By: Duane Craig
“Respiratory problems, stomach issues, heart issues, fatigue and aches and pains” top residents lists of ailments in the Cherry Creek subdivision in Shepherd, Texas, according to this Eastex Advocate article. One resident even claims to be waking up at night with chest pains and vomiting. Residents claim an oil producer nearby, Famcor, is the source of air pollution, or other contamination, that is making them sick.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality was on the case looking for air quality issues while the Texas Railroad Commission, which is supposed to handle investigations into soil and water contamination, had been elusive about answering questions related to their activities in the case -- at least at the time the article referenced above was published. One resident claimed to be told by an official of the agency that it didn’t have enough people to regulate all the businesses it is supposed to oversee and that some of its required inspections were years behind schedule.
TCEQ says it hasn’t found any air quality violations and has monitored the area on seven occasions, even using infrared cameras at times. The suspect company has a permit that allows it to release a certain amount of pollution. The investigation and air quality testing continues.
Water Contamination, Land Pollution & Hazardous Waste Material are issues families all across America are afflicted with daily.
Showing posts with label Texas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Texas. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
Communities Take Aim at Shooting Range Contamination
By: Duane Craig
People who live near the Little Rock Air Force Base can breathe easier knowing lead contamination there has been mitigated, according to this article in the Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System.
The project involved cleaning 15 acres of lead contamination left over from decades of shooting range use. After clearing 18,000 tons of contaminated soil, workers planted 3,000 trees on the newly mulched land. The shooting range operated during the 1960s and 1970s, leaving behind what was described as "extreme levels of lead."
In a case near Chambersburg, Pa., a shooting range adjacent to the city's water supply was closed in part because of contamination concerns, but it is being considered for reopening if the appropriate management practices can be put into place, according to a report in Public Opinion.
The project involved cleaning 15 acres of lead contamination left over from decades of shooting range use. After clearing 18,000 tons of contaminated soil, workers planted 3,000 trees on the newly mulched land. The shooting range operated during the 1960s and 1970s, leaving behind what was described as "extreme levels of lead."
Shooting ranges targeted for causing contamination
Shooting range contamination is being more widely recognized and addressed, and perhaps not surprisingly, the indoor ranges get a fair amount of scrutiny. In one case, reported in a Houston Chronicle article, a shooting range in the basement of a middle school was closed down in Sheboygan, Wis. The fact the range was inside a school was unusual, and even though the shooting club adopted procedures to make sure lead was reduced in the ambient air, that wasn't enough to keep the range open at that location.In a case near Chambersburg, Pa., a shooting range adjacent to the city's water supply was closed in part because of contamination concerns, but it is being considered for reopening if the appropriate management practices can be put into place, according to a report in Public Opinion.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Questioning The Business of Pollution Regulation
By: Duane Craig
It’s a good bet Texas has reasons other than self determination for having its own air quality implementation program and control over how environmental issues are regulated in the state. Those reasons come to light by analyzing its fee schedules for permitting the polluters to pollute, for inspecting their operations, for allowing them to do business in the state and for doing business on state owned properties.
As a line item in the 2010 Texas State Budget report, all licenses, fees, permits, fines and penalties equaled almost $7 billion in 2010. The oil and gas industry is a heavy polluter so besides fines and penalties, oil production and regulation taxes accounted for a little more than $1 billion in 2010. Then there is the natural gas production tax bringing in $725 million, the gas utility pipeline tax earning $14 million, a volatile chemical sales permit totaling $602,000, a few fuels transport taxes and oil and gas drilling permits at almost $9 million and oil and gas violations bringing in more than $4.6 million. Surface mining permits added another $1.5 million with air pollution control fees stacking up to $49 million. Then there are waste treatment inspection fees at $25.2 million, air pollution control fees of $49 million. Then there are all the oil and gas royalties Texas collects from oil companies with operations on state land which total more than $540 million.
Some people in Texas have wondered about the effectiveness of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality when they see how deeply the money flows between it and polluters. At the TCEQ’s first legislative review held in December 2010, the agency was accused of “being too cozy with industry and ignoring public concerns,” and it was especially challenged to explain the approval of coal-fired power plant permits that had been recommended for denial by the state’s own administrative law judges, according to the article “TCEQ gets an earful from public,” 12/16/2010, Houston Chronicle.
What many people haven’t really grasped yet is that governments depend upon polluting industries for operating revenues. In a way, pollution is big business, supplying money for state payrolls and operations related to managing it. Perhaps though, there is a conflict of interest when a state regulates a business that it also receives royalties from, a situation that could lead to more lax regulation when it comes to the environment.
It’s a good bet Texas has reasons other than self determination for having its own air quality implementation program and control over how environmental issues are regulated in the state. Those reasons come to light by analyzing its fee schedules for permitting the polluters to pollute, for inspecting their operations, for allowing them to do business in the state and for doing business on state owned properties.
As a line item in the 2010 Texas State Budget report, all licenses, fees, permits, fines and penalties equaled almost $7 billion in 2010. The oil and gas industry is a heavy polluter so besides fines and penalties, oil production and regulation taxes accounted for a little more than $1 billion in 2010. Then there is the natural gas production tax bringing in $725 million, the gas utility pipeline tax earning $14 million, a volatile chemical sales permit totaling $602,000, a few fuels transport taxes and oil and gas drilling permits at almost $9 million and oil and gas violations bringing in more than $4.6 million. Surface mining permits added another $1.5 million with air pollution control fees stacking up to $49 million. Then there are waste treatment inspection fees at $25.2 million, air pollution control fees of $49 million. Then there are all the oil and gas royalties Texas collects from oil companies with operations on state land which total more than $540 million.
Some people in Texas have wondered about the effectiveness of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality when they see how deeply the money flows between it and polluters. At the TCEQ’s first legislative review held in December 2010, the agency was accused of “being too cozy with industry and ignoring public concerns,” and it was especially challenged to explain the approval of coal-fired power plant permits that had been recommended for denial by the state’s own administrative law judges, according to the article “TCEQ gets an earful from public,” 12/16/2010, Houston Chronicle.
What many people haven’t really grasped yet is that governments depend upon polluting industries for operating revenues. In a way, pollution is big business, supplying money for state payrolls and operations related to managing it. Perhaps though, there is a conflict of interest when a state regulates a business that it also receives royalties from, a situation that could lead to more lax regulation when it comes to the environment.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Contaminated Bayou Waterway Falls Prey To Political Shenanigans
By: Duane Craig
Cedar Bayou is a meandering stream that forms the boundary between Harris and Chambers Counties. It drains into Galveston Bay and the floodplain that surrounds it is considered to be a critical wildlife habitat.
In 2002 Cedar bayou was listed in the state’s list of impaired water bodies because of dioxin being found in edible water life. In 2006, an impairment was added because of bacteria, and in 2008, polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, were found in edible water life as well. The bayou has a drainage area of more than 200 square miles, 128 open stream miles and flows through land occupied by 32,592 people.
Residences and parks line the Harris County side of the bayou while the Chambers County side plays host to industry. A seven-member board oversees the waterway and recently the Chambers side attempted to oust the two board members from the Harris side, according to this story in the Houston Chronicle. The plotters developed a bill to introduce in the state’s legislature that would take away the Harris County board members’ rights to vote and the next Harris County member due to rotate into the president’s position would be stopped from doing so. Read the fascinating story at the link above.
Cedar Bayou is a meandering stream that forms the boundary between Harris and Chambers Counties. It drains into Galveston Bay and the floodplain that surrounds it is considered to be a critical wildlife habitat.
In 2002 Cedar bayou was listed in the state’s list of impaired water bodies because of dioxin being found in edible water life. In 2006, an impairment was added because of bacteria, and in 2008, polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, were found in edible water life as well. The bayou has a drainage area of more than 200 square miles, 128 open stream miles and flows through land occupied by 32,592 people.
Residences and parks line the Harris County side of the bayou while the Chambers County side plays host to industry. A seven-member board oversees the waterway and recently the Chambers side attempted to oust the two board members from the Harris side, according to this story in the Houston Chronicle. The plotters developed a bill to introduce in the state’s legislature that would take away the Harris County board members’ rights to vote and the next Harris County member due to rotate into the president’s position would be stopped from doing so. Read the fascinating story at the link above.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Investigations Continue in Happy Texas to Uncover Local Environmental Issues
By: Duane Craig
The Environmental Protection Agency is overseeing a further investigation on current environmental issues at the North East 2nd Street Site (formerly called Attebury) in Happy, Texas. Happy sits 35 miles south of downtown Amarillo and was the home to Attebury Grain, a company providing grain storage.
In 1962, a fire wiped out the grain storage facility, and those fighting the fire used an unknown amount of carbon tetrachloride to put it out. Later, soil vapor tests and sampling of the groundwater by the state exposed a list of environmental issues, including carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, 1,2-dichloroethane, methylene chloride and other chemicals at the site. While the Santa Rosa aquifer, the one supplying the public water supply to Happy, is not affected, the larger Ogallala aquifer is, and that forced the abandonment of one residential well and one city well.
Soil gas samples done in 2009 told investigators where to lay out a grid pattern of soil gas diffusion samplers that were expected to show where concentrations of volatile organic compounds lay. Potential source areas were discovered, and the next step will be an investigation that maps out the nature and extent of the environmental issues there.
This site is at 201 North Gordon along the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad tracks. The site is between Northwest 3rd Street and Northwest 2nd Streets, and it is east of Talley Avenue. This site is in Swisher County.
The Environmental Protection Agency is overseeing a further investigation on current environmental issues at the North East 2nd Street Site (formerly called Attebury) in Happy, Texas. Happy sits 35 miles south of downtown Amarillo and was the home to Attebury Grain, a company providing grain storage.
In 1962, a fire wiped out the grain storage facility, and those fighting the fire used an unknown amount of carbon tetrachloride to put it out. Later, soil vapor tests and sampling of the groundwater by the state exposed a list of environmental issues, including carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, 1,2-dichloroethane, methylene chloride and other chemicals at the site. While the Santa Rosa aquifer, the one supplying the public water supply to Happy, is not affected, the larger Ogallala aquifer is, and that forced the abandonment of one residential well and one city well.
Soil gas samples done in 2009 told investigators where to lay out a grid pattern of soil gas diffusion samplers that were expected to show where concentrations of volatile organic compounds lay. Potential source areas were discovered, and the next step will be an investigation that maps out the nature and extent of the environmental issues there.
This site is at 201 North Gordon along the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad tracks. The site is between Northwest 3rd Street and Northwest 2nd Streets, and it is east of Talley Avenue. This site is in Swisher County.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
EPA Updates Ector County Superfund Site
By: Duane Craig
The public comment period wrapped up for the East 67th Street Superfund site north of Odessa, Texas, and the Environmental Protection Agency has outlined the proposed plan for cleaning up the current environmental issues there, according to the EPA’s recent status report.
A plume of contaminated groundwater roughly follows 67th Street and is bounded in the four compass directions by Yukon Road, VFW Lane, Andrews Highway and Alderfer Avenue. The contamination is a combination of 15,000 gallons of alcohol- and naphtha-based solvents and 635 gallons of tetrachloroethylene, or PCE. The EPA characterizes the contamination as being “an intentional release … from the former Delta Chemical facility (now Brenntag) located on East 67th Street.”
This is a particularly sensitive area from the perspective of groundwater aquifers because it is one place where the waters of the Trinity and Ogallala aquifers are interconnected, according to this report by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
The remedies are expected to include bringing municipal water to those whose wells are affected, injecting solutions into the plume that will speed up the decomposition of the chemicals, extracting and treating polluted water, setting up a soil vapor extraction system and plugging existing wells that could allow contaminated water to migrate between the aquifers.
The public comment period wrapped up for the East 67th Street Superfund site north of Odessa, Texas, and the Environmental Protection Agency has outlined the proposed plan for cleaning up the current environmental issues there, according to the EPA’s recent status report.
A plume of contaminated groundwater roughly follows 67th Street and is bounded in the four compass directions by Yukon Road, VFW Lane, Andrews Highway and Alderfer Avenue. The contamination is a combination of 15,000 gallons of alcohol- and naphtha-based solvents and 635 gallons of tetrachloroethylene, or PCE. The EPA characterizes the contamination as being “an intentional release … from the former Delta Chemical facility (now Brenntag) located on East 67th Street.”
This is a particularly sensitive area from the perspective of groundwater aquifers because it is one place where the waters of the Trinity and Ogallala aquifers are interconnected, according to this report by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
The remedies are expected to include bringing municipal water to those whose wells are affected, injecting solutions into the plume that will speed up the decomposition of the chemicals, extracting and treating polluted water, setting up a soil vapor extraction system and plugging existing wells that could allow contaminated water to migrate between the aquifers.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Perryton on Track to Leave Contamination in Place
By: Duane Craig
Residents of Perryton, Texas, will no doubt be accepting the possibility that water in an interval of the Ogallala Aquifer will remain contaminated with carbon tetrachloride, according to a recent updateto that site’s Superfund status.
The Environmental Protection Agency is holding a public comment period to get input on its proposal to name the upper interval of the aquifer under one portion of town as technically impractical to clean up. That upper zone of the Ogallala is not considered to be a section of the aquifer that is a productive zone for water supplies in the area because the city draws water from the lower portion of the aquifer.
The local environmental issues associated with the groundwater were discovered in the late ’80s when one of the city’s wells tested positive for carbon tetrachloride. It was taken out of service, and over the years a pump-and-treat system was installed in the lower part of the aquifer to cleanup the chemical. That process is in its seventh year and has cleaned up the lower aquifer. The well that was taken out of service was capable of acting as a pathway for contamination to travel from the upper portion of the aquifer to the lower. That well has been plugged to prevent the contamination from migrating.
The contamination in the upper aquifer is bounded by Brillhart Street, First Street, Colgate Street and State Route 83.
Residents of Perryton, Texas, will no doubt be accepting the possibility that water in an interval of the Ogallala Aquifer will remain contaminated with carbon tetrachloride, according to a recent updateto that site’s Superfund status.
The Environmental Protection Agency is holding a public comment period to get input on its proposal to name the upper interval of the aquifer under one portion of town as technically impractical to clean up. That upper zone of the Ogallala is not considered to be a section of the aquifer that is a productive zone for water supplies in the area because the city draws water from the lower portion of the aquifer.
The local environmental issues associated with the groundwater were discovered in the late ’80s when one of the city’s wells tested positive for carbon tetrachloride. It was taken out of service, and over the years a pump-and-treat system was installed in the lower part of the aquifer to cleanup the chemical. That process is in its seventh year and has cleaned up the lower aquifer. The well that was taken out of service was capable of acting as a pathway for contamination to travel from the upper portion of the aquifer to the lower. That well has been plugged to prevent the contamination from migrating.
The contamination in the upper aquifer is bounded by Brillhart Street, First Street, Colgate Street and State Route 83.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Abilene Looks into Sidestepping Potential Contamination
By: Duane Craig
Abilene, Texas, is eyeing the possibility of sidestepping its potential current environmental issues by adopting a municipal setting designation for its downtown area, according to this report at KTXS.com. City leaders recognize that after years of dry cleaning and automotive businesses being located there and the years of road construction activities, the groundwater is likely contaminated.
If there is contamination, the extent is not known, and some in the city would rather not know. Instead, they’d like to just get on with attracting new business. Part of that plan may include designating the area as one where people can’t use the groundwater for potable purposes if it is within the top 150 feet of soil. It also means that interested businesses wouldn’t have to do any cleanups related to water. They would, however, have to address “any other kinds of contamination.” The state’s environmental commission would have to approve the designation and terms the city sets forth.
Abilene’s original Town North area includes streets roughly bounded by U.S. Business Route 83, College Drive, Beech Street and South Seventh Street.
Abilene, Texas, is eyeing the possibility of sidestepping its potential current environmental issues by adopting a municipal setting designation for its downtown area, according to this report at KTXS.com. City leaders recognize that after years of dry cleaning and automotive businesses being located there and the years of road construction activities, the groundwater is likely contaminated.
If there is contamination, the extent is not known, and some in the city would rather not know. Instead, they’d like to just get on with attracting new business. Part of that plan may include designating the area as one where people can’t use the groundwater for potable purposes if it is within the top 150 feet of soil. It also means that interested businesses wouldn’t have to do any cleanups related to water. They would, however, have to address “any other kinds of contamination.” The state’s environmental commission would have to approve the designation and terms the city sets forth.
Abilene’s original Town North area includes streets roughly bounded by U.S. Business Route 83, College Drive, Beech Street and South Seventh Street.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Texas Taps ARRA for Longview Cleanup
By: Duane Craig
Gregg County, Texas, has received almost $64 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, according to Window on State Government, and a portion of that is going toward cleaning up local environmental issues at Longview.
The now-bankrupt Garland Creosoting treated wood with creosote from 1960 to 1997 in Longview, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s update on the Superfund site. This is a triangular site that is roughly bounded by Garland Road, South Eastman Road and Estes Drive. The City of Longview now considers the property’s best use to be for high-intensity retail business.
Garland used six tanks to recycle wastes from its operations and then placed those wastes into unlined impoundments on the soil’s surface. Between 1985 and 1989, investigators installed 12 monitoring wells to track the previously discovered groundwater contaminated with creosote. Operators of the wells discovered a “dense non-aqueous phase liquid,” or DNAPL, contaminating the groundwater. Garland closed the impoundments, removed the water and capped them to prevent further migration of the sludge. Garland then operated a groundwater recovery and treatment system until 1997 when it declared bankruptcy.
Long-term recovery actions have been taken over by a contractor, and those operations of recovery and treatment of leachate are expected to continue for another 10 years.
Gregg County, Texas, has received almost $64 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, according to Window on State Government, and a portion of that is going toward cleaning up local environmental issues at Longview.
The now-bankrupt Garland Creosoting treated wood with creosote from 1960 to 1997 in Longview, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s update on the Superfund site. This is a triangular site that is roughly bounded by Garland Road, South Eastman Road and Estes Drive. The City of Longview now considers the property’s best use to be for high-intensity retail business.
Garland used six tanks to recycle wastes from its operations and then placed those wastes into unlined impoundments on the soil’s surface. Between 1985 and 1989, investigators installed 12 monitoring wells to track the previously discovered groundwater contaminated with creosote. Operators of the wells discovered a “dense non-aqueous phase liquid,” or DNAPL, contaminating the groundwater. Garland closed the impoundments, removed the water and capped them to prevent further migration of the sludge. Garland then operated a groundwater recovery and treatment system until 1997 when it declared bankruptcy.
Long-term recovery actions have been taken over by a contractor, and those operations of recovery and treatment of leachate are expected to continue for another 10 years.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Mayor To Shut Most of TX City's Fuel Stations
October 3, 2010 - Mayor Annise Parker plans to shut down two-thirds of the city's 99 fueling stations, a cost-cutting measure intended to reduce the city's potential liability for leaking contaminants.
While the closures will save the city in the long run, the process of removing underground fuel storage tanks can be expensive. The price skyrockets if underground tanks are found to be leaking fuel or oil, requiring expensive remediation to dispose of contaminated soil to safeguard surrounding neighborhoods. In some cases, monitoring wells have to be drilled to make sure the leaking fuel products have not contaminated the groundwater under the sites.
In the last three years, the city has paid private contractors $5.8 million to replace underground storage tanks at city fire and police stations, public works facilities and parks. A number of the sites where tanks had leaked had to undergo extensive soil removal and other remediation efforts, according to records obtained by the Houston Chronicle.
More...
While the closures will save the city in the long run, the process of removing underground fuel storage tanks can be expensive. The price skyrockets if underground tanks are found to be leaking fuel or oil, requiring expensive remediation to dispose of contaminated soil to safeguard surrounding neighborhoods. In some cases, monitoring wells have to be drilled to make sure the leaking fuel products have not contaminated the groundwater under the sites.
In the last three years, the city has paid private contractors $5.8 million to replace underground storage tanks at city fire and police stations, public works facilities and parks. A number of the sites where tanks had leaked had to undergo extensive soil removal and other remediation efforts, according to records obtained by the Houston Chronicle.
More...
Friday, September 10, 2010
Old or Abandoned Wells Are Key Sources of TX Water Contamination
September 5, 2010 - New oil and gas drilling is probably the most visible activity people associate with threats to groundwater in Texas. But it's not usually the source of known contamination, according to state records.
Instead, old or abandoned oil and gas wells, petroleum storage facilities and even existing water wells are most frequently identified as problems.
A Texas Groundwater Protection Committee report, presented to the Legislature last year, said there were 4,729 active groundwater contamination cases documented or under enforcement in 2008.
Of those, 395, or 8.4 percent, were "attributed to oil and gas exploration and production activities," but "no producing oil and gas wells" were listed as groundwater-contamination sources, Texas Railroad Commission spokeswoman Ramona Nye said. The state has more than 281,000 oil and gas wells, Nye said.
Most contamination attributed to oil and gas exploration and production activities resulted from releases from sources such as pipelines and storage tanks, she said.
Cary Betz, chairman of the groundwater protection committee and a groundwater specialist with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, said the biggest source of groundwater contamination is leaking underground gasoline storage tanks at old service stations. But the number of those tanks has dropped significantly, to 1,214 in 2009, he said.
More...
Instead, old or abandoned oil and gas wells, petroleum storage facilities and even existing water wells are most frequently identified as problems.
A Texas Groundwater Protection Committee report, presented to the Legislature last year, said there were 4,729 active groundwater contamination cases documented or under enforcement in 2008.
Of those, 395, or 8.4 percent, were "attributed to oil and gas exploration and production activities," but "no producing oil and gas wells" were listed as groundwater-contamination sources, Texas Railroad Commission spokeswoman Ramona Nye said. The state has more than 281,000 oil and gas wells, Nye said.
Most contamination attributed to oil and gas exploration and production activities resulted from releases from sources such as pipelines and storage tanks, she said.
Cary Betz, chairman of the groundwater protection committee and a groundwater specialist with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, said the biggest source of groundwater contamination is leaking underground gasoline storage tanks at old service stations. But the number of those tanks has dropped significantly, to 1,214 in 2009, he said.
More...
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Lawyers: Hayes-Sammons Plant in Texas caused woman's cancer
October 27, 2009 - From 1950 to 1967, The Hayes-Sammons plant in Mission, Texas operated a pesticide mixing plant, combining dozens of industrial-grade chemicals into their own special brands of bug-killing elixir.
Guadalupe Garza grew up in the neighborhood, and became the first of nearly 1,600 former Hayes-Sammons employees and nearby residents to take her toxic exposure case before a jury. Specifically, she alleges that three chemical compounds used at the plant - DDT, dieldrin and toxaphene - built up in her body over time and triggered the cancer she developed later in life.
Read more...
Guadalupe Garza grew up in the neighborhood, and became the first of nearly 1,600 former Hayes-Sammons employees and nearby residents to take her toxic exposure case before a jury. Specifically, she alleges that three chemical compounds used at the plant - DDT, dieldrin and toxaphene - built up in her body over time and triggered the cancer she developed later in life.
Read more...
Monday, October 12, 2009
Pollution an enduring legacy at old ICBM sites
October 10, 2009 - As U.S. Air Force officials marked the 50th anniversary of the deployment of nuclear missiles to sites in the rural United States this past week, residents in some of these communities are still grappling with another legacy — groundwater pollution from chemicals used to clean and maintain the weapons.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is identifying and cleaning up dozens of former nuclear missile sites in nine states.
he ICBM sites include 14 in Kansas, 10 in Nebraska, seven in Wyoming, seven in Colorado and two in Oklahoma. California, New Mexico, New York and Texas have one contaminated ICBM site each.
TCE may have polluted many more missile sites than the corps is aware.
Monday, September 28, 2009
More Midland County Texas residents worried about chromium in water
September 25, 2009 - Midland County residents living near properties with chromium contaminated water wells said at a TCEQ open house meeting Thursday they fear it’s only a matter of time before they too are dealing with the toxic substance in their water.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Texas Homeowners Affected by Contamination to See Lower Property Evaluations
September 3, 2009 - MIDLAND COUNTY - A small victory for some Midland county residents dealing with contaminated well water.
Their property values are being lowered by 25% because of the chromium problem.
13 people filed appeals with the Midland Central Appraisal District to get those values reduced after a round of tests showed the dangerous chemical at more than 50 times the acceptable federal level.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Proposed Hazardous Waste Riles Texas Residents
July 29, 2009 - A proposal to build a hazardous household waste collection facility near a neighborhood has residents worried about safety. League City applied for a grant to build a regional hub for the collection of household hazardous waste, including paint, oil, pool chemicals, potent cleaners and discarded electronics, near the Bay Ridge subdivision on the city’s east side.
But some people living in the subdivision near the site said they want the city to provide more information, including about how it would prevent chemicals at the site from leaching into the soil near their homes.
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But some people living in the subdivision near the site said they want the city to provide more information, including about how it would prevent chemicals at the site from leaching into the soil near their homes.
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Monday, July 13, 2009
Midland, Texas wells contaminated with chromium
July 10, 2009 - Texas environmental officials are still trying to determine the extent of the contamination. Later this month, they will ask the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to consider the site for federal Superfund status.
After that, efforts will begin to find who dumped the dangerous chemical, which appears to have been in the area for years, according to one environmental investigator.
More . . .
After that, efforts will begin to find who dumped the dangerous chemical, which appears to have been in the area for years, according to one environmental investigator.
More . . .
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Texas residents blame health problems on nearby Asarco plant, landfill
July 3, 2009 - Could pollution be the cause of health problems in Sunland Park?
Many residents suspect that it is.
They consider the Asarco smelter in El Paso and the Camino Real landfill in Sunland Park to be the major sources of contamination in their community.
More . . .
Many residents suspect that it is.
They consider the Asarco smelter in El Paso and the Camino Real landfill in Sunland Park to be the major sources of contamination in their community.
More . . .
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Chromium contaminated water in Midland County Texas
June 11, 2009 - The worries continue to pile up for residents living off Cotton Flat Road after officials discovered chromium contamination several weeks ago.
"The plume is extensive. It's probably at least a mile long it has very very high concentrations," Bob Bowcock, lead investigator working with famed Environmental Activist Erin Brockovich, said the team has found the source of contamination.
More . . .
"The plume is extensive. It's probably at least a mile long it has very very high concentrations," Bob Bowcock, lead investigator working with famed Environmental Activist Erin Brockovich, said the team has found the source of contamination.
More . . .
Contaminated water in East Parker County Texas
June 11, 2009 - Water is becoming a volatile issue in the East Parker County community of Bourland Field Estates.
Residents of the luxury, fly-in community of about 25 homes have complained for years their water has an unpleasant taste and smell. Now, compounds consistent with petroleum and natural gas have been found in the well which supplies the entire system.
More . . .
Residents of the luxury, fly-in community of about 25 homes have complained for years their water has an unpleasant taste and smell. Now, compounds consistent with petroleum and natural gas have been found in the well which supplies the entire system.
More . . .
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