Port Arthur, Texas – A coalition of organizations led by Lone Star Legal Aid Group Client, the Port Arthur Community Action Network (PACAN), launched a Month-of-Action to stop the proposed Blue Marlin Crude Oil Pipeline.
Energy Transfer has proposed building a crude oil pipeline through the middle of Sabine Lake and down to an offshore export terminal off the coast of Louisiana. Blue Marlin would move nearly 2 million barrels per day through the lake.
“Energy Transfer is the wrong company to operate a pipeline, and Sabine Lake and Bessie Heights Marsh would be the wrong places for a dirty pipeline,” said John Beard, Jr., CEO of PACAN. “We’re taking our campaign door to door and to the airwaves to show that Gulf Coast folks oppose this risky pipeline.”
Sabine Lake and neighboring Bessie Heights Marsh are two of the most important fisheries and bird habitats on the Gulf. Anglers and commercial fishermen, boaters, birdwatchers, and tourists visit each year, bringing money to local businesses.
“Everyone here who lives around here knows that Sabine Lake is crucial to our community and local economy,” said local resident Mary West. “We believe that Energy Transfer’s Blue Marlin project puts us at extreme risk of environmental and economic catastrophe.”
Local residents are also concerned that their lands will be unfairly seized through eminent domain, a process in which the government or other entities can acquire private property. According to the Texas and U.S. Constitutions, private property can only be seized for “public use” and only after just compensation is paid. Pipeline operators often argue they are “public use” because anyone can run their product through them, but concerned residents do not think export projects are of public use to anyone in the United States.
Local landowners concerned about fighting to protect their land or getting a fair price for it can contact the Property Rights and Pipeline Center for free support.
Lone Star Legal Aid’s Environmental Justice Unit works with communities throughout it’s 76 county service area and previously prepared a presentation for residents in Freeport, Texas. Those interested in learning about eminent domain can review that presentation here.
The Month-of-Action culminates with two town hall meetings, open to the public:
- Tuesday, July 19, 2022 at 7 PM
- Port Arthur Civic Center / Robert A Bowers Civic Center
- 3401 Cultural Center Drive, Port Arthur, TX, 77642
- Thursday, July 21, 2022 at 7 PM
- Bridge City Senior Center / Citizen Hall
- 103 Parkside Dr. Bridge City, TX, 77611
Find more info at SaveSabineLake.com and SaveTheGulf.com. Contact: John Beard, PACAN/Save Sabine Lake.org 409-626-1179.
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Port Arthur Community Action Network is a client of Lone Star Legal Aid’s Environmental Justice Unit. Lone Star Legal Aid is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit law firm focused on advocacy for low-income and underserved populations. Lone Star Legal Aid serves millions of people at 125% of federal poverty guidelines that reside in 72 counties in the eastern and Gulf Coast regions of Texas, and 4 counties of Southwest Arkansas. Lone Star Legal Aid focuses its resources on maintaining, enhancing, and protecting income and economic stability; preserving housing; improving outcomes for children; establishing and sustaining family safety and stability, health and well‐being; and assisting populations with special vulnerabilities, like those with disabilities, or who are elderly, homeless, or have limited English language skills.
To learn more about Lone Star Legal Aid, visit our website at www.lonestarlegal.org. Contact: media@lonestarlegal.org.
