The cleanup plan to address contamination at the San Jacinto Waste Pits Superfund site in Harris County, Texas, has been approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The selected remedy’s goal is to protect human health and the environment by removing highly contaminated material from the site and securing less contaminated areas and to provide certainty to other economic interests including the businesses that rely on the San Jacinto River for navigation and the Interstate 10 transportation corridor.
“Today we are announcing our decision to ensure the San Jacinto site is cleaned up for the benefit of the entire community,” EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt says. “As exemplified today, EPA is prioritizing Superfund cleanup by making decisions in a decisive, timely manner. The San Jacinto Waste Pits site was added to the National Priority List nearly a decade ago, and I am pleased to announce a decision has been made to permanently address the highly toxic materials to ensure health and safety in the surrounding communities.”
The Superfund site consists of two sets of impoundments, or pits, built in the mid-1960s for disposing solid and liquid pulp and paper mill wastes that are contaminated with polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (dioxins) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (furans). In 2011, the impoundments were covered with an armored cap as a temporary way to contain the contaminants.
EPA’s cleanup plan includes installing engineering controls such as cofferdams before excavating almost 212,000 cubic yards of dioxin contaminated material for disposal. A small amount of material will stay on the site where controls can prevent access, eliminate off-site migration and monitor the natural recovery into the future. The estimated cost for the remedy is $115 million.
EPA’s final cleanup plan, called a Record of Decision, addresses comments on the proposed plan concerning the risk of water spreading dioxin contamination downstream by installing controls such as cofferdams to allow for dry excavation of the waste material. Changes in the construction method is designed to eliminate any potential for spreading contamination to downstream areas. The $97 million proposed plan outlined wet excavation of material.
EPA says its decision is based on extensive studies of the contamination, human health risks and environmental risks of this site. The final cleanup plan considers the San Jacinto River, which encroaches on the site, and protecting important downstream resources including the Galveston Bay estuary.
EPA will release an Administrative Record, which consists of all documents used to support its selected remedy.
EPA added the San Jacinto Waste Pits site to the National Priorities List of Superfund sites in 2008 after testing revealed contamination from dioxins and furans near the waste pits. The northern set of impoundments, about 14 acres, is located on the western bank of the San Jacinto River, north of the Interstate 10 bridge over the San Jacinto River. These northern impoundments are partially submerged in the river. The southern impoundment, less than 20 acres, is located on a small peninsula that extends south of the Interstate 10 bridge.
The Administrative Record, including the Record of Decision, for the San Jacinto River Waste Pits Superfund Site is available online at www.epa.gov/tx/sjrwp.
No more results found. “Today we are announcing our decision to ensure the San Jacinto site is cleaned up for the benefit of the entire community,” EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt says. “As exemplified today, EPA is prioritizing Superfund cleanup by making decisions in a decisive, timely manner. The San Jacinto Waste Pits site was added to the National Priority List nearly a decade ago, and I am pleased to announce a decision has been made to permanently address the highly toxic materials to ensure health and safety in the surrounding communities.”
The Superfund site consists of two sets of impoundments, or pits, built in the mid-1960s for disposing solid and liquid pulp and paper mill wastes that are contaminated with polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (dioxins) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (furans). In 2011, the impoundments were covered with an armored cap as a temporary way to contain the contaminants.
EPA’s cleanup plan includes installing engineering controls such as cofferdams before excavating almost 212,000 cubic yards of dioxin contaminated material for disposal. A small amount of material will stay on the site where controls can prevent access, eliminate off-site migration and monitor the natural recovery into the future. The estimated cost for the remedy is $115 million.
EPA’s final cleanup plan, called a Record of Decision, addresses comments on the proposed plan concerning the risk of water spreading dioxin contamination downstream by installing controls such as cofferdams to allow for dry excavation of the waste material. Changes in the construction method is designed to eliminate any potential for spreading contamination to downstream areas. The $97 million proposed plan outlined wet excavation of material.
EPA says its decision is based on extensive studies of the contamination, human health risks and environmental risks of this site. The final cleanup plan considers the San Jacinto River, which encroaches on the site, and protecting important downstream resources including the Galveston Bay estuary.
EPA will release an Administrative Record, which consists of all documents used to support its selected remedy.
EPA added the San Jacinto Waste Pits site to the National Priorities List of Superfund sites in 2008 after testing revealed contamination from dioxins and furans near the waste pits. The northern set of impoundments, about 14 acres, is located on the western bank of the San Jacinto River, north of the Interstate 10 bridge over the San Jacinto River. These northern impoundments are partially submerged in the river. The southern impoundment, less than 20 acres, is located on a small peninsula that extends south of the Interstate 10 bridge.
The Administrative Record, including the Record of Decision, for the San Jacinto River Waste Pits Superfund Site is available online at www.epa.gov/tx/sjrwp.