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EPA Awards $50,000 Technical Assistance Grant for the San Jacinto River Waste Pits Superfund Site

Release Date: 05/26/2011
Contact Information: Dave Bary or Joe Hubbard at 214-665-2200 or [email protected]

(DALLAS – May 26, 2011) The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded a $50,000 technical assistance grant to the Galveston Bay Foundation and Texans Together, two local environmental organizations in the Houston area. The grant will be used to provide input for EPA decision making regarding the San Jacinto River Waste Pits cleanup process.

Funds from the grant will be used to hire a technical advisor to review EPA, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and other federal and state agencies’ technical and scientific documents related to the San Jacinto River Waste Pits Superfund site in Harris County, Texas.

The site is located on the western bank of the San Jacinto River, immediately north of the I-10 bridge. The property covers approximately 20 acres and the waste disposal pits are approximately 3.5 acres in total size. The pits historically received wastes from paper mill activities and portions of the original pits are underwater. The site was placed on the National Priorities List (NPL) of Superfund sites on March 19, 2008. The NPL is EPA’s list of uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites identified for long-term cleanup under the federal Superfund program.

Congress made public involvement in decision making an important part of the Superfund process when the program was established in 1980. Since the first technical assistance grant was awarded in 1988, more than $20 million has been awarded directly to community groups.

More about activities in EPA Region 6 is available at https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/region6.html

EPA audio file is available at https://www.epa.gov/region6/6xa/podcast/may2011.html