Examining Environmental Injustice in the Location of High Emissions Facilities and Registered Permits by Rule in Texas

Abstract

Background:

The siting of high emissions facilities can have important implications for environmental justice.

Methods:

We contribute to environmental justice literature by identifying several critical pathways in which high emissions facilities across Texas disproportionately burden communities of color, especially communities with higher percentages of Black and Hispanic residents. In addition, we assess the breakdown of facilities with registered permits by rule (PBR) by percentage of people of color (POC).

Results:

Using a detailed city-by-city analysis, we show that four of the cities having the most facilities (namely Houston, Port Arthur, Corpus Christi, and San Antonio) have facilities located in geographies with significantly higher percentages of POC than the county in which they are located. We also observe that Texas counties with higher rates of POC and Black populations have more high emissions facilities. When we look at specific counties, we see that, in Harris County, higher percentages of Hispanic populations are positively associated with more facilities. In Dallas County, the percentage of POC and the percentage of Black population are key predictors of the number of facilities. Finally, we find that the majority of facilities with PBRs in three major cities across Texas are in areas that are majority POC within a 3-mile radius. In Corpus Christi, for example, as many as 95% of facilities with registered PBRs are located in majority POC areas.

Discussion and Conclusion:

Our results suggest that locations of high emissions facilities disproportionately burden POC in Texas.