| Case: Greens
Bayou waste site
Site History: The Greens Bayou site has been impacted by historical
releases of hazardous substances from chemical manufacturing facilities located
on the site. These facilities produced organochlorine pesticides and magnetic
iron oxides, which have been detected in properties surrounding the facilities,
the Harris County Flood Control District ditch adjacent to the site, and
portions of Greens Bayou. These facilities, GB Biosciences Corporation and ISK
Magnetics, Inc. are working cooperatively with the natural resource trustees to
assess the potential for injuries or losses in the environment attributed to
releases and to determine the need for compensatory restoration.
Location:
Houston, Harris County, Texas
Trustees:
Case status:
The Natural Resource Damages case was settled and the natural resource trustees (Trustees) are preparing for restoration implementation.
Overview:
The Greens Bayou Site (the ‘Site’) consists of industrial facilities owned and
operated by GB Biosciences Corporation and ISK Magnetics, Inc., surrounding
industrial and undeveloped properties, the Harris County Flood Control District
(HCFCD) ditch, and Greens Bayou. Surface water from the Site is conducted in
the HCFCD ditch, a lined culvert, where it flows through the facilities from
north to south, then turns southwest near Haden Road and terminates at Greens
Bayou. The HCFCD ditch was tidally influenced in the southern sections until a
sediment retention dam was constructed at the mouth of the ditch in 2002.
Greens Bayou flows east through an industrialized area before turning southwest
prior to entering the Houston Ship Channel approximately 20 miles northeast of
its confluence into Galveston Bay.
Historically, hazardous substances were improperly disposed of and released
into the environment – both on Site and in surrounding areas. Studies have
revealed the presence of DDT and other hazardous substances in groundwater,
soil, and sediment in the HCFCD ditch, in the surrounding properties, and in
Greens Bayou. A significant source of this contamination was the HCFCD ditch,
which likely received untreated process water, storm water, and ground water
containing hazardous substances from the facility. The HCFCD ditch receives and
conducts water from the Site before entering into Greens Bayou. In an effort to
mitigate further impacts from contamination in the HCFCD ditch, a sediment
retention dam was installed at the confluence of the ditch and Greens Bayou. In
addition, a combination of response actions were selected to ensure continued
navigational use of the bayou, prevent future impacts to the bayou from the PRP
properties, and to protect human health and the environment. These actions
include groundwater monitoring and recovery, soil removal, property
acquisition, and sediment removal.
The Trustees have worked with the Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality and the facility representatives to identify the
nature and extent of the contamination within the site boundaries, and to
determine what remedial actions should be implemented to address potential risk
to human health and the environment.
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