Michael Stravato

The Dow petrochemical plant in Freeport, Texas, has been found to be the nation’s worst wastewater polluter, according to a new report.

This is one of the conclusions of the latest study by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) entitled: “The toxic river of plastic”, which was released Thursday afternoon.

The report, which examines data from 2021 to 2023, finds that dozens of petrochemical plants – factories that use oil and gas to make plastics, industrial chemicals and pesticides – violated federal regulations without repercussions substantial, or even non-existent.

Of the 70 petrochemical plants the EIP reported on, 58 violated at least one wastewater regulation. Only eight factories were penalized, with the average fine being $266.

Krisen Schlemmersenior legal director of Bayou City Waterkeeper, a Houston-based environmental protection nonprofit, pointed out during a webinar that when it comes to violating wastewater regulations, “some “We have some of the worst actors right here in our backyard in Texas.”

Of the plants that have violated the Clean Waters Act, 28 are in Texas, leaving only two plants in the state that have not violated federal wastewater regulations.

Local environmental experts and the report’s authors point to lax Environmental Protection Agency regulations to explain why factories have continued to dump dangerous chemicals — and large amounts of deadly chemicals — into waterways.

Jen Duggan, executive director of the EIP, said Communities of color and low-income households are most at risk.

“The uncontrolled pollution caused by these plants is harming people’s livelihoods and quality of life and putting our health at risk,” Duggan said. “This puts our health at risk and shifts the cost of cleaning up this pollution to communities rather than the companies that create it.”

According to the report, the Dow plant in Brazoria County is the leading wastewater polluter due to three toxic chemicals: dioxin, nitrogen and phosphorus, and dioxin.

Dioxin is a powerful and toxic chemical that has been linked to cancer, reproductive and developmental problems, hormonal imbalances, and a weakened immune system. Just one drop of dioxin is enough to contaminate 44 swimming pools, according to the EPA.

Yet there are no federal limits on the amount of dioxins that plastics and chemical plants can release into waterways.

The Dow Freeport plant released more than 800 grams of dioxins into the Brazos River in 2022.

Additionally, according to the report, in 2023 it released more than 3.3 million pounds of nitrogen and nearly 700,000 pounds of phosphorus into the river.

Schlemmer said both chemicals “degrade water quality, making it difficult for life in the water to survive.” Yet those are exactly the things the Dows Freeport facility released into the Brazos River, which is upstream from popular fishing spots as well as a surf-side beach.

To encourage stricter regulations on petrochemical plants, the report’s authors made five recommendations to protect communities and wildlife:

• Require the use of modern wastewater pollution monitoring technology
• Ban the dumping of plastic pellets into waterways
• Update and improve monitoring requirements in permit applications and permits
• Strengthen Enforcement of Clean Water Act Permit Violations and Impose Penalties
• Improving permit transparency and record keeping