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Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency announced an informal investigation is underway in Texas regarding water quality violations in the state.
This action comes after over 20 environmental and water advocacy groups submitted a petition against the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality with allegations that state regulators are not holding companies to federal requirements to keep waterways in Texas safe.
The petition, dated Sept. 23, 2021, and submitted by Perales, Allmon and Ice, PC law firm of Austin, asks EPA to ensure that the State of Texas “correct the identified deficiencies in the Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System”, and should Texas fail to correct the deficiencies, the petition goes on to request that EPA withdraw Texas’ delegated authority to administer the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System under the federal Clean Water Act of 1972.
If the EPA decides TCEQ is in violation of the Clean Water Act, a formal federal investigation could be opened, and TCEQ’s authority to regulate water quality could be revoked.
The TCEQ would have 90 days to fix the problems or lose its authority.
The 314-page petition includes the following statement in the summary: “Water pollution is a major problem in Texas, with 9,711 miles of the state’s rivers, 590,214 acres of its lakes, and 1,248 square miles of its estuaries so polluted they are considered “impaired” under the federal Clean Water Act, according to a report by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Industrial facilities in Texas exceeded wastewater discharge permits more than any other state in the nation in 2018, according to data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO) database. In 2012, only Indiana surpassed Texas for the amount of toxic water pollution discharged to its waterways from industrial facilities, a total of 16,476,093 pounds in the Lone Star State, according to EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory.”
The entire petition can be found at https:// env i ronmental integr ity.org/wp-content/ uploads/2021/09/ TX-Water-Pollution-Petition- to-EPA-9-23-21.pdf.
Inland contamination reached Colorado River, lawsuit continues While Colorado County is not listed as a petitioner, and as of the publication of this edition of The Citizen, it is unknown if Colorado County is a member of any of the organizations listed as petitioners, this county is the site of the Inland Environmental contamination four years ago. Local news sources The Colorado County Citizen and The Eagle Lake Headlight were the first in the state to report on the ordeal.
In February 2019, Altair area residents near Skull Creek and the Inland Environmental plant noticed a “sickening odor” coming from the oily, black water of the creek, killing countless fish and alligator gar that live in the creek.
Residents in the area also reported livestock and pets becoming ill and dying following the contamination of Skull Creek.
In April 2019, the State of Texas filed a lawsuit against Inland Environmental Altair facility for their violations of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality statutes and rules, stating Inland, “Unlawfully accumulated waste—including potentially carcinogenic chemicals—discharged from the facility into Skull Creek and caused pollution in violation of the State’s environmental laws. Those violations threaten to render water in the State harmful to the public health and environment.”
Contamination of the Colorado River was confirmed, and a temporary injunction was filed in May 2019 that prohibited the company from accepting waste and to cease any further pollution of Skull Creek.
On Aug. 13, 2019, the State of Texas and LCRA filed a 476-page motion for contempt against David Polston, Inland Environmental and Remediation, Inc. and Inland Recycling, LLC in a Travis County court, stating Inland had failed to obey the agreed temporary injunction entered on May 14 of that year.
In late August 2019, Polston and Inland filed an emergency motion to modify the agreed temporary injunction order. In that motion, Polston asked for “reasonable and equitable modifications” to the injunction to “ensure that a final and permanent closure of the site is achieved.”
Inland’s motion asked the court to add a provision that would require the Railroad Commission of Texas, the governmental agency “with proper authority over defendant’s facility,” to complete a closure plan of the site within 90 days, and authorize a one-time permit to “process, remediate or recycle all oil and gas recyclable material and drill cuttings on site to be sold for the benefit of the State and to establish an environmental escrow fund for the benefit of the site.”
The motion also asked the court to require the RRC to use surety bond monies totaling approximately $6 million to clean and close the site. Inland states the RRC received the money approximately four months prior to this lawsuit in which the RRC is a plaintiff.
The pre-trial hearing for the criminal case brought by The State of Texas against David Polston was set for Aug. 5, 2022 in the 390th District Court of Travis County.
Polston, former president of Inland Environmental, was indicted on two counts of intentionally discharging waste in January 2022.
Both Inland Recycling LLC and Polston were indicted on the third-degree felony counts. If convicted, Polston could face up to five years in prison and a fine up to $100,000. Inland Recycling LLC could face a fine of up to $250,000.
Travis County will handle prosecution in conjunction with Colorado County’s attorney.
