Formosa @ point comfort - TexasBowhunter.com Community Discussion Forums

TeamAmerica · 01-12-2021, 10:25 PM

Curious if anyone lives there or works there? Just watched a documentary on Netflix (Dirty Money) about this plant. I corroborated most of what I saw with other sites. Apparently they have consistently discharged pellets and chemicals into the bay and devastated the fishing and shrimp. Would like to hear any first hand knowledge of the town and the company.

It was not entirely surprising to see a company value money over its community. I was more shocked that texas (tceq) doesn't have much teeth in enforcing it's environmental laws (always cheaper to pay fines than comply and they never revoked a permit). As a fisherman and hunter myself I put a high value on clean water and clean air as most of you do. Hope the situation improves.

"Texas judge approves historic settlement agreement in water pollution case | The Texas Tribune" https://www.texastribune.org/2019/12...n-formosa/amp/

Mods please move to current events if needed.

fish4food · 01-12-2021, 10:33 PM

Not sure about shrimp, but there’s no shortage of Oyster Boats when it’s season.
Fishing is pretty darn good in the area in the winter time.

Several law suits against the plant for pellets in the water. (Just read link)

Obviously some truth to it or they just settled. Dang plant traffic is outrageous in the mornings and evenings.

Zjesse22 · 01-12-2021, 11:09 PM

Unsafest plant to work at imo been there back and forth over the years and never a good place to work at accidents happen there frequently, but fishing is pretty good around the area for sporting not consumption

fish4food · 01-12-2021, 11:58 PM

Locals eat the fish on a regular basis. Have seen the signs stating above.
Oysters harvested near the causeway are sold locally as well as abroad.

I only worked there about a year. I was lucky to never have been involved or around any accidents. Don’t recall hearing of any in that time period either though. But it’s been a while since I worked there.

Capt Glenn · 01-13-2021, 07:55 AM

The folks around here generally look at it as not a great place to work. Like, if you just have to have a job to get you through until a better plant is hiring you can work out there to make ends meet for a while. Or for young guys it is a place you can go get your foot in the door before moving on to something better. I've never heard good stuff about it from folks working there or who previously worked there. Now, I am an hour away from there so they guys I know who have worked there were driving a good ways and have better options closer by.

GARY · 01-13-2021, 07:56 AM

Grew up there and spent many days in water (still do actually as have smoked them this winter ). As with Alcoa and many plants on the coast they have had their issues.

Are they real ? Yes. Have they destroyed the bay system ? Absolutely not. Should they continue to be monitored ? Yep.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Strummer · 01-13-2021, 08:09 AM

I work at the plant . Been there 25 years . Two of the guys on the movie are liars . I know them both . Both of them got fired for policy violations . Noting to do with epa like they claim . And Dale the one who claim the Chinese mafia was after him is freaking insane . The plant has had some issues as all plants have .

Crazzy · 01-13-2021, 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Strummer

I work at the plant . Been there 25 years . Two of the guys on the movie are liars . I know them both . Both of them got fired for policy violations . Noting to do with epa like they claim . And Dale the one who claim the Chinese mafia was after him is freaking insane . The plant has had some issues as all plants have .

Strummer,
I agree with your statement, I have worked at the plant for 18 years and I know (knew) Dale personally as he was married to my Aunt.
I have worked for other Plants around the area and I personally can't say they are any better or worse.

brokeno · 01-13-2021, 09:19 AM

That Wilson lady broke into one the local plants several years ago and tied herself up to one of the vessels in the plant.

Strummer · 01-13-2021, 09:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brokeno

That Wilson lady broke into one the local plants several years ago and tied herself up to one of the vessels in the plant.

Was at carbide . And after the lawsuit they filed on her she was banned from having anything to do or say about the company.

Strummer · 01-13-2021, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crazzy

Strummer,

I agree with your statement, I have worked at the plant for 18 years and I know (knew) Dale personally as he was married to my Aunt.

I have worked for other Plants around the area and I personally can't say they are any better or worse.

I knew dale from him living in Lolita . I was a teenager and remember him being nuts then .

Crazzy · 01-13-2021, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Strummer

I knew dale from him living in Lolita . I was a teenager and remember him being nuts then .

Yeah he's crazy. They don't mention the million(s) dollar settlement he got when he was fired.

Muddy Bud · 01-13-2021, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brokeno

That Wilson lady broke into one the local plants several years ago and tied herself up to one of the vessels in the plant.

To bad it wasn’t in the alky unit. That would have broke her from that habbit.

Aggiechick · 01-13-2021, 01:32 PM

From my understanding, a couple of the environmental leaders ended up going to prison or being fined personally since they were the ones who signed the reports. That is what I have heard, but I have never fact checked that.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

Clay C · 01-13-2021, 02:33 PM

It has completely destroyed the fishing in the area. Stay far far away. The water is toxic to the touch and if you were to catch a fish it is instant death.

Matter of fact, it's so bad I would just avoid everything from Port Lavaca down to Port O'Connor. Go to Rockport or Matagorda just be safe.

panhandlehunter · 01-13-2021, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clay C

It has completely destroyed the fishing in the area. Stay far far away. The water is toxic to the touch and if you were to catch a fish it is instant death.

Matter of fact, it's so bad I would just avoid everything from Port Lavaca down to Port O'Connor. Go to Rockport or Matagorda just be safe.

No no, it’s contaminated all the way up to Matagorda. Rockport and south is much safer.

SaltwaterSlick · 01-13-2021, 04:12 PM

I'm gonna be in that plant tomorrow! Sure hope I survive!!!

TeamAmerica · 01-13-2021, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SaltwaterSlick

I'm gonna be in that plant tomorrow! Sure hope I survive!!!

This just confirmed how shady this place must be! Low standards!

Strummer · 01-13-2021, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aggiechick

From my understanding, a couple of the environmental leaders ended up going to prison or being fined personally since they were the ones who signed the reports. That is what I have heard, but I have never fact checked that.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

That is not true .

Strummer · 01-13-2021, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SaltwaterSlick

I'm gonna be in that plant tomorrow! Sure hope I survive!!!

What ya going to be doing in the plant ? Do you know what unit ? There are several in turn a rounds right now .

fish4food · 01-13-2021, 07:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SaltwaterSlick

I'm gonna be in that plant tomorrow! Sure hope I survive!!!

If you arrive early in the morning, a Half Loaded Biscuit or a Stacker from Hard Hat are a must!

Mofo · 01-13-2021, 07:23 PM

Strummer do you know Curtis Rickman?

SaltwaterSlick · 01-13-2021, 07:26 PM

I’m going to be in the main admin. building inside Gate 3. Meeting with some of the LDPE folks.

Strummer · 01-13-2021, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mofo

Strummer do you know Curtis Rickman?

I know the name from when I worked maintenance at olefins 1 .

Strummer · 01-13-2021, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SaltwaterSlick

I’m going to be in the main admin. building inside Gate 3. Meeting with some of the LDPE folks.

Oh ok I got kin folk at the new ldpe unit they started up .

JCBowHunter · 01-13-2021, 07:34 PM

I was just out at EG all last week upgrading a PLC

Hammerdown · 01-13-2021, 07:47 PM

Not sure how they treat the environment but I send them Ethylene and Propylene and all the guys I talked to on the phone are pretty jam up.

Strummer · 01-13-2021, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hammerdown

Not sure how they treat the environment but I send them Ethylene and Propylene and all the guys I talked to on the phone are pretty jam up.

If ya was doing it 16 years ago it might have be me . I imported and exported ethylene to the pipeline .

Strummer · 01-13-2021, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JCBowHunter

I was just out at EG all last week upgrading a PLC

What system they running ? Yokogawa ?

JCBowHunter · 01-13-2021, 07:52 PM

Allen Bradley

Hammerdown · 01-13-2021, 07:53 PM

No sir I wasn’t there then. I talk to Benji and Peter mostly.

Strummer · 01-13-2021, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hammerdown

No sir I wasn’t there then. I talk to Benji and Peter mostly.

Yeah they are at olefins 1 . I worked ol2

Hammerdown · 01-13-2021, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by strummer

yeah they are at olefins 1 . I worked ol2

10/4

Zjesse22 · 01-13-2021, 09:57 PM

I’ve worked there over the years literally it’s my fall back jobsite when work slows down around the corpus area, been in ol1&2, eg, vcm, ol3 new const and wison I’ll be there for a while then get pulled when a project picks up and then pulled from there. The site manager for the company I work for passed away back in November not sure if maybe y’all heard of that on his way to the plant early in the morning.

wickll · 01-13-2021, 10:25 PM

The local paper has been hitting them pretty hard with negative articles. So public perception is that they are not as safe. But if they are by far the largest plant in the area and employ the most people.

So they are more likely to have more incidents spills etc. As far as the pellets in the bays, from my calculations (the paper reported a number of pellets which I believe was in the millions), it was roughly 150 lbs of plastic. If one was to walk along the seashore , or local ditches, it wouldn't take long to come up with 150 pounds of plastic.

I fish Cox bay quite a bit and don't worry about the fish. We do pretty well on redfish and some trout. Environmentally, I believe the area is considered a Superfund site because of the Alcoa plant.

01-12-2021, 10:25 PM	#1
TeamAmerica Ten Point Join Date: Oct 2016 Location: Dallas Hunt In: Corsicana (Navarro County)	Formosa @ point comfort Curious if anyone lives there or works there? Just watched a documentary on Netflix (Dirty Money) about this plant. I corroborated most of what I saw with other sites. Apparently they have consistently discharged pellets and chemicals into the bay and devastated the fishing and shrimp. Would like to hear any first hand knowledge of the town and the company. It was not entirely surprising to see a company value money over its community. I was more shocked that texas (tceq) doesn't have much teeth in enforcing it's environmental laws (always cheaper to pay fines than comply and they never revoked a permit). As a fisherman and hunter myself I put a high value on clean water and clean air as most of you do. Hope the situation improves. "Texas judge approves historic settlement agreement in water pollution case \| The Texas Tribune" https://www.texastribune.org/2019/12...n-formosa/amp/ Mods please move to current events if needed.

01-13-2021, 07:56 AM	#6
GARY Administrator Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Richmond, Texas Hunt In: Lavaca, Alberta and where ever Aironeout takes me!	Grew up there and spent many days in water (still do actually as have smoked them this winter ). As with Alcoa and many plants on the coast they have had their issues. Are they real ? Yes. Have they destroyed the bay system ? Absolutely not. Should they continue to be monitored ? Yep. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk __________________ Proud member since 1999 Gary's Outdoor Highlight of 2008: To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

01-13-2021, 10:25 PM	#35
wickll Eight Point Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Victoria Hunt In: Victoria and Lavaca Counties	The local paper has been hitting them pretty hard with negative articles. So public perception is that they are not as safe. But if they are by far the largest plant in the area and employ the most people. So they are more likely to have more incidents spills etc. As far as the pellets in the bays, from my calculations (the paper reported a number of pellets which I believe was in the millions), it was roughly 150 lbs of plastic. If one was to walk along the seashore , or local ditches, it wouldn't take long to come up with 150 pounds of plastic. I fish Cox bay quite a bit and don't worry about the fish. We do pretty well on redfish and some trout. Environmentally, I believe the area is considered a Superfund site because of the Alcoa plant. Last edited by wickll; 01-13-2021 at 10:28 PM. Reason: add

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

01-12-2021, 10:33 PM	#2
fish4food Ten Point Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: Calhoun County	Not sure about shrimp, but there’s no shortage of Oyster Boats when it’s season. Fishing is pretty darn good in the area in the winter time. Several law suits against the plant for pellets in the water. (Just read link) Obviously some truth to it or they just settled. Dang plant traffic is outrageous in the mornings and evenings.

01-12-2021, 11:09 PM	#3
Zjesse22 Eight Point Join Date: Jul 2017 Location: Edinburg, Texas Hunt In: Hidalgo County	Unsafest plant to work at imo been there back and forth over the years and never a good place to work at accidents happen there frequently, but fishing is pretty good around the area for sporting not consumption

01-12-2021, 11:58 PM	#4
fish4food Ten Point Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: Calhoun County	Locals eat the fish on a regular basis. Have seen the signs stating above. Oysters harvested near the causeway are sold locally as well as abroad. I only worked there about a year. I was lucky to never have been involved or around any accidents. Don’t recall hearing of any in that time period either though. But it’s been a while since I worked there.

01-13-2021, 07:55 AM	#5
Capt Glenn Ten Point Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Middle Coast	The folks around here generally look at it as not a great place to work. Like, if you just have to have a job to get you through until a better plant is hiring you can work out there to make ends meet for a while. Or for young guys it is a place you can go get your foot in the door before moving on to something better. I've never heard good stuff about it from folks working there or who previously worked there. Now, I am an hour away from there so they guys I know who have worked there were driving a good ways and have better options closer by.

01-13-2021, 08:09 AM	#7
Strummer Pope & Young Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Edna Tx Hunt In: At Gary's place ,and the backyard	I work at the plant . Been there 25 years . Two of the guys on the movie are liars . I know them both . Both of them got fired for policy violations . Noting to do with epa like they claim . And Dale the one who claim the Chinese mafia was after him is freaking insane . The plant has had some issues as all plants have .

01-13-2021, 09:19 AM	#9
brokeno Ten Point Join Date: Dec 2016 Location: Smiley, Texas Hunt In: Gonzales & Young Co and anywhere	That Wilson lady broke into one the local plants several years ago and tied herself up to one of the vessels in the plant.

01-13-2021, 01:32 PM	#14
Aggiechick Ten Point Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: San Antonio, Texas Hunt In: Calhoun County	From my understanding, a couple of the environmental leaders ended up going to prison or being fined personally since they were the ones who signed the reports. That is what I have heard, but I have never fact checked that. Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

01-13-2021, 02:33 PM	#15
Clay C Pope & Young Join Date: Oct 2006	It has completely destroyed the fishing in the area. Stay far far away. The water is toxic to the touch and if you were to catch a fish it is instant death. Matter of fact, it's so bad I would just avoid everything from Port Lavaca down to Port O'Connor. Go to Rockport or Matagorda just be safe.

01-13-2021, 04:12 PM	#17
SaltwaterSlick Pope & Young Join Date: Oct 2006	I'm gonna be in that plant tomorrow! Sure hope I survive!!!

01-13-2021, 07:23 PM	#22
Mofo Eight Point Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Mont Belvieu Hunt In: Dewitt County	Strummer do you know Curtis Rickman?

01-13-2021, 07:26 PM	#23
SaltwaterSlick Pope & Young Join Date: Oct 2006	I’m going to be in the main admin. building inside Gate 3. Meeting with some of the LDPE folks.

01-13-2021, 07:34 PM	#26
JCBowHunter Ten Point Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Fayette County Hunt In: Fayetteville	I was just out at EG all last week upgrading a PLC

01-13-2021, 07:47 PM	#27
Hammerdown Eight Point Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Deer Park TX Hunt In: Marquez, Jewett Tx and Kansas	Not sure how they treat the environment but I send them Ethylene and Propylene and all the guys I talked to on the phone are pretty jam up.

01-13-2021, 07:52 PM	#30
JCBowHunter Ten Point Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Fayette County Hunt In: Fayetteville	Allen Bradley

01-13-2021, 07:53 PM	#31
Hammerdown Eight Point Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Deer Park TX Hunt In: Marquez, Jewett Tx and Kansas	No sir I wasn’t there then. I talk to Benji and Peter mostly.

01-13-2021, 09:57 PM	#34
Zjesse22 Eight Point Join Date: Jul 2017 Location: Edinburg, Texas Hunt In: Hidalgo County	I’ve worked there over the years literally it’s my fall back jobsite when work slows down around the corpus area, been in ol1&2, eg, vcm, ol3 new const and wison I’ll be there for a while then get pulled when a project picks up and then pulled from there. The site manager for the company I work for passed away back in November not sure if maybe y’all heard of that on his way to the plant early in the morning.