_john - (512) 463-0115
Sen. Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo) - @JudithZaffirini - (512) 463-0121
If every Democrat is united with us, we can stop Warren's nomination! Please share this petition and ask everyone in your network (especially in Sen. Lucio's district) to call their State Senator and ask them to oppose pipeline billionaire Kelcy Warren's appointment to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Commission.
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The mission of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission is to manage and conserve the natural and cultural resources of Texas. It would make sense, to most people, to fill the Commission with qualified conservationists who appreciate our states' natural resources and are determined to manage them in a way that promotes longevity and public health. It would not make sense, to most people, to appoint to the Commission a person who has spent the previous year under fire for shirking environmental responsibility. It would make even less sense if said person actively denounced the intelligence, motivations, and actions of all those attempting to hold them accountable to the care-taking of one of our most precious natural resources: water.
Unfortunately, 2017 has ushered in a new era of nonsense and in that light (or rather dark) Kelcy Warren has managed to nab a seat on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission. That's right. Kelcy Warren, the gas pipeline billionaire and notorious CEO behind the Dakota Access Pipeline now has powerful access to making important decisions about some of Texas's most precious resources. Warren, who has been participating in Commission business unconfirmed by the Senate, gave approximately $550,000 personally to Governor Abbott, and almost $900,000 through his company, Energy Transfer Partners, in political contributions. Many point to his political contributions to Abbott as the reason he was appointed.
Warren, who has multiple permits issued by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to Energy Transfer Partners or its entities, has inherent (and incredibly obvious) conflicts of interest. His extensive pipeline network throughout Texas, including the destructive Trans-Pecos and Comanche Trail pipelines near Big Bend and the Rio Grande River, makes him uniquely ill-suited to sit on a commission that votes on pipeline easements.
Warren’s nomination is a slap in the face to all Texans who take the preservation and protection of our treasured places seriously. His presence on the Commission is disruptive and distracts from the good work of the Parks and Wildlife staff who need leadership that has actual, relevant experience - not just a big checkbook.
Before the end of the legislative session, the full Senate will voteon Kelcy Warren's nomination, and if you haven't already emailed and called your State Senator, please do so now!
Warren's seat on the Texas Parks and WIldlife Commission is opposed by:
- Water protectors who have seen firsthand his willingness to shirk environmental responsibility and condone violence in order to make profit
- Native and non-Native citizens from West Texas who cite destruction of ancient Native sites, risk to treasured spaces such as the Big Bend area by the Trans-Pecos Pipeline, and Energy Transfer Partners unscrupulous condemnation practices using eminent domain.
- The Sierra Club who recently brought to light an under-reported case filed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), in which they alleged that Energy Transfer Partners and its subsidiaries manipulated natural gas prices in Houston before, during, and after Hurricane Rita. Warren’s company paid the oversight agencies $40 million to settle, an amount Warren referred to in his Parks & WIldlife application as a “minor fine.”
- Anyone who loves Texas Parks and Wildlife and common sense.