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November 26, 2024
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Official Newsletter of the Texas Chemistry Council and the Texas Chemistry Alliance.
| | As we enter the Thanksgiving season, I am reminded of how much we have to be grateful for. The holiday season offers an opportunity to reflect on the incredible work of our members, our Board, staff, and volunteers who keep our organization strong and thriving. |
| | The role of the chemical industry is nothing short of essential — not only to our region, our state, and our country but also to the world. Situated along the Gulf Coast, we are one of the world’s largest hubs for chemical manufacturing. Our region’s production and exports help power our economy and contribute to global advancement while supporting critical initiatives worldwide. |
| | The 89th Texas Legislature will convene on January 14, 2025. Bill prefiling began on November 11th, and will continue through March 14, 2025. There have already been nearly 2,000 bills filed to date. TCC reviews every bill filed and anticipates tracking over 1,000 bills that may potentially affect our industry in the upcoming session. |
| | On October 8, 2024, EPA published a proposed rule that adds 16 individually listed PFAS and 15 categories of PFAS to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) based health risk information. This represents the addition of more than 100 unique PFAS. The EPA is also reclassifying some prior individually listed PFAS to be included in a PFAS category. The TRI was established to help track the management of toxic chemicals and support pollution prevention efforts under the Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and Pollution Prevent Act (PPA). Chemicals listed on the TRI are subject to certain annual reporting requirements for regulated facilities. |
| | The chemical industry has been yearning for the Trump administration’s hands-off approach to regulations ever since Jan. 20, 2021, the day President Joe Biden took office. For chemical manufacturers, the return of Donald J. Trump to the White House symbolizes a momentous shift toward less regulation and bureaucratic oversight. |
| | U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Texas, has filed legislation that, if approved, would give $280 million to Texas to help border farmers for losses incurred due to drought and a lack of water payments from Mexico. Mexico owes the United States a total of 1.75 million acre-feet of water by next October, under the 1944 international water treaty. |
| | The tests indicated high levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the soil, ponds, well water, and animal tissue, according to a PEER analytical report provided to Johnson County Commissioners. Detection of PFAS, also known as forever chemicals, is not rare, due to their use in a wide range of consumer products, like paper packaging, nonstick cookware and cosmetics. But studies have indicated exposure to several of these man-made chemicals may pose health risks to humans and animals and affect the environment. |
| | Plastics companies should prepare for lawsuits and pressure from insurance companies around so-called "forever chemicals," with the courts and product liability potentially carrying more long-term risk for the industry than government regulations. |
| | The city of Corpus Christi picked the firm to design and build its first seawater purification system, expected to cost at least $750 million, to drought-proof its water supply. Corpus Christi picked Kiewit Infrastructure South Co. to design and build the city’s first seawater desalination plant in order to create a drought-proof water supply for its growing population, according to an Oct. 4 news release from the city. |
| | A large solar farm north of Houston that received about $200 million in financing a year ago has come online. Recurrent Energy, a subsidiary of Canadian Solar, announced Thursday that Liberty Solar, a 134 megawatt project in Liberty County, about 50 miles northeast of Houston, had started operations. The project has contracts to feed electricity to corporate customers including Autodesk, Biogen, an electronics unit of Merck and Wayfair. |
| | The demand for energy in the U.S. has grown rapidly throughout the last three years. The nation’s surge is concentrated among a few states, said Jeff Schmid, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. One of those being Texas. There’s a lot going in the Lone Star State that contributes to Texas’ load growth. There’s the state’s expanding footprint of energy-intensive data centers, artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency mining, a growing population, extreme weather patterns and the increase of electric vehicles. |
| | Late last week, ERCOT released its Monthly Outlook of Resource Adequacy. It forecasts that if Texas experienced another Winter Storm Elliott — the freeze that hit Texas two years ago — there would be a 50% probability of rolling outages. |
| | Industrial facilities that produce plastics and their ingredients across the U.S. dump unlimited wastewater with nutrient pollution and cancer-causing toxins directly into waterways, according to a new analysis from the data-focused nonprofit Environmental Integrity Project. |
| | New research by engineers at MIT could lead to rapid improvements in a variety of electrochemical systems that are under development to convert carbon dioxide into a valuable commodity. The team developed a new design for the electrodes used in these systems, which increases the efficiency of the conversion process. |
| | Alterra announced the first closing of its latest equity investment round with funding from Infinity Recycling, LyondellBasell and Chevron Phillips Chemical. This investment round will accelerate the commercialization of Alterra's Advanced Recycling technology, designed to transform discarded plastic into valuable raw materials, creating a more sustainable and circular economy. Infinity Recycling led the financing round via its Circular Plastics Fund. |
| | The Paris-based start-up Dioxycle wants to slash the amount of fossil fuels needed to make ethylene by using waste carbon emissions as its feedstock in a process powered by renewable electricity. The company has designed an electrolyzer that converts carbon monoxide and water into ethylene and oxygen. The device can be coupled with other technology that converts carbon dioxide into CO. |
| | Customers and consumers are looking for more circular solutions, which can require complex materials management systems and partnerships, according to two speakers from Dow Inc.'s packaging business. |
Top | | The Louisiana Chemical Association (LCA) and the Louisiana Chemical Industry Alliance (LCIA) have initiated a search process to identify its next leader. Current President and CEO Greg Bowser has committed to support the organization through 2025, as needed, to facilitate a seamless transition of leadership. |
| | As Eastman Chemical Co. prepares to expand its Longview-area plant with a $1.2 billion plastic recycling facility, a proposed air quality permit submitted to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality provided the clearest picture yet of what the new build could mean for local air pollution. |
| | Dallas-based Celanese is "reducing manufacturing costs through the end of 2024 by temporarily idling production facilities in every region and driving cash generation through an expected $200 million inventory release in the fourth quarter," the company said Nov. 4. |
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Upcoming Events
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December 5, 2024 | Deer Park, TX |
| December 10, 2024 | Portland, TX |
| December 10, 2024 | League City, TX |
| December 11, 2024
1:50PM | San Jacinto, TX |
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