Dow flies to Texas the week a state pollution lawsuit presses forward

Dow flew a Bombardier CRJ-900 from its Midland headquarters to Texas Gulf Coast Regional Airport on May 19, landing at 1:07 p.m. local time after a two-hour-and-38-minute flight. The large corporate shuttle, typically used to move engineering teams between manufacturing sites, arrived in Brazoria County the same week the state of Texas is pushing a high-profile environmental lawsuit against the company.

The trip follows Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s February 2026 suit, reported by the Houston Chronicle, alleging that Dow subsidiaries illegally discharged plastic pellets, or nurdles, into waterways near the Seadrift facility for years. Texas Commission on Environmental Quality investigators noted pellets floating on the water's surface as recently as January. The state is seeking more than $1 million in penalties and an order to cease unauthorized discharges.

This flight fits a pattern of frequent Dow travel between Midland and the Texas Gulf Coast; the CRJ-900 has shuttled between KMBS and the Houston area on each of the past five business days. With the company's mid-2026 CEO transition approaching—Jim Fitterling will become executive chair on July 1 while Karen S. Carter takes over, per the company's April 14 SEC filing—site visits tied to production and regulatory compliance remain a steady part of the fleet's log.