Dow's CRJ-900 lands in Texas Gulf Coast the week of Seadrift layoffs and pollution lawsuit

Dow's Bombardier CRJ-900, N892D, was tracked flying from Nunez Airport in Louisiana to Texas Gulf Coast Regional Airport on June 30 — a 26-minute hop that put the 90-seat corporate shuttle on the tarmac near Dow's sprawling Seadrift chemical complex.

If Dow executives were aboard, they would arrive the same week the Texas Attorney General's lawsuit over alleged water pollution violations at the Union Carbide subsidiary continues in Travis County District Court per the Texas Tribune. Separately, Dow began notifying employees at the Seadrift site of layoffs on June 11 as part of its 4,500-person global restructuring, as reported by KAVU-TV. The company is also seeking a permit amendment from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality that would effectively legalize discharges of plastic pellets into waterways — a move Earthjustice called unprecedented.

The flight follows a pattern: since early May, N892D has shuttled repeatedly between Baton Rouge and KLBX, mirroring Dow's supply chain between its Louisiana plants and the Gulf Coast manufacturing corridor. A similar trip from a Texas ranch to Baton Rouge on June 16 coincided with the same week of mass layoff notices. Dow CEO Jim Fitterling is set to be succeeded by Karen S. Carter on July 1.