Press Release
June 4, 2024
Contact: Bekah Hinojosa, bekahbot@gmail.com at 956-975-6634
Cameron County Commission votes for LNG tax handouts despite community opposition
Local organizations, the Carrizo Comecrudo Tribe, and residents packed the Cameron County Commissioners Court meeting to oppose tax abatements for LNG.
Brownsville, TX—Today, Cameron County commissioners voted to approve a 40% tax abatement agreement that would allow Texas LNG to avoid paying millions of dollars in taxes and to amend the agreement with Rio Grande LNG. Both are gas facilities owned by fossil fuel corporations proposed at the Port of Brownsville.
Despite significant community opposition, including an anti-LNG tax abatement resolution from the City of Port Isabel and the 70 community members who attended the county meeting opposing these agreements, the Court voted 4-1 in favor of the abatements. Judge Trevino was the dissenting vote.
Over 30 residents spoke out against the LNG tax abatements during the court meeting, wearing “Don’t Pass the Gas” t-shirts created by the City of Port Isabel. Speakers from different organizations shared their concerns about the proposed LNG projects, which would pollute the community’s air, destroy wildlife habitats like the Laguna Atascosa Wildlife Refuge, and damage a sacred Native historic site. Leaders opposed the LNG companies’ request for tax abatements that allow Texas LNG to avoid potentially paying $34 million and Rio Grande LNG about $373 million of taxes to the impoverished Cameron County. The South Texas Environmental Justice Network members shared the details of the new 2024 report: “LNG Tax Abatements are a Bad Deal for Cameron County.”
This is the third time commissioners have approved a widely opposed tax abatement agreement for LNG projects in Cameron County. In 2017, Rio Grande LNG was granted this tax abatement, which was amended this morning. 2019, the court granted a similar tax abatement to the now-canceled Annova LNG project.
In response, Bekah Hinojosa, with the South Texas Environmental Justice Network, issued the following statement:
“The Cameron County commissioners have once again ignored their constituents by approving a tax abatement for a dangerous fossil fuel project widely opposed by the community. As taxpayers in the county, we categorically reject funding the pollution that we’ll be forced to breathe if Rio Grande LNG and Texas LNG are built.”
In response, Dina Nuñez, a member of the Vecinos para el bienestar de la comunidad costera group, issued the following statement:
“LNG is an industry that will poison the air, land, and water where we live. They will end our chance to survive from shrimping and fishing. Our children will be exposed to toxins in the air and that will make them more vulnerable to respiratory diseases. LNG will wipe out the few areas we have access to for recreation, and now it turns out that they will have their taxes forgiven. This industry has to be responsible like every resident of Cameron County, if we pay taxes they have to pay them, too.”
In response, Lupita Sanchez, executive director of Border Workers United, issued the following statement:
“For years, we have fought so low-income communities in the Rio Grande Valley can have opportunities for jobs that provide fair wages, safety, and health. And what we have is a global company that, in addition to destroying our environment, will increase cancer, respiratory diseases, and even death. LNG is not the legacy we want to leave to our future generations. The residents of Cameron County deserve a better future and options where we all have the opportunity to thrive together. It is unfair that low-income residents are losing their property with tax increases while global companies like LNG and Space X are receiving tax exemptions that can be used to improve access to higher education so that our children have better opportunities to become self-sufficient in life.”
In response, Rogelio Nuñez, a lifelong resident of Cameron County, issued the following statement:
“I am a lifelong property owner, and most recently, in 2024, my property taxes will skyrocket. My wife and I are retired and on fixed income, and while prices continue to rise, our household has not changed since 2021. I, like many other taxpayers, do not get any abatements, yet we and our family have been residing in Cameron County for over 100 years and have been faithfully paying property taxes with no abatement. LNG is a multinational corporation worth billions of dollars and does not merit abatement. Their narrative about job creation does not justify the abatement, and the jobs they offer will not see transformative changes to offset the poverty of the RGV.”
In response, Patricia Rubio, a lifelong resident of Cameron County, issued the following statement:
“I am deeply saddened that our county commissioners would jeopardize our health, well-being, and livelihood for the LNG corporations. Our value is beyond dollar amounts. As a caregiver for my mother, who has various illnesses, the toxins in the air would be incredibly difficult for her to endure. She has arthritis, fibromyalgia, and asthma. She also has bone spurs in her shoulders. As the air quality drops, it will be harder for her to manage her asthma. Each cough is physically painful for her skin, lungs, and skeletal system. She is one of many who will experience a lower quality of life due to these conditions.”
Background
For nearly a decade, nearby Rio Grande Valley communities and the Carrizo Comecrudo Tribe have opposed the Rio Grande LNG, Texas LNG, and Rio Bravo Pipeline projects by filing lawsuits, protesting banks financing the projects, or passing anti-LNG resolutions. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) faces lawsuits for reapproving the LNG projects.
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South Texas Environmental Justice Network supports the leadership of frontline BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities. It includes numerous organizations, campaigns, individuals, and Tribal leadership from the South Texas region that challenge the status quo and corporate power to build a future aligned in values that centers on the social and environmental health of local communities living in reciprocal relationships with our shared natural home. https://www.facebook.com/SOTXEJN
The Carrizo Comecrudo Tribe of Texas are the original native people from the Rio Grande Valley region of South Texas. To learn more about the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas, visit http://www.carrizocomecrudonation.com.