Veteran Environmentalist Sues Rural School Board Over Exxon Tax Break Decision

An environmental organization on the rural Texas coast sued a local school district on Tuesday, alleging it failed to adequately notify the public before entering into tax break negotiations with ExxonMobil Corp. for a $10 billion plastics plant proposed in the area. 

The lawsuit said the Calhoun County Independent School District violated state laws requiring 15-day notice and publicly accessible posting of the announcement before an April 29 hearing.

“This wasn’t just a flaw in the process,” said Diane Wilson, executive director of San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper, which filed the lawsuit, in a press release. “We feel it was a deliberate attempt to avoid public opposition.”

Calhoun County ISD Superintendent Evan Cardwell said the district hadn’t yet been served with the lawsuit and couldn’t comment on specific allegations. 

“The District is confident that it has complied with all applicable laws and notice requirements. Once the lawsuit is reviewed, the District will respond through the appropriate legal channels,” Cardwell said in an email. 

At the April 29 hearing, the school board voted unanimously to move forward on Exxon’s application for a 50 percent reduction in its school district property taxes if it builds its proposed plastics manufacturing plant in Calhoun County, a rural area with about 20,000 people between the major cities of Houston and Corpus Christi. 

The plant would produce up to 3 million annual tons of polyethylene pellets for export, create 600 permanent jobs and cost between $8.6 billion and $11 billion to build, according to Exxon’s application. 

Exxon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. 

The school district’s decision followed a recommendation by the Texas Comptroller’s office to accept the application, which said the tax abatement would likely be a key factor in Exxon’s decision about whether to build in Calhoun County. In it, the comptroller said Exxon stood to save $242 million in property taxes under the agreement for the 10 years beginning in 2031, when it would take effect. 

“ExxonMobil reported nearly $34 billion in profits last year, yet they’re seeking taxpayer subsidies,” said Wilson, a retired fourth-generation shrimper from Calhoun County.

Wilson previously won a landmark settlement in 2019 from her lawsuit against Formosa Plastics over plastic pollution in the Matagorda Bay system. 

Runoff from the proposed Exxon plant would drain into the same waterways, like Cox Creek, that are part of a multi-million-dollar cleanup effort funded by the settlement.   

In her new lawsuit, which was filed in Calhoun County District Court, Wilson alleged numerous violations of public notice requirements. 

While Texas law requires 15-day advance notice for public hearings over school district tax abatement agreements, the district posted its original notice only 14 days in advance, the lawsuit said. That notice appeared buried in an obscure part of the district website, rather than in the regular schedule of board meetings. 

“This notice was not posted in a place that is readily accessible to the general public, and it failed to clearly inform the public about what the Board intended to discuss or accomplish,” the lawsuit said. “The District knew—or should have known—that there was ample public interest in Exxon’s Application and request for a tax abatement.”

The lawsuit also said the district failed to include required information in the notice, such as the project’s investment value, instructions to access Exxon’s application or an indication that the board would take formal action at its April 29 meeting. 

The lawsuit asks a judge to void the school board’s decision at that meeting. 

“Texas law exists to ensure citizens have a voice before communities commit hundreds of millions in tax subsidies to corporations with troubling environmental records,” said Marisa Perales, Wilson’s attorney. “In this case, it’s clear that the law was not followed.”