As Houston Ship Canal Expands, Residents of Pleasantville and Galena Park Are Raising Concerns About Potential Exposure to Toxic Substances
GALENA PARK, Texas “People living in two communities who have already experienced potential exposure to toxic substances now have new concerns about where they live.
As part of the Houston Ship Canal Expansion Project, sediment dredged from the waterway will be dumped at multiple sites in Pleasantville and Galena Park.
“The amount of dredging waste is getting higher and higher every year,” said Cruz Hinojosa Jr., a Galena Park resident who is also president of the Galena Park Environmental Society.
There are currently seven dredging sites in two communities, and now the US Army Corps of Engineers wants to build another site to process materials from the Ship Canal expansion. The project began in June and the first phase of dredging was completed in February.
“We are very concerned about what is in our environment. We are surrounded by industry, we have dredging sites here that will get bigger soon, we just want to make sure everything is checked so we can take some of the pressure off that we have in Galena Park,” said Juan, Galena Park Flores. a resident who also manages the aircraft tracking program for Air Alliance Houston.
Map of dumps, reopened dumps and new dump (Geneio Esercito)
Community Citizen Watch Group asks USACE to remove potentially toxic deposits from areas.
“Many of the toxic chemicals that often leak or seep from these plants end up in the ship’s channel and into the soil. So this material will inevitably include the mix of chemicals you see in the English Channel of a ship, including carcinogenic chemicals like benzene,” Public Citizen’s Erandi Trevino said.
In a statement to KPRC 2 News, Neil Murphy, spokesman for USACE, said:
“I can confidently tell you that we will work and work with the community and listen to their concerns as we develop canal and port service solutions because 1. Federal law, environmental responsibility and environmental justice standards are paramount to us , keepers of water. resources for 180 years. Secondly, we are literally Gulf Coast residents and also live and work in a community, so we will do our best to protect society and the environment. USACE processes and analyzes all materials in accordance with EPA standards. and TCEQ. We have always done it with a high degree of skill and care. All material selected here meets the criteria of the Clean Water Act.”
KPRC 2 News also received the following statement from Port Houston, which operates the Houston Ship Channel:
According to Port Houston, USACE should test the material in accordance with EPA and TCEQ standards. We also understand that all selected material meets the criteria of the Clean Water Act.”
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