DALLAS — A chemical leak from an asphalt plant that led Corpus Christi officials to warn residents this week not to drink the water was apparently reported a week earlier, according to an email from a state environmental official that was obtained Friday.
The internal email sent Wednesday by Susan Clewis, a regional director for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, contained an incident report that described the leak as a “backflow incident from a chemical tank impacting the public water system.” It was reported Dec. 7 at a plant run by Ergon Asphalt and Emulsions.
This is a perfect example of why I worry about having natural gas infrastructure around me. It is typical that those most affected are often not given information needed to protect themselves because the government and the business don’t want to upset folks. They hope they can stop it without anyone knowing it happened. They also “accept” a certain amount of risk and as this shows, damage, on the affected people/ community and make decisions to sacrifice some people/ communities so they/others can benefit. I don’t trust them to give me the kind of protection I deserve.