CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Mayor Joe McComb met with Phillips 66 officials to talk about his concerns over their proposed offshore oil terminal.
The terminal, which has the backing of the Port of Corpus Christi, would be built about 20 miles off the coast.
McComb called this morning's meeting very positive, enlightening and educational.
However, he did have a couple of concerns going into it.
Initially the mayor was surprised that the port is backing the Phillips 66 project because of its similarity to the Trafigura project.
A few months ago, the city council passed a resolution opposing Trafigura's project, at the port's request.
The mayor’s biggest concern was, how the Phillips 66 project could impact the city's air quality.
This morning’s meeting gave him the answers he was looking for.
“I think they addressed it specifically, both in their modeling and their scientists that they've hired.” McCombs said. “They were willing to work with us and our air quality group here in Corpus Christi to make sure that no negative impact on our air quality or our air shed will be affected as the result of this project.”
The mayor still wants clarification from port officials about the differences between the two projects and why the port supports the Phillips 66 terminal and not the Trafigura project, which they asked the city to oppose.
The mayor says the city council won't take any action on a resolution opposing Trafigura until they examine both projects side by side.
A public hearing is planned for later this month on the Phillips 66 project.
We'll let you know more about that hearing as information becomes available.
