South Texas Flooding
Identification/collection/staging of runaway containers continues with EPA crews focusing on land based containers and USCG (MSO and Strike Team) crews concentrating on containers located in the water. Coordination of all parties is considered excellent on this operation.
Collection of household hazardous wastes from the flooding continues. Careful and close coordination between State, EPA and Local authorities is a difficult task, with the many towns, precincts, and utility districts in the 28 county area. Ensuring no duplication of effort and addressing all household haz waste tasks are both difficult.
LEPCs, Local Government officials (fire/Police) have been provided the EPA local number 713-671-5128 to contact for coordination of runaway containers and household hazardous wastes associated with Tropical Storm Allison.
The Houston Port Authority has graciously provided some of their land for a local staging area. Several weeks of operation are expected in this staging area.
Several local ship channel industries (5 to date) have been collecting large volumes of oily and non-oiled floating debris that came to rest around their commercial docks. These industries have requested Federal Agency assistance with the debris, and no resolution has come on this issue to date.
Several large floating top tanks have suffered in torrential rains. The storm drains on the floating tops failed, the tops accumulated great quantities of storm water and sunk into the petroluem product. The storm drainage system then malfunctioned and pulled product into the secondary containment area. Air releases from these products (gasoline, Algerian light crude oil, xylene isotopes, toluene, sour crude) caused citizen complaints, which prompted EPA to undertake air monitoring. The idustry recovered as much product as possible, and emptied the tanks as rapidly as possible. Foam was used to suppress the air releases. That event is now resolved.
Pictures from project Safeguard aircraft will be posted later today. Region 7 personnel are operating the aircraft, as backup to REgion 6.
TV crews will film EPA recovery of a drum tomorrow. This drum was lodged in the boom of a construction crane by the flood waters. Many containers are anticipated
No mission assignments have been received from the State of Louisiana.
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