Brazoria County neighbors! 'Terrible 12' polluters Enterprise and Enbridge want to build the Seaport Oil Terminal (SPOT), a massive new crude oil export terminal offshore from Surfside Beacr Creek.
If built, SPOT would load Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) at a rate of 85,000 barrels an hour – 2 million barrels per day, 365 days per year!
The oil produced, processed and transported through SPOT would not be used domestically, but exported to Europe and Asia. That means our Texas Gulf Coast communities and environment will bear the burden of the project’s detrimental impacts, just to enrich a handful of fossil fuel executives and shareholders!
The oil being exported from the U.S. to Europe and Asia all starts with a hole in the ground. The massive networks of subsequent infrastructure needed to transport, process, and export the fracked fossil fuels (such as well sites, pipelines, processing plants, compressor stations, and storage tanks) are all allowed to emit large volumes of methane, a greenhouse gas more than 80 times worse for the climate than carbon dioxide when first released!
The air pollution emitted by a large terminal and loading operation would release harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the air that would travel throughout coastal communities, exacerbating existing public health problems caused by industrial air toxins. This is especially true in Oyster Creek, where a new storage terminal would be built. Brazoria County air quality already fails to meet EPA health standards!
The SPOT terminal, VLCCs and associated pipelines pose extreme threats to the Texas shoreline and Gulf waters. An oil spill from the onshore pipeline, or spills of drilling fluids used during construction, could permanently damage well water, while spills in the Gulf could potentially devastate local fishing and tourism industries. The Texas Gulf Coast has already seen the impacts of oil spills on human health and ecosystems. We don’t need more!
An oil spill would destroy nesting grounds of the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle, which nest on Surfside Beach every year. Kemp’s ridley are the Texas state sea turtle and the world’s most critically endangered sea turtle species!
The U.S. Maritime Administration is in the final stages of reviewing a license application from 'Terrible 12' polluters Enterprise and Enbridge to build and operate the Seaport Oil Terminal. A decision must be made by Nov. 21.
While the formal public comment period has ended, you can still reach out directly to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who has authority over MARAD, to tell him to STOP SPOT and the other proposed fossil fuel export terminals planned for the Gulf. Visit PleasePete.com to learn more!