The Gulf Trust, Conservation Organizations, and Community Stakeholders Call on Dow and Union Carbide to Take a Leadership Role in Preventing Industrial Pollution on the Texas Coast

Conservation organizations and community stakeholders warn that an unprecedented wastewater discharge permit application endangers San Antonio Bay, Matagorda Bay, and the Texas Gulf Coast

AUSTIN, Texas, March 31, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- In a letter to Jim Fitterling, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Dow Hydrocarbons and Resources LLC, and Mark Costa, Chief Executive Officer of Union Carbide Corporation, the Gulf Trust, along with conservation organizations and community stakeholders, called on both companies to work with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to set a date, time, and location for a public meeting within 45 days or withdraw their treated wastewater discharge permit renewal application.

The letter states that if the permit application is renewed with amendments and without public input, it may lead to the release of chemicals and floating solids, including plastic pellets, flakes, powder, and foam, into waterways feeding San Antonio Bay, Matagorda Bay, and ultimately set a precedent leading to widespread industrial pollution along the entire Texas Gulf Coast. While it is rumored that TCEQ intends to hold a public meeting on the permit application, no information has been released to the public.

The permit application, filed in January for Dow's 4,700-acre Seadrift facility, asks state regulators for a proposed increase in discharge volumes and changes to the discharge limits on floating solids and chemicals into local waterways — the same discharges that form the basis of active lawsuits against the company, including a suit filed by the State of Texas Attorney General.

In Dow and Union Carbide's amended permit application, the companies ask to change the language "requiring no discharge of floating solids other than trace amounts." If both companies force TCEQ to define "trace amounts" without full public engagement, the new standard, if not strict enough, could increase chemical and plastic pollution in Texas bays and the Gulf.

Dow's application also sought nine other permit modifications, including authorization to release firefighting fluids through all of its 16 outfalls, and an increase in maximum daily discharge at one of its outfalls from 17 million gallons to 25 million gallons.

"Texas has spent decades building one of the most productive and healthy coastlines in the Gulf, and it rests on a basic principle: that our bays and estuaries are worth conserving," said Jay Kleberg, Executive Director of the Gulf Trust. "We are asking Dow and Union Carbide to lead on the issue of industrial pollution and work with TCEQ to put a public meeting, open to all stakeholders, on the books in the next 45 days or withdraw their amendment application."

San Antonio and Matagorda Bay are some of the most ecologically significant estuaries on the Texas coast, providing critical nursery habitat for shrimp, crabs, and finfish that support commercial and recreational fisheries across the Gulf. Plastic and chemical pollution pose serious risks to marine wildlife, coastal ecosystems, and the fishing communities that depend on them.

According to Dr. Richard Beilfuss, President & CEO of the International Crane Foundation, "San Antonio Bay and Matagorda Bay provide vital winter habitat for the wintering Aransas-Wood Buffalo Population of Whooping Cranes. This population is the last wild self-sustaining population for this species, the rarest crane on earth, and North America's second rarest bird species. The health of these bays is crucial for the species' continued recovery."

The letter to Dow and Union Carbide can be accessed here and is supported by a coalition of conservation organizations and community stakeholders, including: Bill Balboa, Executive Director, Matagorda Bay Foundation; Allan Berger, Chair, San Antonio Bay Partnership; Richard Beilfuss, Ph.D., President & CEO, International Crane Foundation; Anne Brown, Board President, Gulf Trust; Robyn Cobb, President, Coastal Bend Audubon Society; Will and Pam Harte; Grahame Jones, Executive Director, Texas Conservation Alliance; Jay Kleberg, Executive Director, Gulf Trust; Jennifer Walker, Senior Director, Texas Coast and Water Program, National Wildlife Federation.

About the Gulf Trust: The Gulf Trust advances the long-term sustainable use and conservation of the Gulf by implementing pragmatic, science-backed solutions that work for industry, the environment, and Texas communities. The Gulf Trust unites scientists, policymakers, businesses, and conservation organizations to address the most pressing challenges facing the Texas coast and Gulf. Learn more at gulftrust.org.

SOURCE The Gulf Trust