Earth Day 2022: How T.E.J.A.S. is fighting for environmental justice in Houston neighborhood

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The Houston neighborhood of Manchester sits east of the 610 Loop. According to the Texas State Historical Association, the community was established in the early 1860s, and by the 1970s, the area became fully industrial. Now, it sits along the 52-mile Houston Ship Channel and is surrounded by refineries.

Nallali Hidalgo, who works as the education liaison with Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services (TEJAS), explains what the area used to be like.

"It was more than likely an open field with native plants and trees, beautiful ecosystem where you could only hear the birds and wildlife outside. Now, you can hear the train tracks and noises coming from the facilities. There's so much noise pollution happening," she said.

Juan Parras founded TEJAS with his wife, Ana, back in 1995 to advocate for environmental equity in marginalized communities. They work closely with people living in Manchester, who are predominantly Hispanic and living within walking distance of these chemical plants. After decades of working as an activist, Parras says there's not enough being done to protect these residents in the case of a deadly explosion.

"Low-income communities, communities of color are always being dumped on whenever they want to build a refinery, chemical plant, or something that pollutes a community. They generally go to what they call 'areas of least resistance,'" he said. "There are schools nearby that we are seriously concerned about. On a personal level, I will say my wife has been impacted. She's got breathing disorders and has to occasionally get on an oxygen tank."

Parras also worries about the health hazards that these chemical plants can pose to the residents of Manchester. According to a study by the University of Texas, children living in a two-mile radius of the Houston Ship Channel have a 56 percent greater chance of developing leukemia than those living beyond a 10-mile radius.

Hidalgo says many choose not to move out of the area, because they either don't have the means to or they don't understand the severity of the risks.

"So oftentimes, it's not perceived as a dangerous place. You don't grow up thinking that your home is harmful or your environment is harmful," she said. "No one should be outside on a playground and sitting within a dangerous zone. That's why it's important to advocate for reforms and policy like the RMP rule, where facilities would be forced to look into new technologies and processes that don't involve dangerous chemicals."

Some of TEJAS' accomplishments include the implementation of translation services by TCEQ and their partnership with Furr High School to make it the first environmental justice school in the nation. Hidalgo says TEJAS focuses on public education efforts, partnering with research institutions to provide data-driven information to the community and empowering them to speak up.

"We tell community members to not let this be normalized. When you're living in a heavy industrial site, you can get used to the odors or the incidents that happen," said Hidalgo. "There's often barriers that don't allow these communities to fully engage. One is language and another is status. If you're an immigrant in this country, do you feel safe in sharing your concerns about the environment? If you speak up, will there be repercussions to you and your family, if you have connections to the industry?"

She says they also spend a significant amount of time pushing elected officials for change and advocating to environmental agencies on policy and reform.

"A lot of the time, leaders and groups are reactive to a situation, especially with chemical and natural disasters instead of proactive and meaningful about it. We want to prevent these incidents from happening ahead of time," she said.

But Parras says this is something he and his wife can't do forever. That's why they're building the next generation of environmental activists, like Hidalgo.

"I don't want to call myself a leader. But once the leaders for the institutions fighting for justice ... once we go, everything just dies out, right? And the environment is never going to end. So we need to make sure that somebody else is gonna carry the torch and fight for environmental justice," he said. "What gives us hope is that we see other communities through the nation that are successful in addressing their environmental concerns, getting the industry to buckle up, and say they will change their operating methods."

Parras says their goal is not to ultimately shut these refineries down. But they are pushing for a switch to safer chemicals. They also want environmental agencies to implement a relocation plan for those who live on the fenceline of these plants. Hidalgo says they would like to eventually see refinery workers to be equitably trained and transitioned into cleaner and safer jobs, instead of being fired once their job is no longer needed.

For more information about Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services, visit their website.

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