UPDATE - NOV. 3, 2016 - VICTORY ! THIS ITEM WAS TABLED BY THE TPWD COMMISSIONERS TODAY BECAUSE 2 COMMISSIONERS RECUSED THEMSELVES AND SO THERE WAS NOT A QUORUM TO HOLD A VOTE!

Kelcy Warren, the CEO of Energy Transfer Partners is one of the Commissioners on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The TPWD Commissioners will have a public meeting on Nov. 3 , 2016 at TPWD Headquarters in Austin, Texas.

Agenda Item # 7 of the TWPD Commission Public Meeting would give final approval by the TPWD for an easement through the J.D. Murphree Wildlife Management Area for to GT Logistics, LLC to construct a 6,500 foot long, 150 foot wide corridor for as many as 6 pipelines of 24 inch diameter pipe to transfer petrochemicals from a tank farm to a dock facility.

Please attend this meeting and voice your opposition to this petrochemical pipeline easement through the wildlife management area and voice your concerns that Commissioner Kelcy Warren, the CEO of ETP which is constructing the DAPL, the TPPL, and other pipelines, should recuse himself from voting on this issue due to his business associations with companies which both ETP and GT Logistics are engaged with. ( See the expanded note at the bottom of this post ) Kelcy Warren's ETP destroyed a 7,000 year old archaeological site during construction of its Trans Pecos Pipeline TPPL near Alpine, Texas.

Agenda for the TPWD Commission Meeting
Thursday, November 3, 2016                                                                            
http://tpwd.texas.gov/business/feedback/meetings/2017/1103/agenda/

Agenda Item # 7 - Pipeline Corridor - Jefferson County - Approximately 30 Acres at the J.D. Murphee Wildlife Management Area

http://tpwd.texas.gov/business/feedback/meetings/2017/1103/agenda/item_07/index.phtml

Individuals must register to Speak, or Register A Position On A Proposal without speaking at the meeting. You may or may not be asked to register merely as an observer, be prepared. Registration begins at 8 AM in the lobby of the TWPD Headquarters Building. You may register at any time during the meeting. Use this link below to print out and fill in a registration form in advance to take with you.

Registration Form For TPWD Commissioners Meeting

https://can2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/data/000/058/211/original/Registration_Slip.jpg

You can also submit comments on the proposed agenda items in the upcoming TPWD Commission meeting by sending them to:  
Ted Hollingsworth
Email : ted.hollingsworth@tpwd.texas.gov
FAXt (512) 389-4814

Please observe the rules of conduct for this meeting. An individual wishing to speak before the Texas Park and Wildlife Commission must first fill out and sign a speaker registration form for each item on the agenda to which you wish to speak. Each individual is allowed up to three minutes, depending on the number of speakers and must address solely the issues of the Agenda Item.

Rules for Conduct of Public at Meetings of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission
http://tpwd.texas.gov/business/feedback/meetings/rules_of_conduct.phtml

There are 3 parking lots at the TWPD.  Parking Lot B is closest to the Headquarters Building where the Commissioners will meet.

On Wednesday, November 2, 2016 there will be a Work Session of the TPWD Commissioners at which information on Agenda Item # 7 and other work of the commission will be presented. This is an informational meeting only and the public is welcome to attend, but will not have an opportunity to speak as will be possible the next day at the formal commission meeting.

Agenda For The TPWD Commissioners Work Session
Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2016

http://tpwd.texas.gov/business/feedback/meetings/2017/1103/agenda/work_session/index.phtml

Texas Parks and Wildlife Headquarters
4200 Smith School Road
Austin, TX 78744
(512) 389-4800 | (800) 792-1112

The Honorable Commissioner Kelcy L. Warren may be reached at:
8111 Westchester #700
Dallas, TX 75225
(214) 981-0701 Fax

My Statement To the TPWD Commissioners

November 3, 2016

To The Honorable Commissioners of Texas Parks and Wildlife

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

4200 Smith School Road

Austin, Texas 78744

Sent Via Email To: ted.hollingsworth@tpwd.texas.gov

Regarding Commissioners Meeting Agenda Item # 7 - Nov. 3, 2016

I am opposed to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission granting a petrochemical pipeline corridor easement capable or carrying 6 - 24" pipelines through the JD Murphee Wildlife Management Area near Port Arthur Texas. This corridor would carry Bakken Shale Oil and Alberta Tar Sands Oil to deepwater docks for international export.

The proposed corridor would also threaten several species of protected wildlife in the area, including Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles, which "are protected by various international treaties and agreements as well as national laws."  Five other Wildlife Management Areas adjacent to the J.D. Murphee WMA could also be impacted by a spill in this corridor.

One of the most endangered species in Texas is the Whooping Crane, which winters on the Texas Coast near Port Aransas and migrates to Northern Alberta in the summer. Recent oil spills from the vicinity of the proposed pipeline corridor have come dangerously near the Whooping Cranes wintering grounds.

The flyways and nesting grounds of the Whooping Crane go right over or nearby the Alberta Tar Sands Project, and one wrong landing by a flock of Whooping Cranes on one of the many toxic tailings lakes in that development would wipe out 60 years of international wildlife conservation efforts to bring the Whooping Cranes back from the edge of extinction.

The TPWD Commissioners should not be facilitating petrochemical developments in Texas or in Alberta threatening the endangered Whooping Crane, the Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtles, and other threatened species. It is likely that the Honorable Commissioner Kelcy Warren may have some involvement with the company asking for the easement directly or indirectly and may benefit personally from this proposed pipeline corridor easement.

Please abstain from voting on this issue until further information is provided to the pubic regarding these concerns.

Thank you for your service to the citizens of the State of Texas
Jake Billinglsey

Possible Conflicts of Interest and Insider Political Pressure In This Matter

Kelcy Warren is the CEO of the Energy Transfer group of oil and pipeline companies in addition to being one of the Commissioners of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, which is being asked for a Pipeline Corridor Easement through the J.D. Murphree Wildlife Management Area by GT Logistics LLC, with which Kelcy Warren has business associations through various other companies both are engaged with in producing and transporting Bakken Shale Oil and Alberta Tar Sands Oil to markets. In some ways Kelcy Warren may have more direct business associations with GT Logistics LLC in that Energy Transfer Partners and Energy Transfer Crude Oil pipelines, and other corporate share holders in the Energy Transfer group may use or benefit from the facilities of GT Logistics LLC.

The J.D. Murphree WMA is located on the Chenier plains and marshes of the southeast Texas coast, protects a vast mosaic of freshwater, intermediate and tidal wetlands, including lakes, bayous and marshes. Located close to the Sabine Ship Channel and within a couple miles of extensive petrochemical refining and bulk transfer facilities, the WMA has regularly found itself in the path of industry-related infrastructure development, especially pipelines.

As the Pipeline Corridor Easement is set to be voted on by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commissioners on Nov. 3, 2016, and as this proposal has escaped public attention until very recently, it would be wise for the citizens, legislators, and government officials of Texas to have an opportunity for an in depth study of the proposal and any possible conflicts of interests which Kelcy Warren may have in the matter. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commissioners could grant such an opportunity by hearing, but not voting on this agenda item now and setting further hearings over the matter. The TPWD staff report on this proposal seems not to mention that Bakken Shale Oil and Alberta Tar Sands Oil would be transported through the proposed Pipeline Easement Corridor. It is also unclear whether Environmental Impact Studies have been conducted on this corridor which is proposed to consist of 6 - 24" pipelines crossing Taylor Bayou and passing through the J.D. Murphee Wildlife Management Area. It is also unclear as to why TPWD staff did not consider that GT Logistics LLC does not need to undergo the business expansion requiring this easement and might do as well developing a different business plan for its deep water dock holdings rather than expecting the citizens of Texas to provide scarce wildlife habitat for a business to profit from.

The GT Logistics Omniport is connected with Kelcy Warren via Gibson Services, a Joint Venture Partner with GT Logistics LLC in developing the Omniport. Gibson Services, in turn, is associated with Enbridge and Trans Canada in operating an oil pipeline hub in Hardesty, Alberta. Enbridge recently became a major corporate share holder ( $ 2 billion ) in Kelcy Warren's Energy Transfer group. Gibson and Enbridge transport Alberta Tar Sands oil via pipeline to Patoka, Illinois, where that pipeline will hub with the Dakota Access Pipeline being built by Energy Transfer Partners, and with the Energy Transfer Crude Oil Company Pipeline from Pakota, Illinois to a terminus near Port Arthur,Texas operated by Sunoco, an Energy Transfer group company, and Phillips Petroleum, another major corporate share holder in the Energy Transfer group. Phillips does extensive rail car shipping of oil across the country and likely makes use of the state of the art rail facility operated by GT Logistics, which could also facilitate the transport of oil arriving in Port Arthur from the Dakota Access Pipeline via the ETCO pipeline. The GT Logistics Ominport was strategically located to also be near the completed southern terminus of the Keystone XL pipeline in order to service the transportation needs of that pipeline, which would carry some Alberta Tar Sands Oil shipped by both Enbridge and Gibson. it is a tangled web of corporate hand holding, which should be examined to insure that Kelcy Warren maintains an appropriate arms length of distance away from any conflicts of interest this might put him in as a Texas Parks and Wildlife Commissioner.

The GT Logistics Omniport has been under development in stages for some 8 years, and is attractive due to its close proximity to the refining industry and pipeline network. It includes more than eight miles of rail including a unit-train loop track and railcar unloading facilities, four storage tanks with a total of 230,000 barrels of capacity, a barge dock, and more than 3,000 feet of deep-water frontage, which can be used to build multiple docks for ocean-going vessels.

When announcing the Joint Venture with GT Logistics in 2012, Michael McGowan, Vice President Business Development of Gibson said ""The strategic location of the storage terminal near the proposed terminus of TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline, combined with a unit train capable crude receipt facility, would provide an excellent opportunity to expand Gibson's integrated services in the United States. If the proposed Joint Venture proceeds and the storage terminal were to be completed, it would enable us to connect our access to crude and infrastructure at Gibson's Hardisty, Alberta, hub with consumer markets in the Gulf Coast refinery complex." Gibson has also built a 900,000 barrel oil storage facility in Hardesty, Albera, a major marketing and transportation hub for oil sands crude in Alberta, with connections to the Enbridge Inc Mainline system, TransCanada Corp’s Keystone pipeline and crude-by-rail loading facilities.

The GT Logistics Omiport provides an opportunity for servicing some of the needs of the Energy Transfer group, Enbridge, Gibson, and Phillips by allowing them all to book, sell, and ship more product, especially if the easement is provided so that a deep water port for international exports of Bakken Shale Oil and Alberta Tar Sands Oil can be constructed. Is this something which benefits the citizens of Texas or does it benefit mostly the billionaires ?

By the way, former Texas Governor Rick Perry in on the Board of Directors of Energy Transfer Partners and Sunoco, part of the Energy Transfer group. Mr. Perry has served as a director of the Energy Transfer general partner since February 2015. The Energy Transfer Board selected Mr. Perry to serve as a director " because of his vast experience as an executive in the highest office of state government. In addition, Mr. Perry has been involved in finance and budget planning processes throughout his career in government as a member of the Texas House Appropriations Committee, the Legislative Budget Board and as Governor."