Project Summary

Background
As a result of a Court Ordered Condition of Probation the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) awarded The University of Texas at Austin’s Center for Energy and Environmental Resources $6,700,000 to implement the Corpus Christi Air Monitoring and Surveillance Camera Installation and Operation Project.

Project Description
The University will install, maintain and operate an air monitoring and surveillance camera network along the Corpus Christi ship channel to record the concentrations of specific air pollutants along the industrial area. The University will install at least seven air monitoring stations and two surveillance cameras along the ship channel. The air monitoring stations will record concentrations of hydrogen sulfide (total reduced sulfur), sulfur dioxide and volatile organic compounds, including benzene, and meteorological data. Data obtained from the monitors will be made available to the public via the TCEQ website and the UT Austin website.  Additionally, access to view the images captured by the surveillance cameras will be made available to the public via the UT Austin's Project website. The University will not identify emission sources, investigate and remediate air quality concerns and/or initiate enforcement actions. These functions are outside the scope of this Project. The Project started October 2, 2003 and will continue for seven years or longer, depending on the available Project funds.

Dr. David T. Allen, Director of The University of Texas at Austin’s Center for Energy and Environmental Resources, will serve as the Principal Investigator for this project. Essential to the performance of the project is the involvement of TCEQ’s Director of Field Operations Region 14 and the TCEQ’s Section Manager of Lab and Mobile Monitoring, Monitoring Operations Division, Office of Compliance and Enforcement. A very important component of this project is the voluntary Advisory Board. The Board will review project plans and consult on project implementation, including the selection of the exact monitoring locations, types of equipment, and implementation schedules. The Board is comprised of experts in instrumentation and local air quality issues, community representatives, and other key stakeholders.

Map of monitoring sites below: