Raven Petroleum has announced plans to build a 50,000 barrel per day oil refinery just four miles from Bruni and six miles from Hebbronville. Bruni High School and Bruni Middle School are only four miles downwind of the proposed location. We are concerned about our children’s health and their future. The proposed refinery would be the first of its kind built in the United States since the 1970s. Why now and why here? 

Some of our other major concerns include:

• HEALTH: Communities near oil refineries have higher rates of asthma, cancer, and birth defects. These health defects can be passed down from generation to generation.
• AIR POLLUTION: Refineries release millions of pounds of toxic chemicals into the air we breathe. What amount of chemicals would be released here? Where is the study of the environmental impact? Why do they want to build a risky, high polluting facility next to unprepared and minority communities?
• WATER: Our area has a history of water problems. The refinery can ruin our water supply. We can’t afford an incident like the environmental disaster that happened in Corpus Christi, where the city shut down the entire drinking water supply because of an accident.
• JOBS: We can’t trust Raven’s claim that 500 new jobs will be created. Refineries much larger employ far fewer people. And we don’t know that the jobs will go to locals.
• ECONOMIC: How is this $500 million project being funded? The permitting process lasts years. How can it possibly be built in 2017? Raven claims that this will be a 50,000 barrel per day facility, which is small for this type of project. Raven may bring the tax base to Duval County, but the risks will be high for Webb and Jim Hogg counties.
• WILDLIFE: People come from all over for hunting and bird watching. The air pollution, or a major accident, could hurt our pristine natural resources. 

Raven is only here to make a profit by shipping the refined oil to Mexico and does not care that our community will be getting all of the damage. Join the South Texans Against the Refinery (STAR) Coalition in showing Raven that they cannot take advantage of us! We will protect our families from the dangerous health risks that come from living near a refinery.