Environmental leaders gathered at the Texas state Capitol in July to urge legislators and Attorney General Ken Paxton to hold companies accountable for a series of industrial disasters, including the 2019 Intercontinental Terminals Company fire in Deer Park and the 2021 ExxonMobil refinery fire in Baytown.
One disconcertingly young, bespectacled figure in a suit and sharp fade stood out: Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee.
“The state of Texas has methodically and systematically worked to tie local officials’ hands in holding corporate polluters accountable in the wake of large-scale environmental events,” Menefee declared before the cameras. Communities on the fence lines of these facilities need relief and accountability, he said, adding that in his view, “Local government is best positioned to make that happen.”
