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Milwhite Inc., a heavy industrial firm in Brownsville, is being sued by Texas Office of the Attorney General on behalf of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality over alleged violations of the Texas Clean Air Act.
The lawsuit, filed May 28 in Texas 53rd District Court in Travis County, seeks injunctive relief, civil penalties, attorney’s fees and costs and any other relief available under the law. The TCEQ action comes on the heels of a Chapter 54 lawsuit filed in February by the city of Brownsville against Milwhite over public health and safety concerns.
The company, which mixes specialty minerals for a variety of commercial applications, is located at 5487 South Padre Highway. Just to the north is the Rey Jaime neighborhood, where residents have long complained of “pervasive dust, constant loud noise, declining health, illnesses, discomfort and fear” stemming from Milwhite’s operation’s according to the city’s suit.
Brownsville Mayor John Cowen Jr. said in February that Milwhite was conducting heavy industrial operations in an area zoned only for light industrial, and that the company had racked up a large number of violations against city and TCEQ regulations. He also noted that the dust and noise issues at the plant had only grown worse since the middle of last year, when the city first began talking to Milwhite about complaints from residents.
Despite the city’s hope that it could work with the company, “there hasn’t been any real progress on the issue,” Cowen said.
Announcing the state’s action against Milwhite, state Rep. Erin Gamez and Brownsville City Commissioner Linda Macias released a joint statement calling the violations Milwhite is accused of “incredibly serious and dangerous.”
“Because of the excessive dust that has lasted for over a year our constituents fear they have suffered respiratory problems and loss of enjoyment of their outdoor spaces,” they said. “It is regretful that it has had to come to a lawsuit. However, this is a necessary action that the state of Texas is taking. Milwhite has continuously failed to follow the direction from TCEQ to be in compliance with the Texas Clean Air Act despite multiple attempts via the administrative process by TCEQ. We hope that this case is efficiently adjudicated and the people of Brownsville impacted are able to get the relief they desperately deserve.”
State Sen. Morgan LaMantia said that when “conscious harmful actions” are negative impacting residents’ health and quality of life, “we must pursue every available avenue until reaching resolution and accountability.”
“It is unacceptable that our neighbors in the Brownsville community have suffered from health risks and disruptions from conscious negligence, and we hope for justice to be served,” she said. “Milwhite’s disregard for state environmental regulations cannot be tolerated any longer. The Texas Attorney General’s Office decided to enforce state law by bringing this issue to litigation. The lawsuit may bring much-needed relief to our community from this distress.”
Milwhite did not respond to a request for comment.
