Fenceline Watch joined Texas Campaign for the Environment and other organizations to create community-based counter-programming during the 2026 CERAWeek and World Petrochemical conferences.

EPA Region 6 hasn't held a community outreach call since January 2025. Fenceline Watch & 44 other orgs sent a meeting request to update communities on what they've been doing in our region.

THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE

Fenceline Watch supported Backbone Campaign in deploying the giant Constitution replica during the March 26 No Kings Rally on March 28, 2026.

THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE

About 500 protesters from across the country descended on the first day of Houston's CERAWeek energy conference Monday to protest the oil executives and federal leaders gathering for high-level talks downtown.

The annual protest has grown substantially in the past two years, as has the official response by police. This year, the march was corralled by more than 50 police officers, nearly half of them on horseback.

Fenceline Watch Founder and Director, Yvette Arellano, and Policy Director, Shiv Srivastava, speak on the toxic harm our community faces daily, and the conditions that exist to protect the companies responsible for the pollutants.

Looking for Valentine’s Day date ideas? Check out these books by Black authors that explore themes of environmental justice, health equity, & systemic racism. Most are available at the Houston Public Library.

PUBLIC HEALTH WATCH

“Let’s establish some baselines. 

Texas is responsible for more greenhouse-gas emissions than Saudi Arabia or the global maritime industry. Its oil, gas and petrochemical operations discharge tens of millions of pounds of toxic pollutants into the air each year, comprising almost one-fifth of such releases in the United States.”

THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE

Regarding “Houston Chronicle: John Cornyn: Houston needs the Coastal Texas Project,” (Dec. 05): Senator John Cornyn is pushing lawmakers to fund the $34 billion Coastal Texas Project, commonly known as the Ike Dike, to “build a coastal storm barrier to protect at-risk petrochemical infrastructure and the Texas Gulf Coast.” But it's this same industry that makes disasters like storms and hurricanes worse. Instead of requiring the petrochemical industry to pay to protect their own plants — and protect the people who have lived here long before industry moved in — Sen. Cornyn offers up our tax dollars.

BLACK APPALACHIAN COALITION

Plastic pollution disproportionately impacts communities of color due to the historical and ongoing placement of polluting facilities like incinerators and landfills in our neighborhoods, leading to higher rates of cancer, asthma, and other health issues.

Today, Fenceline Watch, alongside more than 85 communities living on the frontline of chemical disasters, indigenous communities, elected officials, and environmental advocates, have signed a letter urging Congress to fully fund the U.S. Chemical Hazard and Safety Investigation Board as the agency faces potential elimination. 

EXXONKNEWS

Yvette speaks about the health implications living along the Houston Ship Channel caused by the Petrochemical facilities, with majority of communities being low income and people of color.

THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE

Environmental activists rallied, shouted and sang at a "Festival for People & Planet" Monday to protest CERAWeek by S&P Global and actions by top oil and gas company executives attending the annual conference to talk growth in the energy industry. 

JUST SOLUTIONS

Fenceline Watch Executive Director Yvette Arellano & Policy Director Shiv Srivastava discuss key areas of concern for communities when it comes to hydrogen.

In January 2024, Just Solutions' Research Collaborative released the Hydrogen Environmental Justice Framework to highlight the environmental justice concerns of hydrogen technologies. As federal policies provide record-breaking funding for this technology, it is essential that EJ communities are protected and we understand the technology and its potential impacts. This webinar will review the Hydrogen Environmental Justice Framework as a tool to ensure that hydrogen energy production engages in equitable practices and advances environmental justice in the communities where hydrogen energy facilities will be located. We will discuss key areas of concern for communities when it comes to hydrogen as well as advocacy opportunities to leverage the collective voice. In this installment of our hydrogen series, we delve into the key EJ principles that should be evaluated for hydrogen technologies outlined by environmental justice advocates. The webinar will also feature a dedicated Q&A session.

The transportation sector accounts for nearly 10% of workers in the US and is the largest contributor of US greenhouse gas emissions. And whether we're talking about motor vehicles and highways, mass transit, railroads, or school buses, it is workers, frontline communities, and our climate that are thrown into crisis by corporate greed. At the same time, a sole focus on electric vehicles won't solve the climate or frontline pollution crises, nor guarantee good union jobs, nor prevent toxic derailments.

CENTER FOR RURAL AFFAIRS

Fenceline Watch Founder & Director Yvette Arellano, was recognized by the second annual Environmental Leader Awards, an independent project administratively supported by the Center for Rural Affairs.

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH NEWS

Fenceline Watch attends Exxon Mobil’s permit renewal in Baytown. Policy Director Shiv Srivastava comments on the permit renewal stating “your zip code should not determine whether or not you get cancer.”

The Shell Deer Park Chemicals facility disaster that occurred on May 5th, and is still ongoing, is a disgraceful event that lays bare Shell’s disregard for public safety and health. This disaster is simply the most recent disaster in a pattern of safety violations that put the surrounding neighborhoods and fenceline communities in Deer Park, Houston, and surrounding areas in harm's way.