Mr. Rocha – I just wanted to say that your continued commitment to the truth is inspiring to us. My husband is probably too rare a commodity; he is 100% committed to truth and honesty in all facets his life; this episode has been very difficult on him but he remained committed to honesty throughout. He holds his head high.

We just had two healthy twin girls last month; so we are counting our blessing amidst the adversity.

He was deeply hurt when the press blamed all the bad things at the firm on him; but it was not his place to speak out. I know he took equal pride in the truth being championed by the press; and I know I speak for him when I say there was never any need to apologize in your blog; championing the truth is enough.

Thank you for all you do. – Sarah

I am pretty sure I could have written more about him, however, given his legal battle at the time, I was told he was advised by legal counsel not make any public statements. This was back in 2009; three years later after writing my post, Behind Amigo’s Facade, I was contacted by Javier Vega to inform me that he had won the case.

In 2007, Vega agreed to Fulcrum’s acquisition of Amigo Energy. Vega was to remain onboard as president and CEO of Amigo Energy, and would become senior vice president of Fulcrum Energy. When Vega was terminated without cause in 2008, Fulcrum kept Amigo Energy and refused to compensate Vega for his interest in the company. Vega filed suit, seeking a return of the value of his equity in the company, as well as unpaid salary and bonus. On August 1, 2011, a Houston jury unanimously voted in Vega’s favor, with damages and fees expected to total more than $3 million.

I was actually surprised Mr. Vega contacted me to update me about his case. I am touched since we really never had direct communication. Even though he won the case, according to court records Fulcrum is appealing. Not surprising really.

Does it really matter, in my eyes, not really. What matters, Javier Vega was vindicated by a jury of his peers. The
fact was Amigo Energy became a facade after it was purchased by Fulcrum, they kept Vega on so they can claim be a minority owned company, when greed and corruption took over, they used Vega as their fall guy. It is obvious the jury saw the same thing.

Javier and his father, Antonio Vega, have moved on and is operating another electric service provider, Mission Power.

I wish them the best.

Since the movement’s inception, the SlutWalk campaign has gone viral. Facebook groups have emerged to promote SlutWalks in Europe, Asia, Australia and most major US cities. In Texas, the first of several was held in Dallas in April, future SlutWalks are planned for in Austin and Houston.

Comments like those made by the misguided police officer are all too common. They tend to reflect the beliefs that have been ingrained in nearly all of us as part of a culture that jumps to blame the victim, to blaming anyone and anything but the actual rapist. And such a culture is not just demeaning; it’s dangerous, because it focuses on the outfits and behavior of victims rather than the criminal behavior of perpetrators.

Latinas in particular have always been on the underside of both victim blaming and hypersexualization. Adding to the mix, a crime as horrific as gang rape is rarely seen by individuals, through the lens of culture, race, and class, this suddenly morphs into an indictment against all Latinos.

The idea behind the Slutwalks is simple: rape is rape, no matter what the victim wears, says or does.

Yet, some lose sight of the intent of the marches and feel the marches “celebrate” promiscuity and other forms of sexual expression. Critics of the marches are troubled over the use of the word “slut,” as well as how some participants dress in the marches–some wear leather, fishnets and low-cut tops, where some people prefer marching in jeans and T-shirts. Both feminists and anti-feminists have expressed reservations about the words’ use. The only difference, anti-feminists would often show their true colors with nasty victim-blaming remarks.

Interestingly, blogger Aura Blogando takes it a step further and claims that the demonstrations are organized by “white bourgeois” women who are “utilizing universalist language” to “[reify] existing power structures,” therefore undermining the concerns of “women of color.” She advises her readers not to participate because to do so is nothing more than “tokenization.”

At times like these it is important to point out destructive behavior within our own community than simply to ignore it. Honest criticism has nothing to do with gender privileges afforded to me; but to take advantage of a teachable moment. Blogando’s accusations are not only overgeneralized, but do more harm than good..

To quote Fredrick Douglas: “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both.” To ask the Latina/o community not to get involved is dangerous and a clear demonstration of the exact measure of injustice some are willing to tolerate.

Though abuse exists in all kinds of families, for Hispanic Texans, it has become an epidemic. According to the Texas Council on Family Violence, 77% of all Hispanic Texans indicate that either themselves, a family member and/or a friend have experienced some form of domestic violence. Indicating that approximately; 5.2 million Hispanic Texans are personally affected by domestic violence. Two out of every 5 Hispanic Texan females (39%) experience severe abuse and 1 out of every 5 Hispanic Texas females (18%) report being forced to have sex against their will. This is just the tip of iceberg of an issue that is too complex to be addressed in just one blog post. Yet, the common factor that transcends socioeconomical lines, Hispanic Texans, like the general population, have both a limited definition of domestic violence and have a willingness to blame victims for the abuse they suffer.

As a pro-feminist Latino, I am proud to stand in solidarity with the overarching intentions of many of those who have organized varying SlutWalks. This is why Somos Tejanos is proud to support and participate in SlutWalk Austin on June 11.

While it is true some Latino communities have a strong distrust of law enforcement, we must keep in mind that this is just a segment of the larger Latino/a community. Her critique is unfair and unrealistic, and places the burden on the organizers to have a full understanding of every issue affecting every community when it comes to sexual assault.

Violence prevention requires a comprehensive approach that addresses the underlying causes, such as, poverty, lack of parental supervision, eroding public education systems, and community disintegration. In order for this shift to occur, a multi-racial and multi-issue coalition must emerge.

Debates must always be forced back to the issues. We must all engage in a political education and realize that using our individual and collective voice is critical to the democratic process. If we remain silent, then the people for whom we claim to advocate will continue to suffer. This is something that I personally cannot accept.

I applaud SlutWalk Houston for including a male in the organizing process. Often missing from these discussions are the male voices to speak out against violence. Especially missing are Latinos and the need to call for re-defining the cultural term machismo. It is a gap in the discourse that needs to be filled; otherwise, it only diverts attention to women’s behavior rather than men’s responses to it. As a Latino, I am disgusted with the misogynistic ideas that are embedded in our culture, which must immediately stop.

Social learning theory states that social behavior is learned by observing other people’s actions and the consequences of those actions. Youth are likely to model the behavior that receives the outcomes they desire. Attitudes, behavior, and environment can impact and be impacted by each other. Moreover, attribution theory suggests that individuals try to understand what happens to them and others by identifying or assigning causes to events. It emphasizes coaching and reinforcing pro-social behaviors.

The incident in Cleveland, Texas is a perfect example how racial and cultural stereotypes are reinforced. The victim is Latina, and all the arrested males are African American. As news about the gang rape emerged, battle lines formed. Quanell X and the New Black Panther Party on one side and Mujeres Unidas on the other. Criticizing the media’s role, Michelle Garci­a profoundly put it:

On the eve of a Houston activist’s town hall meeting in Cleveland, a Houston Chronicle columnist noted: “In a place like Cleveland, where the black side of town is still known as the Quarters, it’s not beyond reason to question whether race is playing a role.”

But the ‘role’ is not defined. Was it a factor in the crime, the arrests or the quality of justice that will follow? Once again, lines are drawn and choices made. An 11-year-old girl or the town? Race or gender? Missing from coverage of this story is the realization that the nature of the media reaction forces people to take sides. We outsiders and journalists are not mere observers but participants.

More profoundly were her personal insights:

I realized years later that, after the Gaitan case, my relationships with men became tinged with aggression and wariness. It was the confused reaction of an angry girl who had learned unspoken rules about sexuality and blame. I watched a woman be sacrificed by my community, and I felt betrayed. As Cleveland draws its lines around race, power and reputation, I wonder if girls there—white, black, Latina and Asian—feel like I once did, scrutinized by outsiders looking in, but abandoned at home.

I know there will be some who may question the place popular culture has in this dialogue. However, popular culture does have an impact on our perceptions. One has to wonder how much seeps into the social spheres of different communities. Take for example the pejorative terms used when a Latino/a does not engage in behaviors perceived to be characteristic of Latinos — “acting white” or “different from them.”

We can no longer sit on the sidelines on the topic of domestic violence. Action speaks louder than words; to do nothing tangible than make these statements a reality, is nothing more than a farce. More importantly, as Tejanos, how can we advocate for equality if we turn a blind eye to the oppression occurring within our own community? If we don’t change our own consciousness, we cannot change our own actions or demand change from others. We should feel ashamed when we see fathers, brothers and uncles treat women with contempt, and when it comes to rape, it only lessens us as men.

The time is now to say BASTA!

(This article first appeared on Somos Tejanos)

Abandoning old baggage
In the context of web site design, it is very important to stay up with the latest development before making drastic changes. For now, I have made a few minor changes; some you will notice and some you won’t. One noticeable change, I removed the global translator from my sidebar. Don’t worry, I am not taking it out completely; I am searching for another one to replace it.

Other changes, will hardly be noticed. Nowadays there really is no predicting where visitors will be viewing your site. When I designed this blog, Internet Explorer was the dominate web browser, however, Firefox was quickly gaining in popularity. Now there are a variety of web browsers to choose from to access the web. According to my data from a recent web analytics data report, the most popular browsers being used to access this site are: Firefox (37.40%), Internet Explorer (31.24%), Chrome (19.15%), and Safari (10.53%). The data is also showing some visitors are their mobile devices to access this site. As I continue to redesign my blog, it is imperative I make sure the markup for this blog is clean and with little to no errors so whatever browser being used, will be done with ease.

To say that the web is a different place now is an understatement. There is so much to think about and so many important decisions to make.

I’ve been flirting with this idea for a couple of years, but it really is time time to move on and update the site with the latest design practices and standards. There are also glitches that I don’t like, but I’ve never gotten around to fixing.

So, as you visit my site over the next several days and weeks, bear with me. I hope that some of you will find this an interesting experience as we see what changes I make, what decisions drive those changes, and how you, my audience, affect my decisions with your feedback.

Who can we thank for this? The GOP and the National Rifle Association. That’s right.

The Assault Weapons Ban signed into law by President Clinton in 1994 banned 19 types of semi-automatic military-style guns and ammunition clips with more than 10 rounds. The bill expired back in 2004. If the ban were still in effect, it’s less likely that Jared Lee Loughner could have obtained a gun with a high-capacity magazine. Stores could legally only sell used high-capacity magazines at that time, and new magazines could not be manufactured.

But this issue goes beyond weapons ban. Here in the US, guns and violence is as American as apple pie. For your entertainment, from Bowling for Columbine, “A Brief History of the United States of America.”

I Loves My Gun

Click here to view the embedded video.

Rep. Giffords was shot through the head at close range and is still in critical condition. Dr. Peter Rhee, medical director of the hospital’s trauma and critical care unit, said Saturday that she had been shot once in the head, “through and through,” with the bullet going through her brain.

Six of the victims died, among them John M. Roll, the chief judge for the United States District Court for Arizona, and a 9-year-old girl, Christina Taylor-Green. Christina, recently elected to her school’s student council, was born on Sept. 11, 2001. In addition to Christina and Judge Roll, those killed included Gabe Zimmerman, a former social worker who served as Giffords’ director of community outreach. Also killed were 76-year-old Dorthy Murray, 76-year-old Dorwin Stoddard, and 79-year-old Phyllis Scheck.

The shooter is identified as 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner was arrested at the scene after being detained by bystanders. He is being quested by the FBI, who have said he was the only shooter. The weapon used was reported to be a 9mm Glock model 19 pistol with a 30 round magazine. Loughner purchased his semi-automatic pistol legally in Tucson.

President Barack Obama called the shooting an “unspeakable tragedy,” adding that “such a senseless and terrible act of violence has no place in a free society.” Rep. Raul M. Grijalva, another Democrat from the Tucson area, was “sickened by the horrific attack” and called the shooting a tragedy for “Arizona, our nation, and our democracy.” Arizona Governor Jan Brewer said, “My thoughts and prayers are with Congresswoman Giffords and her family, the Congresswoman’s staff and their families, as well as the other victims of this senseless and cruel violence.”

Various senior Republican politicians have expressed their concern for the physical well-being of Gabrielle Giffords and the other victims, and that concern is no doubt sincere. Sarah Palin expressed her “sincere condolences” to Giffords’ family and to the other victims, John McCain is “horrified” by the attack, and House Speaker John Boehner said that “Our prayers are with congresswoman Giffords, her staff, all who were injured and their families.”

Cult of Personality
These is no denying throughout history there are many examples of deranged loners and violent people attacking politicians, what has changed recently is that politicians are actually encouraging a climate of suspicion and division. It is hard to argue that political debate in this country has not only become dangerous, but a cesspit of venomous innuendo and lies.

The tragedy in Arizona is not uniquely the fault of the Republican Party or the Tea Party or right wing American politics in general. While they share the blame as a whole. It’s impossible to know what motivated Loughner, but it is not hard figure out what inspired him. The question of right wing rhetoric and its effects cannot be ignored as if it doesn’t exist, because it does, and they all know it.

What happened in Arizona is evidence that Republican politics have gone overboard in their rhetoric, as Sarah Palin and the leaders of Tea Party movement swung into damage-control. But this does not absolve them for taking part in creating the hyper-vicious climate that have provoked unbalanced nut-cases to attack others, under the guise of striking back and taking back the country.

A cult of personality arises when a country’s leader uses mass media to create an idealized and heroic public image, often through unquestioning flattery and praise. While the cult of personality generally applies to leaders in in a totalitarian nation, it stands to reason that it is also asserted in everyday situations to advocate conformity to philosophies and lifestyles, by way of herd mentality.

Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik expressed his concern of the current political climate. Dupnik said that “when the rhetoric about hatred … about mistrust of government” gets heated, it inflames “the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

Giffords, a moderate Democrat, expressed similar concern before the shooting. Last March, shortly after the House passed health care legislation, Giffords’ congressional office in Tucson was vandalized. Afterward, she warned of the dangers of the animosity against her by conservatives. She was referring to the use of cross-hairs to highlight the vulnerability of her site on Sarah Palin’s controversial Facebook “Hit List” in the November midterm elections.

She said: “We’re on Sarah Palin’s ‘targeted’ list, but the thing is that the way she has it depicted, we’re in the crosshairs of a gun sight over our district. When people do that, they’ve got to realise that there are consequences to that action.”

had been threatened in the recent past as had John Rolls and his family, who eventually ended up being protected by the U.S. Marshall’s Service for a month in 2009. Dupnik also noted a political event at which an audience member dropped a weapon. During another incident, windows in her office were broken shortly after her vote for health care reform in March, and authorities are currently investigating a suspicious package found Saturday at Giffords’ Tucson office.

Apart from her cross-hairs campaign, she also made news with the remark, “Don’t retreat, Instead RELOAD.”

Palin hasn’t directly commented on whether she thinks there were consequences to her actions, however, this hasn’t stopped from scrubbing the images from her website and her Facebook page targeting Gabriel Giffords and others with the cross-hairs of a gun sight.

No one can argue that Sarah Palin has grown in popularity, to the point she is seen as a pseudo-Biblical figure sent from Above. The truth is, Palin is adored by many because many of them see themselves also taking down the so-called elitists. They stand by her side with an almost unbelievable vigor because, in essence, they are dealing a passive-aggressive blow to those who have frequently criticized their lifestyles over the years.

Palin’s rise is not social phenomena but a manifestation of our credo of rugged individualism. It is this credo that clouds person’s into believing public action as an expression of individual psyche. Jared Lee Loughner may have acted alone and is certainly disturb, but the “political themes of his instability” can be found among the far Right.

There are many other documented incidents carried out by people with mental issues like Jared Loughner, which they are directly involved either with Republican politicians or their supporters at their rallies or in the media. This is not an anti-Republican screed, these are facts and they are representative of the current Republican Party and its links to the Tea Party and right wing voters in general. The Republican Party has done absolutely nothing to put a stop to this kind of intimidation based upon the threat of violence because it needs the votes.

Twenty years before this happened, the funk metal band “Living Colour” prophesied this happening with their hit “Cult of Personality.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

This has been coming for a long time. With all the hate-speech, race-bating, homophobic, immigrant-bashing, and blatant lies that goes unchallenged over the airwaves everyday, it’s a miracle this doesn’t occur everyday

In the past year, I know I have not blogged as much as did in the past. I apologize. This will change. I promise you.

My resolution is to work harder and smarter this year to inspire and empower YOU to make a difference. As a firm believer in truth to power, I want to do all I can to provide the tools and information to make it possible for YOU to go beyond being a passive observer.

Gracias for sticking by me. Stay save and see you next year.

Happy New Year!

In their attempt to bring awareness of the environmental issues affecting Corpus Christi, protesters conducted a sit-in at the Regional Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) offices at Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi (TAMUCC). It was rumored four of protesters were arrested as the office closed for the evening. However, in an interview with Daniel Lucio, one of the protesters, after receiving a couple of warning from campus police, they left peacefully and no one was arrested.

The purpose of the protest is to raise awareness of the proposed the 1,320 megawatt petroleum coke-fired power plant, Las Brisas Energy Center. Potential emissions from handling and moving petroleum coke and materials has been a contentious point regarding Las Brisas’ air permit.

Petroleum coke is a solid byproduct of the petroleum refining process. Las Brisas proposes to use about 7 million tons per year of petroleum coke generated from the three local refineries – Flint Hills Resources (Koch), Citgo, and Valero – to produce low-cost power for the Corpus Christi region. The construction of the $3 billion power plant would be built on the Corpus Christi Inner Harbor, a part of Port of Corpus Christi and also known as Refinery Row.

Two years ago, Las Brisas applied for an air-quality permit from the TCEQ. However, acquiring the permit has not come easy. A group of concerned citizens, Clean Economy Coalition, along with Public Citizen-Texas, the Lone Star Chapter of The Sierra Club and the Environmental Defense Fund have been trying to block Las Brisas air permit.

The coalition argue the proposed plant will pose unacceptable health risks and push the area into “nonattainment” status – an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) designation given to a locality where air pollution levels persistently exceed national air quality standards. EPA has designated Corpus Christi near non-attainment, a locality that is close to exceeding clean air standards. The coalition is worried Las Brisas’ carbon emissions will push the city into non-attainment status, joining Houston/Galveston, Dallas/Fort Worth, El Paso and Beaumont/Port Arthur areas in the list.

Last year, the coalition filed a case with the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) – a forum where Texas agencies or other governmental entities and private citizens or entities can resolve legal disputes – after TCEQ issued Las Brisas a draft permit. Once the hearing was concluded, the judges found they were unable to find grounds for approving the permit and that TCEQ either send the case back to SOAH for additional review or deny Las Brisas’ request for a permit. Then for the second time, SOAH in their “proposal for decision” that they were “unable to recommend that the requested permits be issued, because we find that Las Brisas Energy Center … has not made the necessary compliance demonstration to ensure that emissions from the proposed facility would not contribute to air pollution.”

Regardless of one’s views on pollution rights and wrongs in deciding the fate of Las Brisas, it vital to consider how Texas’ current air-pollution regulation (emission trading or also known as cap and trade) has produced immoral, unjust, and ineffective outcomes.

Background: Bush’s Pollution Trading Legacy
At the heart of this matter has to do with EPA’s plan begin regulating greenhouse gases next January. Until now, Texas was the only state that refused to overhaul the state’s air permitting program nor nor allow EPA to directly in charge of issues air pollution permits. Last week, EPA seized control of Texas’ program.

The feud began this summer when EPA rejected the state’s air-pollution permitting program, TCEQ’s Flexible Permits Program. EPA said in its press release, “allows companies to avoid certain federal clean air requirements.” According to EPA, companies are able to avoid federal emission standards by reporting emissions from multiple units as a single emission unit (single “cap”) rather than set emission limits for individual pollution sources at their plants. For example, without getting too technical, a single refinery is composed of many different “operating units” that are used to convert crude oil into products like gasoline, jet fuel, diesel oil and home heating oil. Some products need to be processed than others. Not all refineries are the same. They can range in size from small units to giant complexes like Valero’s East and West Plants. Under the state’s program, a company like Valero is allowed to combine the units from one of their plants and report it as a single emission unit.

EPA’s ruling would affect 122 plants who have received the state grants “flexible” permits. In the last few months, EPA has taken over permitting for three big plants – the Chevron Phillips chemical plant in Baytown, the Flint Hills Resources refinery in Corpus Christi and a power plant in Collin County.

The development of Texas’ emissions trading policy represents an important chapter in state’s political history of air pollution regulation. Under George W. Bush’s tenure as Texas Governor, Bush took advantage of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, the regulation allowed states and local air districts to develop their own market-based regulation programs, by replacing the existing air quality regulations with those that are favored by the energy barons of Texas. Once in office, he appointed new commissioners to TCEQ/TNRCC’s three-member board: Ralph Marquez, lobbyist for the Texas Chemical Council and former executive of the Monsanto chemical firm, and Barry McBee, attorney with the law firm Thompson & Knight, a major contributor to Bush funds with a host of oil-industry clients.

Prior to Bush taking office, because of a legal loophole, grandfathered plants in Texas were able to avoid obtaining permits to operate. Permit requirements were established by the legislature in order to protect public health, but the benefits to industry of operating without permits are all too obvious. In 1993, TNRCC approved it’s first pollution trading program, known as “Emission Reductions Credit Banking Program.” Under Texas this program, companies were able to receive emission reduction credits if they reduce emissions below the level required by law, either through a permanent reduction in emissions or by closing an emission source. These reduction credits would be “deposited” in the Emissions Reductions Bank. A company can then sell its credits to companies within the same non-attainment area to new industries arriving in the area that need offsets for new permits or expansion of existing facilities.

Under a new rule passed in 1997, TNRCC expanded the scope of the emission banking program by letting a major polluter continue to emit previous emissions levels by buying emission credits. For example, a company with multiple refinery plants could trade across units to achieve allowable emission levels even if some older plants individual did not comply. Or, two different facilities could trade among themselves so that the total emissions averaged out to the compliance level of emissions for the area.

Another piece of legislation that passed in 1997 is based on the notion of “self-regulation,” the Texas Environmental Health and Safety Audit Privilege Act. The law enabled companies to audit their own pollution records provided they reported them, in exchange for which there would be absolute protection from public disclosure.

In a study, Grandfathered Air Pollution: The Dirty Secret of Texas Industries, conducted by several environmental groups in 1998 explored the impact of the Texas Legislature’s decision to “grandfather” (or exempt) industrial facilities that existed in 1971 from complying with the Clean Air Act. The study found that 1,070 plants that are responsible for the most grandfathered emissions (984,000 tons). These 1,070 plants are owned by 356 different companies. The study also found that the facilities that emit “non-permitted” emissions did not receive a permit from the TNRCC.

As the world capital of the oil and gas industry, political action committees (PACs) play a huge role in shaping politics. During the 2008 elections, Texans for Public Justice reported a record number of Texas PACs spent almost $120 million in the two-year 2008 election cycle. PACs from the Energy & Natural Resources increased their spending. Valero Energy spent 40% of its $2.4 million in its home state, compared to ConocoPhillips 36% of its PAC money. The PAC of the state’s top energy trade group, the Texas Oil & Gas Association, increased expenditures 23 percent, spending more than $400,000.

Unfortunately, when politics and pollution go together, pollution becomes a right rather than a wrong.

Corpus Christi’s Environmental Injustice
Prior to 1987, environmental issues and racial justice issues were commonplace in public debate, but not addressed as an inter-related problem. It was not until Benjamin F. Chavis, Executive Director of the United Church of Christ Commission for Racial Justice (CRJ), provoked the nation’s consciousness by referring to toxic waste landfill sitting next to low-income and minority communities as “environmental racism,” in Toxic Wastes and Race in the United States.

It is ironic many minority and poor communities continue to suffer since Toxic Wastes and Race was published over twenty years ago. However, they face new ones because lack of government enforcement, corporate greenwashing, and weaken and dismantled environmental regulations.

For many industries, it is a “race to the bottom,” where the “bottom line” outweighs a person’s health and creating environmental “sacrifice zones” are seen as the price of doing business. While Big oil and energy industries continue to make record profits, it is the residents of low-income, heavily minority communities who live new these plants who end up suffering with environmentally induced health problems.

ASARCO/Encycle Toxic Legacy
Life has been difficult for the people of the Dona park neighborhood. From 1942 until 1985, American Smelter and Refining Co. (ASARCO) operated a zinc refinery at its Refinery Row location. Encycle, an ASARCO subsidiary, reopened the plant from 1988 to 2002 as a waste-management business. Repeated violations of federal and state health and safety standards have occurred for years at the ASARCO and Encycle plant. The company has mishandled, spilled, and discharged wastewater into the Corpus Christi harbor and drainage ditches leading into the adjacent neighborhoods. Wind and water have carried lead, cadmium, arsenic, and other health-threatening chemicals into neighbors’ yards and homes.

In 1994, Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC), TCEQ’s predecessor collected soil samples, which revealed the soil was contaminated with lead, cadmium, and zinc. TNRCC ordered ASARCO to clean up the homes where the soil was contaminated. More tests were done by ASARCO, which they explained that the contamination was caused by lead paint. TNRCC accepted it and close, refusing to turn the results over to residents.

Now TCEQ is testing again based on new documents that uncovered an EPA memo to the Justice Department detailing what regulators referred to as the “sham recycling” enterprise in which hazardous waste was trucked from Corpus Christi to El Paso for smelting. More than 5,000 tons in 247 shipments left Asarco’s Corpus Christi Encycle facility in about 10 years, until July 1998, according to the EPA memo.

The first phase of the two phase project was recently completed in August. The test revealed the presence of several heavy metals within an inch of the surface including cadmium, lead and zinc. The metals are linked to cardiovascular, digestive, respiratory, reproductive and neurological disorders, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry. Earlier this month, TCEQ confirmed metal drums that were used to hold toxic chemicals are buried beneath Dona Park.

Koch’s Environmental Follies
Koch Industries operates crude oil gathering systems and pipelines across North America. Its Flint Hills Resources subsidiary owns refineries in Alaska, Minnesota, and Texas that process more than 800,000 barrels of crude oil daily. Flint Hills Resources owns two refineries in Corpus Christi, which processes 288,486 barrels of crude oil a day.

Koch has had plenty of run-ins with government regulators and other legal problems. In late 2000, A federal grand jury hit Koch Industries with a 97-count indictment, charging them with environmental crimes as well as conspiracy and making false statements to Texas environmental officials. According to the indictment, Koch Industries and Koch Petroleum Group earned profits of more than $176 million in 1995, while operating the refinery in violation of the Clean Air Act.

The company faced penalties of more than $350 million, and four Koch employees faced up to thirty-five years in prison. Three months after the Bush administration took office, Koch eventually pleaded guilty to one criminal charge of covering up environmental violations, including the falsification of documents, and paid a twenty-million-dollar fine. The Justice Department also dropped all criminal charges against Koch and the four employees.

In another case, Koch was sued by the government for discharging millions of gallons of oil into ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, or onto adjacent shorelines, from 1990 to 1997. In one case, one of the largest and most environmentally harmful spills occurred in the Corpus Christi Bay, causing a 12-mile oil slick on Nueces Bay and Corpus Christi Bay. Those lawsuits sought from $71 million to $214 million in penalties for the spills, but settled for $35 million in fines.

Citgo: “Poster Child” for Environmental Racism
In August 2006, Citgo Petroleum, was hit with a 10-count indictment for unauthorized releases of the carcinogenic petrochemical benzene and the endangerment of local migratory birds. The indictment alleges CITGO Petroleum Corporation and Philip Vrazel, refinery’s environmental manager, released tons more of the cancer-causing chemical than allowed by law in 2001 and 2002 – while company officials knowingly under-reported the emissions.

The indictment also charges for violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA).

Citgo Refining and Vrazel are also facing five counts of violating the MBTA for the illegal taking of protected birds. The birds were found coated with oil as a result of landing in the open top tanks. The tanks attract the birds and, thus, must be fitted with nets or other equipment to prevent the birds from entering or landing in the oil. The MBTA implements international treaties that protect birds which migrate between countries by requiring permits and placing limits on the taking of certain species.

The indictment alleges that in 2000, Citgo operated its Corpus Christi refinery with more than 57 megagrams of benzene in its exposed waste streams – almost nine times the legal amount. Benzene is a hazardous chemical air pollutant that can cause cancer in humans exposed to only small amounts. The CAA limits benzene levels to no more than six megagrams in exposed wastewater streams. Citgo is also charged with operating with more than seven megagrams of benzene in its exposed waste streams in 2001.

According to the indictment, inspectors also found approximately 4.5 million gallons of oil in two open tanks without the required emission controls installed during a surprise inspection in March of 2002. The missing emission control devices would have curbed the release of harmful chemicals, including benzene, into the environment.

On June 27, 2007, a Corpus Christi federal jury unanimously determined that CITGO knowingly operated two large open-top tanks as oil-water separators between January 1994 and May 2003 without the required emission controls that regulate the amount of benzene released into the environment. Consequently, for over nine years, uncontrolled amounts of benzene, a cancer-causing agent, streamed into the air and into the adjoining neighborhoods.

Las Brisas Last Ditch Effort
There is speculation TCEQ Commissioners will hold a special meeting to approve Las Brisas before EPA’s new regulation are in placed.

At the sit-in demonstration, Lucio said he met with Susan Clewis, Regional Director of TCEQ, who put him in touch with TCEQ’s general counsel, Les Trobman, and spokesman Andy Saenz. They had requested an explanation for excluding the public from participating in the air permitting process. He said Trobman and Saenz explained that the commissioners were not obligated to invite the public because it was a contested hearing where they do not have to abide by open meetings rules.

Despite overwhelming evidence of the environmental crime that will be committed to the communities living along Refinery Row, its business as usual for TCEQ.

For now, I want to say Feliz Navidad y un prospero año nuevo y que Dios le permita a todos el ir mejorandose cada día más. I also like to thank my loyal readers for making Para Justicia y Libertad a success. I know I have not been active this year, but that will change beginning next year.

So here is an oldie but a goodie, Cheech and Chong’s Santa and His Old Lady. Let’s hope Santa isn’t stopped at the border tonight.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Off the Kuff covered a shoddy attempt by new Harris County Tax Assessor Don Sumners to disallow voter registration efforts at naturalization ceremonies.

Letters From Texas projected out the grim possibilities for state representative Aaron Peña as he contemplates switching to the Republican Party.

Now is the time to ask Larry Summers to do something REALLY useful. You know, for the good of the country.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme thinks Barack Obama is a putz and Bernie Sanders is a hero. UT professor Galbraith says it all.

Edmundo Rocha’s pays tribute to the passing of civil rights activist and former San Antonio Express-News columnist Carlos Guerra. An unsung hero who never gave up hope for a better Texas.

Aaron Pena’s impending party flip is tied directly to his 2012 Congressional ambitions. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs explains.

Bay Area Houston dog piles on State Representative Aaron Pena. He could get with this. Or he could get with that.

lightseeker at TexasKaos reports on Rick Perry’s latest foray into half-truths and self-serving opportunism. This time he is whipping up a big batch of whacked out claims about the cost of providing health care to uninsured Texans. Check out the details here: Rick Perry , Rabble Rouser.

Public Citizen Texas over at TexasVox wants to remind everyone to show up to testify at the Sunset Advsory Commission meeting Dec 15th on the Railroad Commission and TCEQ. Details are at their blog.

Neil at Texas Liberal ran a post with pictures he took last spring at the Houston Ship Channel. Neil’s view is that if the world around us is at times not ideal, there are still many things to consider, learn about, and maybe even embrace. This does not mean we should be resigned to a polluted landscape. Neil has been stressing of late in his blog the need for action by average people in the face of the newly empowered Republican party in Austin and Washington. We know from the TPA posts listed here this week that things are a mess. The question is what are we going to do in reply to this mess?