Earlier this week, the Sierra Club submitted public comments on behalf of more than four hundred Texans opposing Entergy’s plans for its Orange County Advanced Power Station. The proposed fossil fuel plant, which would be located in Bridge City, Texas, would annually emit approximately 2,000 tons of harmful particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, and other toxic pollutants, and would further harm low-income and minority communities that have been decimated by pollution from the petrochemical industry.
“Entergy needs to decide what is more important: The Texas families like mine that would suffer from this plant’s fossil fuel pollution, or the petrochemical industry’s insatiable appetite for dirty electricity,” said John Beard Jr., a Port Arthur, Texas, resident and Chairman and CEO of the Port Arthur Community Action Network. “We demand that TCEQ hold a public meeting in the community as soon as possible on this dangerous proposal, and we ask Entergy to look at alternative ways to meet energy supply and reduce energy demand in our area.”
“Entergy has an opportunity here to focus on safe, reliable, renewable energy and make further investments in energy efficiency” said Emma Pabst, a campaign representative with the Beyond Coal Campaign for the Sierra Club “Instead, Entergy is doubling down on a plan that makes the many problems of the climate crisis--flooding, power outages, dangerous pollution--even worse.”
The proposed plant would be located just miles away from multiple schools, including Bridge City’s elementary, middle, and high schools. Scrutiny of Entergy’s own wind analysis shows that pollution from this power station would frequently blow towards these schools, regularly putting children directly in the path of fossil fuel pollution. The plant would also be less than five miles from Bessie Heights Marsh, a popular location for boating and fishing.
Following the end of this first public comment period on the proposed air quality permit, TCEQ is expected to issue a draft permit. The Sierra Club and several conservation organizations, including Port Arthur Community Action Network and the Environmental Integrity Project, as well as community members have called for a public meeting to review and provide input on Entergy’s permit application. In addition, Entergy is expected to file an application with the Public Utility Commission of Texas for approval to construct the power plant and potentially increase Texans’ electric rates to pay for it.