Four reasons neighbors have concerns about the activities at Port San Antonio…and why you should too

For over two decades, local residents have voiced their concerns about environmental and health issues in the neighborhoods that surround the former Kelly Air Force Base. Years after Base Realignment and Closure operations found massive amounts of contamination in the soil and in a nearby shallow aquifer, the decontamination process is still ongoing. And now as a result of its redevelopment into an industrial park (not sure who thinks up these terms), it is back to polluting the neighboring communities under a different name: Port San Antonio.

Residents have dealt with the issues from their not so good neighbor for years. But its not just fenceline communities that should be concerned. In San Antonio and South Texas we have a big problem with how we deal with the impacts of industrial development. Here is the abbreviated list of why it’s not just Kelly/Quintana Road issue.

1. Air quality concerns have drawn national attention

Port San Antonio serves as an industrial complex that houses a railport, airport, and a hub for the booming hydraulic fracturing (fracking) industry in South Texas. This translates to an average of 55 railcars and 220 trucks per day at the facility. These large trucks and trains release diesel emissions and particulate matter that have been shown to deteriorate local air quality and have tangible effects on respiratory health. In 2013, the American Lung Association gave Bexar County an F for its poor ozone quality in its State of the Air report. What’s more, San Antonio’s ozone levels are so high as a result of the increased local and regional industrial activity that it risks being designated a nonattainment area by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency–a designation that would result in the mandatory implementation of an improvement plan in order to avoid losing federal assistance. This would place San Antonio in the ranks of the industrial Houston metro area.

2. We are experiencing higher rates of cancers and respiratory disease that require more long-term, in-depth study

Thus far no risk or impact assessment has been conducted to guide decision-making and development. However several assessments from similar rail yard ports have found significant health risks for nearby communities. These risks include respiratory and cardiovascular problems, and higher incidence of certain cancers.

Robert and Guadalupe Alvarado, members of the Committee of Environmental Justice Action and residents of the Kelly area for over 40 years, said they have watched many of their neighbors die of various forms of cancer. Out of the 13 homes on their block, residents of 12 of those homes have or have died of cancer.

While studies by the Centers for Disease Control, the Environmental Protection Agency and others show higher than normal rates of cancer and birth defects, they say the causes are inconclusive. However in light of the increasing industrial activity in the area, these incidences should not be overlooked. Furthermore, impacts should be investigated on the front end of development rather than decades later. This is something all South Texas residents should be concerned amid the fracking boom going on in our backyard.  

3. It’s just as much about day-to-day basic safety as it is about the risk of large-scale emergencies

Heavy truck traffic makes communities less safe for children at play and the residents that rely on public transit. Residents can testify to trucks barreling down neighborhood roads undesignated for large truck use. In other communities, increased industrial truck traffic has led to dramatic increases in accidents that place residents in very real danger.

On a larger scale, the San Antonio Office of Emergency Management has designated transport-related hazardous material or oil spills a “highly likely” threat in the city, yet currently no hazard-specific or neighborhood-based emergency plans are in place for the Port San Antonio neighboring area.  

In 2004, at least 21 derailments occurred in San Antonio, including a major chlorine spill that killed 3 people. Communities intersected by multiple rail lines need additional input in and education on localized emergency plans.

4. It’s about political power and what we do here sets a precedent

An environmental justice approach seeks to correct the reality that hazardous waste dumps, polluting industries, and military installations are disproportionately sited in low-income and people of color communities. The cumulative effect of multiple sources of contamination in these neighborhoods continues to damage the environment and resident health.

This Southwest San Antonio community bears the burden of the eight decades of toxic activity at Kelly Air Force Base that resulted in one of the largest chlorinated solvent plumes in the country, but it is also home to the Tropicana Refinery superfund site, an EPA-designated polluted area requiring long-term hazardous contaminant clean up. Aside from that, the community is also forced to deal with the daily pollution and noise from 3 major highways, multiple railroad tracks, and aircraft flights.

There is a reason that these industries are not sited in wealthier areas with higher land values, where residents often have access to more organizing, political, and dollar power to influence the outcome of development. The households in the area have among the lowest median incomes in San Antonio, and have limited access to community resources, including healthcare facilities.

It’s not necessarily that the community is being completely ignored, it’s that corporate interests want poor and people of color communities to believe that having a job–any job–and having a healthy environment are mutually exclusive. Under the guise of economic development–aka with plenty of business tax incentives but without adequate community-based workforce training programs or investment in community resources–very little is being done to transform the community or empower residents. And that’s how those in power want it to stay.

As the Port and region look to expand industrial activity in the near future, we must look at the differential impacts across income, race, and neighborhood lines. Equity is essential to long-term environmental, health, and economic sustainability in the region, and when taken into account decisions can be made to mitigate harms and maximize benefits for local residents.

As residents, voters, taxpayers, and small business owners in the community, we must exercise our power and not let it be business as usual in the Kelly area.

Please contact Diana Lopez (dianalopez@swunion.org) to find out more information and get involved with our campaign.