INGLESIDE — Despite opposition from Coastal Bend residents, Canadian energy company Enbridge and Norwegian chemicals company Yara continue to pursue plans for an ammonia production facility in Ingleside.
Thursday evening, the ammonia plant team held an open house at the Humble Station Community and Youth Center in Ingleside. At the same time, environmental coalition Coastal Action Network held a march and community meeting in opposition of the project.
The company's meeting came ahead of a public meeting planned next week in Portland by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality regarding air permits for the facility.
Project YaREN is being developed by Enbridge and Yara through their joint venture, Ingleside Clean Ammonia Partners LLC. According to the project website , the companies plan to build two production trains with a total capacity of up to 2.8 million metric tons of ammonia per year, beginning sometime between 2028 and 2030. If Project YaREN receives the necessary approvals, the production facility will be located at the Enbridge Ingleside Energy Center, located east of Ingleside on the Bay facing the mouth of Corpus Christi Bay.
The ammonia would be exported by sea and used in the production of fertilizers and other industrial applications. An estimated 95% of the carbon dioxide generated during the production process would be captured and transported off site and stored in geologic storage in South Texas.
In January, the Ingleside City Council denied an objectionable use permit for the facility after hearing concerns from community members.
After the January meeting, Enbridge and Yara shared a letter of apology with the city, which the city has shared online. The letter apologized for the tone of the presentation and pledged additional transparency.
Several months later, the companies are still pursuing the ammonia facility. Currently, the project is in a community engagement phase, company representatives said.
"The project still relies upon having that local community engagement and approval to proceed," project manager Tarek Shaaban said.
During the objectionable use permitting process last year, it became "very evident" that the community had concerns and questions, Project YaREN representative and Enbridge Manager of Stakeholder Engagement Ally Root said Thursday.
Outside, Patrick Nye, president of the Ingleside by the Bay Coastal Watch Association, said that he has many concerns, including whether a carbon capture pipeline is safe for the community and whether the project will actually be able to capture as much carbon dioxide as advertised, as well as whether the project will result in harmful emissions.
Enbridge does not currently have any air monitors on site, project representatives said Thursday, but is considering plans. Company representatives did not say where exactly captured carbon would be stored, but they said a third-party specialty company would be involved.
"I'm not supportive of the plant at all," Tim Doty said, holding a protest sign outside the meeting. "It's too close to the communities in the downwind sector, and any kind of release, whether it's an accidental release or an emergency release or just typical emissions, that wouldn't be healthy for people."
Doty is working with the Ingleside on the Bay Coastal Watch Association. He is a retired Texas Commission on Environmental Quality employee who managed the mobile air monitoring program for 17 years. Doty said that the TCEQ permitting process is based on modeling and self-reported emissions data as opposed to real-life situations.
"My experience and knowledge tells me this is a dangerous plant," Doty said.
According to materials from the open house, ammonia manufactured at the facility will be stored as liquefied gas at cold temperatures, which the company says minimizes the risk of the product becoming vaporized and airborne.
The company plans to "meet or exceed" state and federal regulatory requirements, according to the materials. About 15% of the project cost will go toward safety and environmental features.
"There's no room for ammonia," Ingleside on the Bay resident Ken Willis said. "I see no reason to bring in two foreign countries to ruin our atmosphere."
Willis has lived in the area since 1959, when he moved to Portland as a 6-year-old. Lynne Porter lived in Ingleside for 15 years before moving to Ingleside on the Bay five years ago.
"I don't want an ammonia plant anywhere near our city," Porter said.
According to Project YaREN, the ammonia production facility would create 200 permanent jobs.
Protesters were also concerned about another industrial facility being built in the direction where winds blow in from the bay.
Cyndi Valdes lives within a mile of the Enbridge property in Ingleside on the Bay.
"Nobody has shared any sort of safety plan for the residents of Ingleside or Ingleside on the Bay," Valdes said. "We're scared."
Root said that the project is in the early stages of development and emergency response plans will be built in coordination with local emergency responders.
Several of the protesters Thursday also had concerns about how much water the project will consume and where that water will come from.
According to a project fact sheet, the project will use seawater from the La Quinta Channel for recirculating cooling and heating systems. Project YaREN representative Austin Taylor, an environmental adviser, said that Yara has successfully used seawater before. Most of the sea water will be used untreated, Taylor said, but about 10% of the water will be demineralized and treated.
Taylor said that water released back into the environment will meet "stringent" salinity and temperature requirements in order to prevent impacts to the bay.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is set to hold a public meeting on the company's application for air quality permits to authorize the construction of blue ammonia production trains. The meeting is planned for 7 p.m. Thursday at the Portland Community Center in Portland.
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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Enbridge, Yara pursuing Ingleside ammonia plant permits amid community pushback
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