Texas Group Sues Army Corps Over Contamination Risk Near San Jacinto River Waste Pits Superfund Site

Today, Texas Health and Environment Alliance (THEA), represented by Earthjustice, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The lawsuit alleges that USACE failed to follow proper permitting procedures, which require USACE to properly assess the environmental impacts of a proposed project that would dredge and add moorings to accommodate barges near the San Jacinto River Waste Pits Superfund site and provide proper public notice and comment.

The Army Corps skipped required permitting procedures, including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) assessment process, and instead issued a ‘Letter of Permission’ approving the project without environmental review or public notice and comment, despite the project having likelihood of real and significant impacts and years of public opposition expressing concerns with the proposed plans. The project would require dredging and mooring near the San Jacinto River Waste Pits (SJRWP) Superfund site “area of concern,” which creates a significant risk of contamination should the waste pits be disturbed during dredging or impacted by barges once the project is operational. The plaintiff alleges that allowing this company to cut corners and avoid environmental review is not only wrong, but also illegal.

“The Army Corps has approved dredging and operation of a barge facility within the area of concern for a federally designated toxic Superfund site in the San Jacinto River. The government has a responsibility to protect this site so that it does not contaminate local waterways, fisheries, and communities,” says Allison Brouk, senior attorney at Earthjustice. “Instead, the Army Corps is taking shortcuts, which is, frankly, reckless. They must play by their own rules and conduct a proper evaluation of all potential impacts prior to granting a permit.”

The SJRWP Superfund Site has been the center of decades of research on cancer risks, and a new cancer study from the Texas Department of State Health Services is expected to be released soon. A 2015 cancer study found higher than expected levels of several different types of cancers in east Harris County near the SJRWP Superfund site.

“This toxic site has a long history of impacting local communities and the environment. The Army Corps should not ignore the clear and present risks in the area of concern,” says Jackie Medcalf, executive director of Texas Health and Environment Alliance.

For example, during Tropical Storm Imelda in 2019 a barge carrying lubricating oil became grounded on one of the waste pits at the same Superfund site. Increasing barge traffic in the area could result in further collisions with the toxic pits.

“If someone wants to dredge near a toxic waste site and bring barges into a vulnerable area, the Army Corps must ensure thorough environmental testing is done to prevent disturbing old contamination and redistributing it into our environment,” Mrs. Medcalf continued. “Not to mention the impacts that could result from dumping potentially toxic sludge on another community. This needs further review to assess environmental and public health impacts at every level.”