Overview
Port Arthur, Texas, United States
Port Arthur is home to the United States’ largest refinery, to numerous other Petrochemical facilities, as well as tank farms, railroad lines, and shipping facilities.
The massive amounts of fossil fuel pollution to the land, air, and water in Port Arthur, along with the pollution released into the channel that flows into the Gulf of Texas, is continuing to destroy the residents’ lives, as well as wildlife and marine life.
The infrastructure build out is everywhere. The community suffers from the stench of air pollution. It is becoming a sacrifice zone for the petrochemical industry.
Upstream Community Stories
A park paid for by Valero for the community. The company in charge of the park’s maintenance uses pesticides and weed killers. The vegetables are inedible. Industry surrounds this predominantly African American community.
Port Arthur lies on the shores of Lake Sabine, a few short miles from the Gulf of Mexico. The fossil fuel industry has been allowed to pollute the air, land, water, and Gulf of Texas for years.
Contaminated waterways are destroying the quality of fish and shrimp in the area.
Energy Partners plans to run a 42 inch crude oil pipeline partially through Port Arthur’s Sabine Lake, to an export platform in the Gulf of Mexico. A single leak from this pipeline is enough to cause irreparable harm to Lake Sabine and it’s surrounding marshes.
The offshore export terminal
