{"id":1535,"date":"2011-11-11T05:00:12","date_gmt":"2011-11-11T11:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/?p=1535"},"modified":"2011-11-14T08:48:44","modified_gmt":"2011-11-14T14:48:44","slug":"after-years-as-home-trying-to-leave-refinery-row","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2011\/11\/11\/after-years-as-home-trying-to-leave-refinery-row\/","title":{"rendered":"After Years As Home, Trying to Leave Refinery Row"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-1535 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2011\/11\/11\/after-years-as-home-trying-to-leave-refinery-row\/img_2528-copy\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2528-copy-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1547\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2528-copy-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2528-copy-140x140.jpg 140w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2528-copy-60x60.jpg 60w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2528-copy-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1547'>\n\t\t\t\tA view of the Flint Hills East Refinery from the Hillcrest Neighborhood in Corpus Christi\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2011\/11\/11\/after-years-as-home-trying-to-leave-refinery-row\/img_2333\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2333-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1536\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2333-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2333-140x140.jpg 140w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2333-60x60.jpg 60w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2333-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1536'>\n\t\t\t\tTammy Foster is leading a group of residents trying to leave the neighborhood.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2011\/11\/11\/after-years-as-home-trying-to-leave-refinery-row\/img_2418-copy-2\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2418-copy1-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1540\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2418-copy1-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2418-copy1-140x140.jpg 140w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2418-copy1-60x60.jpg 60w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2418-copy1-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1540'>\n\t\t\t\tA flare erupts from a refinery stack in Corpus Christi\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2011\/11\/11\/after-years-as-home-trying-to-leave-refinery-row\/img_2524-copy\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2524-copy-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1546\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2524-copy-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2524-copy-140x140.jpg 140w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2524-copy-60x60.jpg 60w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2524-copy-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1546'>\n\t\t\t\tAn Abandoned Playground in the Hillcrest Neighborhood\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2011\/11\/11\/after-years-as-home-trying-to-leave-refinery-row\/img_2495-copy\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2495-copy-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1544\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2495-copy-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2495-copy-140x140.jpg 140w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2495-copy-60x60.jpg 60w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2495-copy-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1544'>\n\t\t\t\tOne of many boarded-up houses in the Hillcrest neighborhood, which sits next to the Citgo and Flint Hills refineries.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2011\/11\/11\/after-years-as-home-trying-to-leave-refinery-row\/img_2478-copy\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2478-copy-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1543\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2478-copy-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2478-copy-140x140.jpg 140w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2478-copy-60x60.jpg 60w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2478-copy-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1543'>\n\t\t\t\tHow do you get eminent domain in Texas? Just check a box.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2011\/11\/11\/after-years-as-home-trying-to-leave-refinery-row\/img_2476-copy\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2476-copy-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1542\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2476-copy-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2476-copy-140x140.jpg 140w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2476-copy-60x60.jpg 60w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2476-copy-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1542'>\n\t\t\t\tA sofa sits outside the Citgo East refinery in what was once the Oak Park Triangle neighborhood. 288 homes here were bought out by oil companies in the late nineties. \n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2011\/11\/11\/after-years-as-home-trying-to-leave-refinery-row\/img_2425-copy\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2425-copy-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1541\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2425-copy-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2425-copy-140x140.jpg 140w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2425-copy-60x60.jpg 60w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2425-copy-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1541'>\n\t\t\t\tHolding tanks on refinery row\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2011\/11\/11\/after-years-as-home-trying-to-leave-refinery-row\/img_2398-copy\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2398-copy-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1539\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2398-copy-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2398-copy-140x140.jpg 140w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2398-copy-60x60.jpg 60w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_2398-copy-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1539'>\n\t\t\t\tThere are Of the six major refiThere are six major refineries in the area. The EPA has flagged five of them for serious or repeated violations of the Clean Air Act\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>Tammy Foster is a lifetime resident of Refinery Row in Corpus Christi. After years of living surrounded by refineries and smoke stacks, she says<a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2011\/11\/10\/for-residents-of-refinery-row-a-life-of-fire-smoke-and-sickness\/\"> many of the families there are sick<\/a>. Now she&#8217;s leading a group of residents who think they&#8217;ve found a way to fix that.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p class=\"question\"><span class=\"abbr\" title=\"question\">Q: <\/span>Tell me about the work you are doing with your health survey of going door to door and your results that you have with that.<\/p>\n<p class=\"answer\"><span class=\"abbr\" title=\"answer\">A: <\/span>I\u2019ve only done like 25 or 30, and they&#8217;re pretty intense. Because you&#8217;re asking people everything that you can imagine. Some of that information I wouldn\u2019t want to share with the general public.\u00a0But people are doing it, they are answering the questions. They\u2019re coming clean about miscarriages and birth defects, deaths in the family, all kinds of things.<\/p>\n<p class=\"question\"><span class=\"abbr\" title=\"question\">Q: <\/span>What\u2019s your goal with those?<\/p>\n<p class=\"answer\"><span class=\"abbr\" title=\"answer\">A: <\/span>To prove to the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/tag\/tceq\/\">TCEQ<\/a> (the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality) that we have a cancer cluster and a birth defect cluster in this neighborhood.<\/p>\n<p class=\"question\"><span class=\"abbr\" title=\"question\">Q: <\/span>Once you do that, what&#8217;s the next step? Does the TCEQ or the EPA have to come in and act?<\/p>\n<p class=\"answer\"><span class=\"abbr\" title=\"answer\">A: <\/span>We are hoping they will do what they did in <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Blackwell,_Oklahoma#Zinc_Smelter\">Blackwell, Oklahoma<\/a> and force a buy out of the whole area. But that\u2019s hope &#8212; it\u00a0doesn&#8217;t\u00a0mean that they will do anything. They can tell us we are crazy and ignore us.<\/p>\n<p class=\"answer\">The TCEQ doesn\u2019t respond unless they are forced to. And as one of their employees put it, theyre nothing more than a janitorial service &#8212; the industry is here to pollute and they&#8217;re here to clean.<\/p>\n<p class=\"question\"><span class=\"abbr\" title=\"question\"><div class=\"related-content alignright\"><h4 class=\"related-header\">Related<\/h4><div class=\"links\"><h5>Posts<\/h5><ul><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2011\/11\/10\/for-residents-of-refinery-row-a-life-of-fire-smoke-and-sickness\/\">On Refinery Row, a Life of Fires, Smoke and Sickness<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2011\/11\/09\/texas-stands-out-on-polluter-list\/\">Texas Stands Out on Polluter List<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2011\/11\/08\/harris-county-attorneys-office-on-tceq-offensive-sue-polluters\/\">Texas\u2019 Lax Pollution Enforcement Leads Harris County to Take Action<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2011\/11\/07\/stateimpact-npr-poisoned-places-a-special-investigative-report\/\">StateImpact and NPR\u2019s Poisoned Places: A Special Investigative Report<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><div class=\"topics\"><h5>Topics<\/h5><p class=\"topic\"><img class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/1310743-60x60.jpg\" height=\"60\" width=\"60\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/topic\/poisoned-places\/\">Where Are Toxic Emissions Coming From?<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"question\"><span class=\"abbr\" title=\"question\">Q: <\/span><span class=\"abbr\" title=\"question\">Q: <\/span>Who said that?<\/p>\n<p class=\"answer\"><span class=\"abbr\" title=\"answer\">A: <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tceq.state.tx.us\/assets\/public\/implementation\/tox\/hcei\/valdez%20bio.pdf\">Omar Valdez<\/a>, Project manager for Dona Park.<\/p>\n<p class=\"question\"><span class=\"abbr\" title=\"question\">Q: <\/span>What did you say back to him when you told him that?<\/p>\n<p class=\"answer\"><span class=\"abbr\" title=\"answer\">A: <\/span>I was just dumbfounded and I\u00a0couldn&#8217;t\u00a0believe that came out of his mouth.<\/p>\n<p class=\"question\"><span class=\"abbr\" title=\"question\">Q: <\/span>How does it feel to your personally? I mean, you\u2019ve lived here almost your whole life and your mother lived here. You obviously have very strong ties to your neighbors and community.<\/p>\n<p class=\"answer\"><span class=\"abbr\" title=\"answer\">A: <\/span>I don\u2019t have to be here. I choose to be here to help the neighborhood. I could have left years ago. I&#8217;m not leaving until everybody leaves.<\/p>\n<p class=\"question\"><span class=\"abbr\" title=\"question\">Q: <\/span>Which companies are you asking to buy you out?<\/p>\n<p class=\"answer\"><span class=\"abbr\" title=\"answer\">A: <\/span>I would say if they will all pitch in &#8212; there&#8217;s sixteen port industry companies here &#8212; they are all guilty of polluting us. I think they should all join together and make it a little easier on all of them. Theyre all complaining they are poor or they didn\u2019t make any money when the recession hit, you know?<\/p>\n<p class=\"answer\">Well, if everybody pitches in a little bit, it shouldn\u2019t cost them that much. We estimated, we kinda did a rough figure. If they were to come in here and buy every house from Academy Heights to Hillcrest, that&#8217;s a thousand homes, it would cost them 100 million dollars maybe.<\/p>\n<p class=\"answer\">And that\u2019s on the high end.\u00a0Nobody\u2019s asking for 200,000 dollars for houses.\u00a0They&#8217;re\u00a0asking for the tax value, and some money to move on so they can get to where they need to go.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Families here live surrounded by refineries and smoke stacks, and they say it&#8217;s making them sick. Now they think they&#8217;ve found a way to fix that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":1547,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[59],"tags":[83,33],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1535"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/50"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1535"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1535\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1549,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1535\/revisions\/1549"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}