Public Health Watch executive director and editor-in-chief Jim Morris appeared Thursday on “Hello Houston,” a talk show produced by Houston Public Media, to discuss a recent investigation into a wave of petrochemical plant construction and expansion in Texas.
Morris recounted some of the key findings of the story, a collection of 13 vignettes published on December 30. Among them:
- Texas already releases more planet-warming greenhouse gases than Saudi Arabia and figures to add significantly to this total as a result of 41 petrochemical projects planned over the next five years.
- The air permitting system overseen by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) heavily favors industry. The agency has denied less than 1% of permit applications in the past quarter-century.
- Air-quality enforcement by the TCEQ is less than rigorous, likely leading some companies to believe that they can pollute with impunity.
Morris’s segment begins around 1:07:40 into the show.