Programs

  • Matagorda Bay Environmental Initiative

    We filed a citizen clean water suit against Formosa Plastics for plastic discharged to Lavaca/Matagorda Bay and Cox Creek and, in 2019, won the largest citizen settlement in the history of the Clean Water Act. For 2 1/2 years, the waterkeepers collected 2,500 pieces of evidence of plastic discharges and took over 8,000 photos and videos. This resulted in a $50 Million settlement that went into creating the Matagorda Bay Mitigation Trust, who manages those funds for projects such as: 1) a $10M park out of one of the largest fresh water lakes in Texas, 2) a $20M local fishery cooperative to support the local Hispanic, Vietnamese, and white shrimpers, oystermen, and crabbers whose livelihoods have been disrupted by the pollution, 3) summer camps to each ecology and environmental issues to disadvantaged children, 4) erosion controls for the local beaches, supporting Nurdle Patrol (a citizen-led environmental group) and funding many scientific studies of the local bays. In addition, Formosa Plastics was required to go zero discharge of plastics at the facility. In 2022, we were involved with monitoring, enforcement, and working with engineers to do source control of plastics within the facility. As part of the settlement, Formosa Plastics is required to clean up the waterways and bays that were contaminated with their plastics, which in 2022 focused on the pollution at Cox Creek where Formosa Plastics' 10 storm water outfalls discharge.
    Geographies
    Not indicated
    Dates
    Jan 1, 2022 – Dec 31, 2022
    Source
    990
    No causes provided
    No populations provided
    –
    $19.2K