Port of Houston

The Port of Houston is a 25-mile-long complex of public and private facilities located near the Gulf of Mexico near Houston, Texas.

Background
The Port of Houston Authority owns and operates the public facilities located on the Houston Ship Channel, designed for handling general cargo, containers, grain, coal, and other dry bulk materials.

Expansion for coal
In 2011, pipeline transportation and energy storage company Kinder Morgan Energy Partners announced it had entered into an agreement with a "large western coal producer" to handle up to 2.2 million tons of Colorado coal annually at its Houston bulk terminal located on the Houston Ship Channel. To accommodate the additional tonnage, KMP will invest approximately $18 million to expand the facility. Unit trains will transport bituminous coal from Colorado mines to the Houston bulk facility where the cargo will be offloaded and stored before being loaded onto ocean vessels. The company expects to begin handling coal for this new contract in July of 2011. This will mark the first time that western coal will be exported from the Port of Houston.

Sightline Institute reports "track record of pollution, lawbreaking, and cover-ups" at Kinder Morgan facilities
An April 2012 report by the environmental think tank Sightline Institute, "The Facts about Kinder Morgan,", lists a series of legal violations and pollution incidents at various Kinder Morgan terminals. The report includes the following:


 * "In Louisiana, Kinder Morgan’s coal export facilities are so dirty that satellite photos clearly show coal dust pollution spewing into the Mississippi River."
 * "In South Carolina, coal dust from Kinder Morgan’s terminal contaminates oysters, pilings, and boats. Locals have even caught the company on video washing coal directly into sensitive waterways."
 * "In Virginia, Kinder Morgan’s coal export terminal is an open sore on the neighborhood, coating nearby homes in dust so frequently that even the mayor is speaking out about the problem."
 * "In Portland, Kinder Morgan officials bribed a ship captain to illegally dump contaminated material at sea, and their operations have repeatedly polluted the Willamette River."
 * "Kinder Morgan has been fined by the US government for stealing coal from customer’s stockpiles, lying to air pollution regulators, illegally mixing hazardous waste into gasoline, and many other crimes."
 * "Kinder Morgan’s pipelines are plagued by leaks and explosions, including two large dangerous spills in residential neighborhoods in British Columbia."

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Appalachia
 * Coal exports from northwest United States ports
 * Colorado and coal
 * Texas and coal
 * Coal terminals