Plastics company fined almost $122K for polluting South Texas waterway

A plastics company has been fined almost $122,000 for polluting a South Texas waterway with plastic pellets, marking a victory for a group of residents who for years have fought pollution in the region’s creeks, bays and shorelines.

At its 2,500-acre plant near Lavaca Bay, Formosa Plastics Corporation makes pellets that can be used to create plastic products. But the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the state agency charged with enforcing environmental rules, found that the company repeatedly failed to stop those pellets from making their way into a nearby creek that flows to a bay, which eventually leads into the Gulf of Mexico.

In response, TCEQ fined Formosa almost $122,000 and ordered the company to clean up the surrounding waterways twice a year, the first major penalty against Formosa for its failure to contain the pellets, according to an attorney representing a local environmental watchdog group.

When asked to comment, a spokesman for Formosa said he could not provide a statement before the Victoria Advocate’s deadline Wednesday evening. But local residents who have been pushing TCEQ to hold Formosa accountable for years say they hope the action could be a step forward in a larger movement to stop the company from polluting.

Read more: https://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/plastics-company-fined-almost-k-for-polluting-south-texas-waterway/article_36a39b00-19e0-11e9-8276-c7afb926c09d.html