Officials: Texas facility 'uniquely capable' to treat 2 million gallons of toxic water from East Palestine

The Banner Press
By Bethany Blankley | The Center Square contributor
February 28, 2023

(The Center Square) – “Firefighting water” from East Palestine, Ohio, is already being processed at a hazardous waste facility in Deer Park, Texas, located southeast of Houston in Harris County.

Democratic Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo confirmed late last week that two million gallons of firefighting water used to respond to volatile organic compounds released into the environment after a train derailed in Ohio on Feb. 3 would be transported to and processed in Harris County.

In response to the VOCs, including vinyl chloride and butyl acrylate, being released into the atmosphere and ground, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine issued shelter in place and evacuation orders and activated the National Guard. Several investigations are also underway.

Hidalgo said Tuesday that “no other facility” other than the one in Harris County “has the capacity necessary to dispose of the volume of firefighting water in question, once the Ohio and Indiana facilities are at capacity.”

Texas Molecular, the facility, expected to treat two million gallons, operates an underground injection program, which the EPA has approved as “a safe and cost-effective means of disposing even the most challenging hazardous waste materials.”

Injection wells protect ground water and reduce human exposure to toxic chemicals and heavy metals by removing them from the environment, the EPA explains.

While Houston's Coalition for Environment, Equity, and Resilience tweeted that it was “disturbed to learn that toxic wastewater from East Palestine, Ohio will be brought to Harris County for 'disposal,'” saying the county shouldn’t “be a dumping ground for industry," the facility has safely disposed of hazardous chemicals for 40 years without incident, officials say.

Some websites misreported that transportation of the firefighting water was disrupted due to local public outcry, which wasn’t the case, Hidalgo's Tuesday statement clarified. “The EPA just informed us that due to heavy rain at the derailment site and capacity limitations in other facilities, transportation of the firefighting water from East Palestine will resume to Harris County today,” Hidalgo said.

She also said “jurisdictions from around the nation have stepped up to help Harris County when we needed it most. It’s appropriate for us to help when we have the ability to do so and when it can be done safely.”

The EPA is supervising the disposal of the toxic water “around the clock,” she added, and extra precautions are being taken by the U.S. Department of Transportation “for safe transport."

Deer Park Mayor Jerry Mouton, Jr. told KPRC 2 News last week that the city “has no concerns about the handling and disposal of this material. While Texas Molecular is outside Deer Park’s city limits and our jurisdiction, they are permitted by the EPA to conduct such things and have done so safely for over 40 years.”

Texas Molecular also issued a statement saying that it “specializes in helping customers and the environment reduce risk by safely sequestering water at our facility, which is regulated by US EPA and TCEQ,” the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. It also says that all trucks arriving at its facility are licensed and regulated by federal and state agencies.

“We are chosen based on our capabilities, experience, and unique ability to handle a project of this size,” it added. “We lower risk by having no discharges to groundwater, no discharges to surface water, and no thermal processes. Our technology safely removes hazardous constituents from the biosphere. We are part of the solution to reduce risk and protect the environment, whether in our local area or other places that need the capabilities we offer to protect the environment.”

It also said it has treated similar firefighting water before and local community members and regulators “were glad that we had the ability to manage large quantities of firewater safely in a reasonable amount of time.”