On September 6, 2007, EPA’s R6 Emergency Response Team was notified of an ongoing release from Agrifos Fertilizer Inc. located at 2100 Jackson Road, Pasedena, TX. The release occurred when a retaining wall failed resulting in the discharge of process water from a large gypsum mound. The discharge was reported to exhibit a pH of 2, contain sulfuric and phosphoric acids, and metals. Over 16 million gallons of process water were discharged during the incident. This discharge was pumped by the responsible party (RP) to reduce hydraulic pressure on the retaining wall and provide additional capacity for future rain events. The RP requested an emergency discharge permit for the discharge from the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality (TCEQ). The release was an un-permitted discharge from the facility to Cotton Patch Bayou and then into the Houston Ship Channel.
Since the incident, TCEQ has periodically continued monitoring the outfall from the stacks for pH. During the week of July 6, 2009, TCEQ noted that several readings from their monitoting activities indicated a low pH and requested EPA assistance to investigate the RPs progress activities to stop all acidic discharges.
