EPA to suspend disposal of toxic wastewater from Ohio bound for Houston

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said Thursday that officials were not notified that toxic wastewater would be entering Harris County for disposal.

Editorial note. The above video is taken from a previous report that aired on February 23rd.

Jackson Lee tweeted that “worked extensively with the EPA and the EPA Administrator in the last days to protect the community from the disposal of toxic waste.”

The Environmental Protection Agency said Norfolk Southern is “solely responsible for the disposal of waste generated at the site of the train derailment in East Palestine” until Feb. 24.

According to the EPA, Norfolk Southern was provided with a list of facilities for disposal. They were then ordered to immediately suspend the shipment of waste for 24 hours. The agency said plans, waste disposal and transportation are now subject to EPA approval.

According to Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, there are already about half a million gallons of sewage here. The Texas Molecular facility at Deer Park expects a total of two million gallons.

On Thursday, Hidalgo shared her disappointment that her office had not been notified of the water transport. She said that the state of Ohio, as well as the Texas Commission on Environmental Equity, were involved, but that she was not informed that water was being delivered to Harris County until she heard about it from the press.

Grace White of KHOU 11 asked Hidalgo if her office is routinely notified when hazardous waste arrives and leaves the county.

“There is no statute, there is no law that says that our office must be notified of the presence of hazardous materials,” Hidalgo said. “Now is it normal that there was an international disaster in Ohio, an explosion of this magnitude, and we suddenly found out that the same materials were entering our community for a week, driving around our community? I don’t think so”.

Texas Molecular told KHOU 11 in a statement, “We were selected based on our capabilities, experience and unique ability to handle a project of this magnitude.”

The mayor of Deer Park also said he was confident the disposal was being done properly. He said that the company has permission from the Environmental Protection Agency and has been doing similar work for 40 years.

Here full statement from Rep. Jackson Lee on Twitter:

“Congresswoman Jackson Lee has been working intensively with the EPA and the EPA Administrator over the past few days to protect communities from toxic waste disposal. This process of dumping toxic waste in communities without prior notice to local cities and counties must be stopped.
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee announces that the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is suspending the disposal of toxic waste from East Palestine, including any disposal destined for Houston and Harris County.”

Here is the full statement from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency:

“Until February 24, Norfolk Southern was solely responsible for the disposal of waste generated from the train derailment in East Palestine. On February 23, the company provided the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency with a list of selected and used sites for disposal.

Within 24 hours of receiving the notice, EPA instructed Norfolk Southern to immediately suspend shipments of waste from the East Palestine train derailment site. Waste disposal plans, including disposal sites and contaminated waste transportation routes, will be subject to further review and approval by the EPA. EPA will ensure that all waste is safely and legally disposed of at EPA-certified facilities to prevent further release of hazardous substances and impact on communities.”

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texasstandard.news contributed to this report.

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