Piles of petroleum coke sit uncovered on the ship canal in Corpus Christi. Photo by StateImpact Texas.

This week Texas residents cheered when a judge invalidated the state air pollution permit for the proposed Las Brisas coal plant in Corpus Christi.

The Las Brisas proposal is the only new power plant proposed to be built within city limits anywhere in the United States, and a coalition of concerned residents, business owners, and elected officials have fought the plant since it was announced in 2008, arguing that the petroleum coke-fired power plant will be a major new source of toxic air pollution in a city already plagued with industrial pollution. In addition to burning petcoke, a nasty waste product from oil refineries, Las Brisas would also be able to burn coke derived from coal.

“The City of Corpus Christi is building a clean energy economy, and a dirty, new plant like Las Brisas doesn’t fit in with those plans,” said Hal Suter, Chair of the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club, and a Corpus Christi resident.

Thursday’s ruling from a district court judge found that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality failed to require that Las Brisas demonstrate that ...

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