
Deer Park, Texas, the residents were sheltered. Shut down the Houston Ship
Lane. Toxic materials leaked during the Harvey storm. And just last month,
seven people were wounded in the fire of Corpus Christi.
These are the accidents that some Texas legislators have in mind as they
press for new standards on over-the-ground chemical storage tanks during
the forthcoming legislative session.
The recent fire in Corpus Christi began in the oil tank. Another fire at
a leaking tank farm at a petrochemical plant in Deer Park shut down the
ship's channel in March 2019, creating a massive plume of smoke that
could be seen miles away. And during Hurricane Harvey in 2017, the floods
triggered explosions at Arkema's chemical power plant and destroyed
storage tanks that leaked thousands of gasoline gallons.
Two bills, one from State Rep. Mary Ann Perez, D-Pasadena, and another
from Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas, will challenge the State Environmental
Agency to lay down tighter guidelines on the structural integrity of these
overground tanks in chemical plants, refineries, electrical power plants
or other extensive storage facilities.
The bills will instruct the Texas Environmental Quality Commission to set
tighter requirements for tanks in flood-prone areas, storm surges, and
hurricanes. But the law mostly leaves the details to the TCEQ—a
change that Democrats hope would eliminate the most formidable resistance
from the industry but is less palatable to environmentalists who have
also criticized the TCEQ for being too industry-friendly.
Few state laws currently apply to tanks, and none of them require construction
requirements to ensure that tanks can withstand powerful hurricanes or
severe flooding.
The law is written with an eye to these severe weather events, a growing
concern among scientists and officials across the state as increasingly
powerful storms, energized by a warming ocean, battering the Texas Gulf
Coast, where many of the tanks are housed.
The impacts of climate change are real. Our systems will have to be upgraded
to withstand these additional strains.
Following the failure of similar legislation to gain much traction during
the last legislative session, the sponsors of the bills hope that the
foundations have been laid for both the Legislature and the chemical,
oil, and gas industries to give the bills a chance of survival when the
legislature returns to session later this month. And environmental advocates
argue that recent high-profile chemical disasters should have drawn the
attention of lawmakers.
The legislators, Republicans or Democrats, have seen an abundance of disasters
and errors. Legislators recognize the need to do something—whether
it's more inspections and enforcement, a new penalty policy, or new
legislation. The events are going to happen. Something has to be accomplished.
Laws of Industry
The TCEQ itself has also posted the problem in the last year. During the
September work session for TCEQ Commissioners, Toby Baker, the Agency's
Executive Director, was disappointed by the Agency's limited ability
to control plants before an accident occurs—the Agency may sanction
companies for pollution from an explosion after the case. Still, fines
do little to avoid them in the first place.
He said the department was blamed for accidents even though it had no power
to interfere, such as the Intercontinental Terminals Co. fire in 2019,
when a leaking tank farm on a petrochemical plant set off, shut down the
Houston ship channel, and provided shelter orders.
Frankly, we had to respond to the failures in the process of safety, which
are actually outside the scope of our authority. The underlying challenge
we face is that we are not a process safety regulator. We're controlling
pollution. We're regulating discharges. We contain waste.
Although Texas already has a long list of storage tank books, including
the need for strict design requirements and plans to avoid leaks, they
only apply to underground tanks. They are intended to prevent pollution
of underground aquifers. The above-ground storage tanks are excluded from
the rules.
Companies may face penalties for discharges or spills from over-ground
tanks that damage the environment. Still, TCEQ clarified that its regulations
do not include any spill planning or prevention steps (other states, such
as California, specify that companies must prepare above-ground tank spill
prevention plans and apply certain engineering practices to prevent spills).
This means that the prevention of chemical disasters in Texas falls mostly
within the framework of the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration's
occupational safety requirements. However, according to the TCEQ, some
Federal Clean Air Act provisions can apply in some situations.
Most commonly, however, overground tanks, which often contain harmful and
flammable chemicals, are designed to industry specifications, specifically
the American Petroleum Institute, the largest oil and gas trade organization
in the United States.
The API lists hundreds of design requirements that businesses should meet
for overground storage tanks, but there is no penalty for not complying
with the standards. And industry rules do not account for extreme weather
events that have become more frequent in recent years. That's why
environmental and public interest organizations in Texas argue that these
requirements aren't enough.
The roofs collapsing from too much rain were not necessarily the industry's
fault because the standards they built were not designed to withstand
Hurricane Harvey.
API did not respond to whether its members would be open to new state rules
for over-ground tanks in Texas.
Many look forward to working with TXOGA [Texas Oil and Gas Association]
and local authorities to identify the most effective approach to ensuring
that safety and environmental protection protocols are in place to prevent
incidents.
The Texas Oil and Gas Association, a powerful state-owned industrial organization,
said protection was a priority but did not comment specifically on whether
it would oppose the bills.
TXOGA ensures that the numerous regulations and standards for over-ground
storage tanks are sufficient to maintain these tanks' safety and environmental
protection.
Not much can be done in the Storage Tank Regulation Legislature if there
is significant industry resistance.
Many want to sit down with industry partners and try to find a happy medium,
something they can all agree on.
Will Bills get help from the GOP?
Bills would also need support from Republicans, who have majorities in
both the House and the Senate.
Some Republicans—including State Rep. Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, the
expected new Speaker of the House—have seen first-hand the effects
of chemical explosions in their districts. Thousands of its constituents
were evacuated in Phelan's district the day before Thanksgiving in
2019 when multiple blasts shook the TPC Group plant in Port Neches. A
plant processing unit containing liquid butadiene used for rubber started
leaking and turning into a vapor, caught fire, and exploded, causing injuries
to three employees on site.
We need to identify how these events could have been prevented. Legislative
action can be used to ensure that plants and refineries provide workers
and local communities' safety.
Phelan's transition spokesperson, Enrique Marquez, said that Phelan
believes that industrial and employee protection is essential to Texans'
health and the state economy's growth.
Phelan supports appropriate steps to ensure that staff, neighborhoods,
and facilities remain secure and that there is a transparent mechanism
of accountability when things go wrong.

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