Special to the PRESS
John Haga, a Winter Texan and self-described “SPI roadrunner,” stands holding the catch of the day. Haga caught four red snapper and one large trigger fish in what he called “good fishing” at Port Mansfield.
Editor’s Note: If you’d like to see your fishing photo in the PRESS, send an email to editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com. Please include your name, city, and a brief description of the type of fish caught and where it was caught.
Dear Editor,
Our Rio Grande Valley is in danger!
1) DAILY CONDENSATE TRAINS: Huge condensate trains heading our way, through Raymondville, Harlingen, San Benito, and so on – bound for our local Port of Brownsville. Condensate, sometimes called “natural gasoline,” is highly flammable.
2) OIL TRAINS: Oil trains will soon follow. Oil tanker cars renamed “bomb” cars by the communities put at risk by such operations.
3) LNG: Then the LNG processing operations and giant LNG tanker ships will start dirtying our air, damaging our health, destroying our commercial and recreational fishing, killing our beach tourism industry, seriously damaging our ecotourism business, and so on.
Time to take immediate and serious action!
- A) Elect three new Port of Brownsville CommissionersMay 7!
- B) Put our Port’s $28 million dollar bond proposal on hold until after we elect these new Commissioners. It includes funding for a new oil dock and for repairing an old oil dock.
- C) Get three good candidates to file by the 19deadline!
- D) And stand behind them and with them to clean up the mess at our Port that’s bringing all this our way.
We need to find out 1) what else our Port’s bringing our way, 2) what we can do to stop it, and 3) how we can best manage the health, safety, and economic damage threatened by whatever operations we can’t stop.
To find out more about the proposed bond package: Contact Daniel Martinez, (210)277-6803, dmartinez@winstead.com.
To speak at the Feb. 4 bond hearing: Contact Stephen Fitzgibbons, Director of Finance,(956)831-4592, sbfitzgibbons@protofbrownsville.com.
For information about the May 7 election and how run for one of three Commissioner positions up for a vote: Call Deborah Duke, (956)831-4592. Filing deadline: Feb 19.
Visit saveRGVfromLNG on Facebook.
John Young
San Benito
Dear Editor,
BND trying to Pollute & Destroy SPI-PI-LV with LNGs
As a resident of Laguna Vista, I have been following the events concerning the proposed construction of 3 LNG plants in the Brownsville Ship Channel. Upon learning that the Brownsville Navigation District (BND) is having an election of three of the five BND commissioners on May 7, 2016, I decided to file an application for a place on the ballot by Feb. 19, 2016.
Imagine my surprise to learn that South Padre Island, Port Isabel and Laguna Vista are not included in the BND. Therefore, I cannot file for a place on the ballot to oppose any of the incumbents.
As a guardian of the Laguna Madre, none of the current BND commissioners has shown any interest in keeping the proposed LNGs out of the Brownsville Ship Channel.
However, the city and town councils of South Padre Island, Port Isabel, Laguna Vista, the Port Isabel school district, the Laguna Madre water supply, the SPI Business Owners Association, and others in this area have firmly rejected any attempts to allow LNGs to be our nearby neighbors.
So, it seems the few of us who live and work here in the Laguna Madre and will have the most to Lose, in both our health and clean ecotourism jobs if these LNGs are built, are effectively denied any chance at representing our views about our potential neighbors along the ship channel.
This seems odd to me since this area has less than 3 percent of the population of Cameron County, yet it provides almost 50 percent of the property tax revenues. It seems we should be trying to preserve the goose who lays the golden eggs, not destroy the eco-friendly tax paying entities who currently populate the Laguna Madre.
As many in the RGV realize, the vacation destination of SPI makes for many high dollar properties there. Plus we have numerous, varied, clean ecotourism companies and jobs to provide a sustainable green future, along with solar and wind turbines.
LNGs use fossil fuels (natural gas) to process and ship overseas, leaving the toxic pollution in the air and water around the proposed sites.
If only one LNG plant is built, it will emit more greenhouse gases (GHGs) than all of the cars, trucks, and farm equipment in Cameron county combined. The proposed LNGs are less than three miles behind HEB and Walmart in Port Isabel, plus they are even closer to the Port Isabel High School. So, this huge amount of toxic pollution will rain down upon us on a daily basis.
That is why we, the guardians of the Laguna Madre, having been fighting so strongly Against the LNGs! I urge everyone in Cameron County and the RGV to come to the rescue of the people and wildlife and birds who currently live here and want to preserve our shrinking habitat for future generations.
Pope Francis, plus the Paris Climate talks, plus the EPA restrictions on fossil fuels, all tell us to leave the fossil fuels in the ground. Go with the renewables, solar and wind. We can do that; we already have wind turbines and solar panels creating jobs and electricity in and for Cameron County residents.
We do not need, and definitely do not want, any LNGs to destroy our precious Laguna Madre ecosystems and ecofriendly jobs.
I regret that I am unable to run for BND commissioner, as I would have liked to discuss this topic more in depth with everyone in the RGV. So, this will have to suffice.
Rick Teter
Laguna Vista
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