EPA: Climate Change Threatens Local Superfund Site

The EPA says it needs to study the impact that climate change could have on the public from the Highlands Acid Pit, located on the east bank of the San Jacinto River. The news came as a part of the five year review that the EPA recently performed on the site. It appears to be a sign that the EPA is anticipating that extreme flood events, higher sea levels and rising groundwater levels need to be factored into future Superfund cleanup efforts at many sites. 

The Highlands Acid Pit was caused by the dumping of sludge from oil and gas refineries in the 1950’s and is believed to contain spent hydrochloric acid and other chemicals. The cleanup in 1987 involved removing 22,000 yards of waste and excavating to an 8-foot depth before filling in the site. However, during Hurricane Harvey, pictures of the site underwater made national news.  In this latest review, the EPA is saying that the public is safe for now, but the area is in a flood plain and the agency needs to assess whether climate change-impacts will threaten the public in the future. 

Why this is important.

Climate change is a huge factor in Texas and the rest of the country.  A 2020 study found dozens of Texas Superfund sites that are at risk. Superfund sites in the Houston/Galveston area are a special concern. Six of the locations, including the Highlands site and the San Jacinto River Waste Pits Superfund Site, are located within a few miles of each other.  

Superfund Sites aren’t the only contaminated locations where impacts could threaten the public.  Professor James Elliot and colleagues from Rice University identified nearly two thousand other abandoned industrial sites in Houston alone where flooding and  rising water levels could release toxic chemicals into neighborhoods. At THEA, we believe those estimates are conservative, since the government data on flooding doesn’t include Houston’s subsidence rate, which is the highest in the nation. 

Following the widespread toxic releases from the San Jacinto Superfund Site and other area locations during Hurricane Harvey, the EPA has been under increasing pressure to factor climate change into its remediation efforts. Last year, the agency listed “Tackle Climate Crisis” as the first goal in its 2022-2026 Strategic Plan. 

However, that has not been consistently applied to Superfund Sites, especially to old ones like the Highland site, where the main remediation took place years ago. 

What’s Next?

The new review of the Highlands Site doesn’t say when the climate assessment will take place.  But, when it is done, the EPA would be obligated to determine if additional protective measures are necessary and how to accomplish them. 

Looking at the bigger picture, this is more evidence that climate change is already impacting people and that it could result in toxic releases from sites that people never realized were a threat.