CHANNELVIEW, Texas – After years of delays and community outcry, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved the final cleanup plan for the San Jacinto River Waste Pits Superfund Site.
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The site, located along the San Jacinto River in Harris County just east of Houston, was designated as a Superfund site due to toxic dioxin and other hazardous waste from industrial operations.
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However, in a rare move, the agency noted in a news release that it has added more than 40 new conditions to the project and will now require its approval for any future changes to the plan.
Health advocates like Jackie Medcalf, CEO and founder of the Texas Health and Environment Alliance (THEA), lauded the decision.
In a statement, she called it, in part, a major victory for residents who have long fought for a thorough cleanup of the toxic site, which has been linked to serious health problems in nearby communities, including cancer and other illnesses.
“The EPA is taking decisive action to protect the community and the San Jacinto River,” she said. “This is a victory for all of the residents who have been pushing for the cleanup of this environmental hazard for so many years.”
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In a strong break from the norm, the EPA also said it has attached more than 40 new requirements and made clear that no changes to the plan can be made without EPA approval going forward.
Part of this could be because the Southern Pit was successfully cleaned up in 2024; efforts to address the Northern Pit have been stalled repeatedly, with the responsible companies requesting more than 565 days of delays and submitting inadequate cleanup proposals that failed to meet EPA standards.
“EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has said his priority is to jumpstart the Superfund site cleanup process, and this may be the most important project to see action under that policy,” Medcalf said. “We appreciate the EPA taking firm action on a project that has been allowed to languish for far too long.”