After years of sustained opposition from area residents and a terminated water contract, the Nueces Green Ammonia project’s contested air permit will be considered during a hearing this summer.
According to permit application documents submitted to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Avina Clean Hydrogen intends to build a green hydrogen production plant near FM 1889 and County Road 46 in Nueces County.
On the Avina Clean Hydrogen website, an artistic rendering of the plant shows a neat white facility alone in the countryside amidst flat, tree-lined fields. What the drawing doesn’t show is Sandra Arizmendi’s house right next door, or Myra Alaniz’s house down the street.
Arizmendi has lived in her home for over a decade. Alaniz has lived in hers for 25 years.
“If it gets built there, we have to constantly worry about the air we breathe and the potential accidents that could happen,” Alaniz said.
The proposed facility would emit anhydrous ammonia, carbon monoxide, hazardous air pollutants, nitrogen oxides, organic compounds and particulate matter.
A project webpage states that the $2.2 billion investment would produce 800,000 metric tons of ammonia per year, creating 75 to 100 permanent jobs. The webpage states that the company chose the site due to “the exceptional advantages of the Port of Corpus Christi.”
Two years ago, a member of the community noticed a small sign at the proposed site informing the community of the deadline to comment on proposed permitting, Alaniz said. The neighbor posted about it on Facebook, and soon everybody was talking about it.
On March 31, the State Office of Administrative Hearings held a preliminary hearing to establish jurisdiction and to name the parties contesting the permit. The list includes Arizmendi, as well as the Concerned Citizens of Robstown and Calallen, an informal group with numerous members including Alaniz and Arizmendi.
Previous action
The executive director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality previously made a preliminary decision to issue the permit. However, on Sept. 10, the commission agreed that numerous residents should be granted a hearing contesting the air permit.
The commission agreed to refer the issue to the State Office of Administrative Hearings. Now that the preliminary hearing is complete, the protestants and the applicant have time to prepare for the hearing, when they will be able to present expert testimony, call witnesses and present exhibits.
State Rep. Denise Villalobos attended the preliminary hearing, stating she was “strongly against” the proposed plant though she described herself as a “strong proponent for industry growth.” Her remarks focused on the location of the project, as well as the pipeline that would be built if the project proceeds.
State Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa has also spoken publicly on the project — a member of his staff read a letter to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality during the Sept. 10 meeting opposing the air permit.
The commission received more than 100 requests for a hearing to contest or reconsider the air permit. In these requests, residents shared their concerns about effects on air quality, the environment and health, as well as the water demands of the project. In addition to writing about their concerns, residents attended a public meeting in Robstown and alerted local officials in Nueces County and Corpus Christi of their concerns.
The project would include the construction of electrolyzers to produce hydrogen and a wastewater treatment plant, as well as a pipeline to transport hydrogen away from the site.
The contested air permit hearing will likely be held in late June. The deadline for a decision isn’t until October.
What about water in Corpus Christi?
But that isn’t the only potential roadblock that could delay the facility. Water is another factor.
The initial application states that water for the facility would be sourced from the local water authority.
Arizmendi and Alaniz are baffled why projects like Nueces Green Ammonia that require large amounts of water are even in consideration while the region remains in a water crisis.
The company secured a contract with Nueces County Water Control and Improvement District No. 3 in May 2023 for up to 5.5 million gallons of water a day. However, in October, the district Board of Directors voted to terminate the contract.
Meeting minutes state that the district’s sole source of water is the Nueces River Basin and the ongoing drought “has made it impossible” for the district to obtain enough raw water to supply the ammonia project.
Back in 2024, city of Corpus Christi officials expressed concern about how the project could impact the regional water supply, particularly that “increased water drawn solely from the Nueces River system could dramatically increase the potential for scarcity with this water supply,” according to a memo to legislators, penned by Ryan Skrobarczyk, the city’s director of intergovernmental relations.
Avina Clean Hydrogen could not be reached for comment.
But two years ago, a company representative told the Nueces County Commissioners Court that the plant’s design aims to minimize water usage. Plans include a wastewater treatment facility, which could be used to reuse water.
Arizmendi and her husband aren’t sure what the end result of the contested air permit hearing will be. Companies like this have money, her husband told her. They can fight it, she said.
“I feel like I can’t really sleep well and I can’t know peace because I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Arizmendi said.
But Alaniz feels some hope because state legislators have spoken out about the project.
“There’s a reason that we moved out here — because we didn’t want to be around industry,” Alaniz said. “And here they are knocking at our door.”
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Nueces Green Ammonia awaits contested air permit for potential plant
Reporting by Olivia Garrett, Corpus Christi Caller Times / Corpus Christi Caller Times
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