Our Story
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Residents attend a vigil for the victims of the Uvalde school massacre at the Chispa Texas office on May 24, 2023.
Jennifer J. Bray/Coastal Action Network
In September of 2022, the collaborative released a study detailing tax abatements given by school districts to corporate polluters. The study—which was widely covered in the press—demonstrated unequivocally that the “jobs and growth” narrative touted by industry is a raw deal for taxpayers.
CAN members allied with the “Clean Slate” of candidates in the November 2022 Corpus Christi City Council election. Efforts by CAN to educate voters were successful and it is thanks to this work that Jim Klein (At Large) and Sylvia Campos (District 2) now sit on the Corpus Christi City Council.
Our work has been featured in media outlets ranging from Texas Monthly to Telemundo to First Nations Drum Online to the Houston Chronicle, and has resulted in several significant wins. Including the cancellation of a proposed billion-dollar petrochemical facility, “Project Falcon,” and the Environmental Protection Agency’s denial of a permit for the massive Bluewater Texas Terminal, an offshore liquid natural gas export terminal, due to pollution concerns. The latter happened after members of CAN held a town hall with EPA Region 6 Administrator Dr. Earthea Nance.
Looking forward, we seek to build on this momentum and deepen the impact of our work by expanding the campaign to change the petrochemical industry’s narrative and demand greater accountability from our public officials. In so doing, we hope to preserve the natural beauty of the Coastal Bend so that it will be enjoyed by generations to come.