A civil rights complaint filed against the city of Corpus Christi over its proposed desalination plant has been withdrawn and the case administratively closed, according to officials.
The federal complaint had alleged discrimination by city officials, based on the chosen location for the planned Inner Harbor seawater desalination plant.
The site, positioned off the corner of West Broadway Street and Nueces Bay Boulevard, is adjacent to the historically Black and Hispanic Hillcrest neighborhood on the city’s Northside.
The complaint against the city was initially filed by the Hillcrest Residents Association and the Citizens Alliance for Fairness and Progress in 2022.
The city has generally denied “all of the allegations related to the Hillcrest neighborhood,” according to a February 2024 memo.
In a July 21 letter sent to the city, federal officials wrote that “the complainants submitted a Withdrawal Without Resolution of Complaint” form to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on July 17.
The complaints are now administratively closed, according to the letter.
It is signed by Christina Lewis, director of the Fort Worth Regional Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.
HRA member Lamont Taylor told the Caller-Times on July 24 that the decision to withdraw the complaint was not because neighborhood concerns have been addressed, but because of the “environment that we find ourselves in and civil rights in America,” both in federal and state administrations.
It was “strongly advised that we look at coming back at another time because the issue, it’s still not going away,” he added.
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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Civil rights complaint over proposed Corpus Christi desalination plant has been withdrawn
Reporting by Kirsten Crow, Corpus Christi Caller Times / Corpus Christi Caller Times
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