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Two Texas Sites Added to Superfund Priorities List

Release Date: 7/27/2000
Contact Information: For more information contact the Office of External Affairs at (214) 665-2200.

     The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) added the Star Lake Canal site in Port Neches and the Palmer Barge Line site near Port Arthur to the federal Superfund National Priorities List (NPL), EPA and the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC) announced today.

     "Listing these sites is an important first step in ensuring that public health and the environment will be protected. The EPA and the TNRCC are committed to work together to clean up these sites quickly and efficiently," EPA Regional Administrator Gregg Cooke said.

     TNRCC Chairman Robert J. Huston said, "The TNRCC stands ready to assist the EPA in addressing problem sites such as this one. Continued cooperation between our agencies is essential to clean up all contaminated properties, particularly those which affect the environmentally sensitive areas of our state."

     A variety of toxic chemicals have been found in the waters and sediments of Star Lake Canal, Jefferson Canal and Molasses Bayou. The contamination may have occurred over decades from polluted runoff and wastewater discharges of nearby chemical and manufacturing plants.

     Wetlands bordering the contaminated area are home to the white-faced ibis, a state-designated threatened species. Also, the polluted waters are just a few miles upstream of Sabine Lake, an important source of fish and shellfish.

     The Palmer Barge Line site was a marine vessel service and maintenance facility on a 17-acre site located on the Southeast Industrial Islet.

     Chemical analysis of sediment samples collected from Sabine Lake in 1999 document that aluminum, barium, chromium, cobalt, iron, lead, magnesium, nickel, and zinc have migrated from the Palmer Barge Line facility into the lake.

     The EPA Superfund program works closely with state agencies to clean and restore uncontrolled contaminated properties. Superfund cleans sites when the work required is beyond the resources of state and local agencies.

     Additional information about this site is available on the EPA web site at https://www.epa.gov/superfund/new/newnpl.htm.