Did The EPA Really Mean To Say Water Wells Near Jones Road Superfund Site Tested “Clear?”

We were very disappointed with the way the EPA described the status of the Jones Road Ground Water Plume Superfund Site in a recent Houston Chronicle article.

Specifically, a comment was made that private wells used by residents were “clear” when they were tested. That may have been a misquote, because, over the history of this site, both EPA testing and sampling that we performed in conjunction with the University of Texas Medical Branch showed Contaminants of Concern (COCs), the term for chemicals that pose a risk to people. 

This is a map of sampled wells that were found to contain drycleaning COCs during the sampling that has taken place over the years.  The purple triangles represent EPA tests. They found more than 40 wells that contained some level of COCs. Our own tests last year found two more. 

When Bell Dry Cleaner illegally dumped waste water behind its shop, it contaminated the soil and groundwater with chemicals like Tetrachloroethene. Commonly known as PERC, the compound has been linked to liver cancer, kidney cancer, leukemia, liver and kidney damage, and prenatal health problems.

And the EPA found PERC in 4 out of 7 wells tested in 2020. 

As we say, the EPA may have been misquoted, but this points to a larger problem. The agency did the right thing two years ago when it determined that the current plan isn’t doing enough to protect citizens, but the overall message to the community has been, “trust us, we have it all under control.”

That is why this is so disappointing. A large underground plume of contamination lies under the community and it is not going away any time soon. The EPA has admitted its old approach hasn’t worked. Now it is missing a golden opportunity to fix that by working with the community on plans that will work. We met with the EPA recently and they informed us that they have a plan to do vapor sampling in the community, but there is no timeline. The agency also noted their community engagement is ongoing, but there is no specific method to which they are actually reaching community members. 

We were sure to let them know that the local residents and THEA stand ready to work together with the agency.