General Discussion

wercal

(1,370 posts)

20. Well you do have a right to your land...

Thu Apr 18, 2013, 09:53 AM

Apr 2013

...and the plant doesn't have the right to impact your land with say, an explosion hazard.

This is complicated by the fact that the plant almost certainly pre-dates zoning laws in the area...so it was there first, and impacting probably farmland.

Buuuut....it has probably been expanded in some way since zoning was put in place and houses were built near it....which should have required a building permit. In a perfect world, witholding a permit would have forced the plant to pull stakes and move to a more remote area. But, I suspect it was a major employer in town, and alot of things slipped through the cracks.

Kind of a 'group ignorance'. However, as I posted elsewhere in this thread, looking from the air, I would have never suspected such a massive explosion could have come from that plant...and I bet others were just as ignorant to the danger.

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Look at West, Texas on Google Maps [View all] sharp_stick Apr 2013 OP

And Perry is inviting 'business' to Texas because they lack regulation. sinkingfeeling Apr 2013 #1

I'm glad you got the order of things right. The plant and storage tanks were there before... slackmaster Apr 2013 #2

It is too bad that local planning/zoning officials cannot be sued over allowing the building of pampango Apr 2013 #3

Land rights! n2doc Apr 2013 #10

Well you do have a right to your land... wercal Apr 2013 #20

Were there any local planning or zoning laws? surrealAmerican Apr 2013 #29

Not really their fault. Daemonaquila Apr 2013 #39

You can tell the plant sharp_stick Apr 2013 #4

The people who worked at the plant probably wanted to live close to it. slackmaster Apr 2013 #42

You know, it's not like this town was built yesterday, kentauros Apr 2013 #5

I'm sure it has sharp_stick Apr 2013 #7

People buy the homes and rent the apartments that are built in proximity to these sites. bike man Apr 2013 #13

It's called complacency. kentauros Apr 2013 #14

That's why you need sharp_stick Apr 2013 #19

Almost right nadinbrzezinski Apr 2013 #28

I hear you. I live in a small Texas town. sammytko Apr 2013 #12

West, Texas, is incorporated. kentauros Apr 2013 #17

Well...truth is Horse with no Name Apr 2013 #43

It looks like the old Main Street is south of the plant... wercal Apr 2013 #18

From what I've read, the company had been in business for 55 years. kentauros Apr 2013 #21

I imagine there were very few regulations in the 1950's wercal Apr 2013 #24

That kind of regulation would be easy (and cheap) enough for most towns. kentauros Apr 2013 #26

chlorine leak from a train wreck in rural part of san antonio killed a couple people in 2004 sammytko Apr 2013 #31

Thanks for that link. kentauros Apr 2013 #36

Anhydrous ammonia also is transported by rail in tank cars pinboy3niner Apr 2013 #40

Thanks for your work in that :) kentauros Apr 2013 #41

The regulation is likely in place wercal Apr 2013 #37

I'm sure when all is said and done we'll find out ... Ganja Ninja Apr 2013 #6

If only they had more guns..... TexasProgresive Apr 2013 #8

Add: Nonexistent or poorly managed safety protocols. n/t FSogol Apr 2013 #9

From what I heard, the plant had been there since the 50's. It's quite likely that... Poll_Blind Apr 2013 #11

I think you're right sharp_stick Apr 2013 #15

There are anhydrous tanks in almost every farming town in the Midwest. Coyotl Apr 2013 #16

Zoning is obviously socialism RyanThomas Apr 2013 #22

It happens all over the country. I saw it yesterday in my town. progressoid Apr 2013 #23

Yay, Free-Dumb! Arugula Latte Apr 2013 #25

Tell me how safe it is around the Chevron refinery Downwinder Apr 2013 #27

I'm not trying to say sharp_stick Apr 2013 #32

A gasoline pipeline exploded at the end of my street in L.A. in 1976; 4 dead, 16 injured pinboy3niner Apr 2013 #33

Texas - the home of deregulation Governor Rick Perry. bushisanidiot Apr 2013 #30

The plant has been there since 1955. n/t tammywammy Apr 2013 #34

A lot of small towns are like this... cynatnite Apr 2013 #35

Ignorance of small (and older) towns seems to be rampant these days. X_Digger Apr 2013 #38