INGLESIDE, Tx — On Tuesday, Ingleside on the Bay Coastal Watch Association met to talk about the oil spill that happened on Christmas Eve of 2022, when thousands of gallons of oil spilled into Corpus Christi Bay, affecting people like Steve Wilder.
"What they did is not going to ever change. It's been a year in a half. What are they going to do now that's going to change anything,” Wilder said.
Wilder has lived in Ingleside since 2016 and he said his neighborhood is still feeling the impact from the spill.
"The fishing has gone down too. Very few fish. Every year we caught one trophy trout off this peer. Over 30 inches until that happened,” Wilder said.
Cyndi Valdes, the Executive Director of Ingleside on the Bay Coastal Watch Association has other concerns.
"When accidents like this happen how is the public going to be notified. It's important we set up some sort of system,” Vales said.
Valdes also brought the agreementto the meeting for everyone to see.
"On April 12 of 2024, The Department of Justice posted an announcement on their federal register saying that this proposed consent decree and it would be open to public comments for 30 days,” Valdes said.
Leading up to this agreement. The complaintbrought against Flint Hills resources stated, during the oil spill response and clean up, oiled and dead birds and aquatic life, were seen in the water at several locations along the shoreline.
In the first claim of the document, the United States and the state asked for recovery of damages for injury to destruction of, or loss of use of natural resources.
"I’ve said the exact same thing. Why didn't they protect our community,” Wilder said.
It was on April 8, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice proposed a settlement to restore natural resources impacted by this oil spill.
Per the agreement, Flint Hills Resources will pay almost 1 million dollars. Of which neither admits nor denies the allegations in the complaint. Wilder said $1 million is not enough.
"I don't think it's a strong enough message from the federal government to big business that you need to straighten up and run your business right,” Wilder said.
Flint Hills Resources sent this statement in response.
“We worked cooperatively with state and federal agencies to resolve all matters related to a release of crude oil that occurred at our Ingleside, Texas terminal in December 2022. We appreciate the collaboration throughout this process.”
Ingleside on the Bay Coastal Watch Association and other local organizations want to continue bringing awareness to the damage caused by surrounding industries. Their next meeting is scheduled for Wed, June 5.
