News and stories about our work to protect and advance the civil legal rights of low-income Texans.
Port Arthur Community Action Network, Lone Star Legal Aid, and Environmental Integrity Project are hosting a virtual press conference about this decision on Wednesday, May 25, 2022, at 10 AM, via Facebook Live at www.Facebook.com/LoneStarLegalAid. Reporters interested in joining the virtual meeting to ask questions directly to the speakers can email cayala@lonestarlegal.org to receive Zoom instructions. Port Arthur, Texas — […]
Updated February 15, 2023 Freeport, TX – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties is evaluating the complaint submitted by Lone Star Legal Aid on behalf of residents living in the East End of Freeport, Texas in November 2017. The administrative complaint alleges violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 […]
Brazoria County, TX – There will be a public meeting held on March 10, 2022, at 7 PM, regarding Gladieux Metals Recycling, LLC’s Permit Application for Air Permit No. 1157c. The existing facility will emit the following contaminants: ammonia, arsenic, carbon monoxide, cobalt, hazardous air pollutants, hydrogen chloride, hydrogen peroxide, nitrogen oxides, nickel, organic compounds, particulate matter including particulate matter […]
Houston, TX – The City of Houston’s Super Neighborhood 48 (“SN48”), covering an area known as Trinity Gardens and Houston Gardens (“The Gardens”), through its attorneys at Lone Star Legal Aid, has filed a Title VI Civil Rights Administrative Complaint with the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and U.S. Department of Housing and […]
Port Arthur, Texas – John Beard, the President of PA-CAN (Port Arthur Community Action Network), a community group client of our Environmental Justice Team, is being recognized for his environmental advocacy with two 2021 Awards, the FracTracker Alliance’s 2021 Community Sentinel Award for Environmental Stewardship and the Climate Law Institute’s 2021 Rose Braz Award for Bold Activism. The Community Sentinel […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 18, 2021 Media Contacts: Clarissa Ayala, Communications Director at Lone Star Legal Aid, (713) 652-0077 or cayala@lonestarlegal.org Colin Cox, Environmental Integrity Project (832) 316-0580 or ccox@environmentalintegrity.org Austin, Texas. – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, on October 15, 2021, agreed to investigate whether Texas violated the civil rights of a mostly African-American community in Port Arthur by allowing dangerous amounts […]
The 85-Year-Old Oxbow Petroleum Coke Plant in Port Arthur is One of the Largest Sources of Sulfur Dioxide Pollution in the State EMBARGOED for Release: 10 am CST, Wednesday, August 18, 2021 Media Contacts: Clarissa Ayala, Communications Director at Lone Star Legal Aid, (832) 627-8404 or cayala@lonestarlegal.org Ari Phillips, Environmental Integrity Project, (505) 629-6148, aphillips@environmentalintegrity.org Note to TV reporters and […]
Union Pacific (“UP”) has applied to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (“TCEQ”) for an RCRA Permit that would address the Creosote/DNAPL Plume that is currently underneath parts of a residential neighborhood in the 5th Ward/Kashmere Gardens area, as well as its own property. Before UP’S permit is approved, the public has the right to weigh in on the matter […]
In the past few years, Houston has appeared on the list of top 10 most polluted cities in the country, according to the American Lung Association “State of the Air” report. Given the size of the state and its fluctuating air quality, it is important that Texans stay informed about the role they can play in keeping Texas air clean. […]
The constant advancement of science, technology, and engineering has allowed for global progress, but our planet has endured the less favorable consequences of the process. With each passing day, our duty to preserve and protect the Earth grows. Though every day should present the opportunity to practice environmentally conscious and mindful behavior, April 22nd has served as the official Earth […]
Houston, TX – In every large city in America, a small amount of housing is reserved for the poor, but it’s usually located in poor neighborhoods: with poor access to transportation, groceries, and jobs. Luckily, conditions improve when neighborhoods gentrify, except long-term residents don’t usually benefit from the improvements. Rising rents usually force out them, thereby continuing a cycle of […]
HOUSTON (Jan. 20, 2021) — Residents of Northeast Houston are calling on the company responsible for decades of creosote contamination in their community to move them out of harm’s way after the state of Texas found high numbers of childhood cancers. The Department of State Health Services’ findings come 13 months after it identified 10 census tracts in Houston’s 5th […]
The Coastal Texas Study is a proposal from the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to spend approximately $20 billion to protect the Texas Gulf Coast from flooding during storms and from rising sea levels. Its impacts will be broad, and affect many aspects of life on the Gulf Coast. The US Army Corps of Engineers recently released a “Draft […]
Have environmental laws changed during COVID-19? Yes, some temporary changes were recently made to both federal and state environmental policies in response to COVID-19. On March 26, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the agency’s exercise of its enforcement discretion for noncompliance due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The policy applies retroactively beginning on March 13, 2020. A seven-page […]
Community members have a unique voice when it comes to commenting on large infrastructure projects which can impact community health, safety, and livelihoods. The public comment process provides an opportunity for community members to share their personal experiences and concerns about a potential project undergoing the environmental review process under the National Environmental Policy Act. In the following video presentation, LSLA […]
Port Arthur, TX – Port Arthur Community Action Network (PA-CAN) has secured a brighter future for Port Arthur residents through a recent settlement agreement with Motiva Enterprises LLC on the company’s plans to expand its Port Arthur refinery and operations. The resulting agreement was reached on January 21, 2020 after the community group withdrew its permit challenges with the Texas […]
Starting on January 30, 2020, the City of Houston will host a final round of three community workshops to learn more about TxDOT’s North Houston Highway Improvement Project (NHHIP), the proposed expansion of I-45N from downtown to Beltway 8 and changes to downtown-area freeway connections including I-69, I-10 and 288. The City of Houston developed a number of improvements to […]
Houston, TX – Lone Star Legal Aid clients will soon be able to report and track their environmental concerns through a new mobile app. LSLA’s Environmental Justice Team, part of the Equitable Development Initiative, proposed this client-based application as a tool that community members will be able to use for reporting and tracking environmental issues that they see and experience […]
On January 21, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee held a Town Hall at Phillis Wheatley High School in Houston’s Fifth Ward, where a recent cancer cluster investigation by the Texas Department of State Health Services found higher than expected rates of cancers of the lung and bronchus, esophagus, and larynx in Fifth Ward and Kashmere Gardens neighborhoods, with elevated rates of […]
Houston, TX – In a stunning reversal of plans, a concrete batch plant operator has withdrawn its application for a permit to operate next to homes and across the street from Highland Park and Community Center, a vital community gathering space and park in Acres Homes, a historic community of color in Northwest Houston. Hundreds of community members were engaged […]