GBCPA Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  
June 4, 2004
CONTACT:  Katie Chimenti, 281-326-3343      


Bayport Opposition Files Appeal

The broad citizens' coalition fighting the Port of Houston Authority's proposed giant container terminal at Bayport has filed a notice of appeal to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.

 Joint filers of the appeal on June 1 were the Cities of Shoreacres, Seabrook, Taylor Lake Village, and El Lago, the Galveston Bay Conservation and Preservation Association (GBCPA), Houston Yacht Club, Galveston Bay Foundation, Gulf Restoration Network (based in New Orleans), Texas Committee on Natural Resources, and the seafood professionals' organization PISCES.

"We believe we have an excellent case for appeal at the Fifth Circuit," said GBCPA Chair Jim Blackburn.

The appeal challenges a federal district court decision upholding the permit issued for the Bayport project by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Details about the grounds for appeal will be announced as they emerge.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Environmental Protection Agency mounted sharp objections to the Bayport location as site for a container port. In official comments, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declared Bayport the "most environmentally damaging" among the alternatives under consideration.

Six years into the fight, the affected communities continue to seek fuller hearing of multiple concerns. More than 2,500 people attended the 1999 scoping meeting to identify problems with the project. Almost 5,000 people attended a December 2001 public hearing to challenge the draft Environmental Impact Statement published by the Corps. Some 10,000 people live within two miles of the Bayport site.

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Galveston Bay Conservation and Preservation Association
P.O. Box 323, Seabrook, Texas 77586    Phone: 281-326-3343
Website: http://www.gbcpa.net    E-mail: gbcpa@ev1.net