EPA sets public meeting May 7

Water samples from the Ship Channel contain at least 9 toxins in an oily slick.
Water samples from the Ship Channel contain at least 9 toxins in an oily slick.

SJRC reviews Superfund status

HIGHLANDS – At its regular monthly meeting, the San Jacinto River Coalition learned that the federal EPA had scheduled a community meeting in Highlands on Tuesday, May 7 from 6:30 to 8:00 pm. This is one of the quarterly public meetings that the EPA promised to have on a regular schedule. They will update information on activities at the Superfund site, according the EPA spokesperson Janetta Coats.

At the same meeting, THEA president Jackie Young discussed the environmental impact that the ITC fire has had on the water quality of the river and ship channel. She displayed a bottle of water from the channel with heavy oil deposits.

Young also discussed the air pollution caused by the KMCO fire on April 2, and noted that both the county and the state were suing the company for violations of the clean air act. Similar suits have been billed against ITC, she said. The audience told the group that the Coast Guard is using River Terrace park to deploy booms in the ship channel. EPA will also meet with the Harris County Pollution control on May 8 to discuss some of these violations.