Board releases accident data on '94 San Jacinto inferno


by Jamie Barnes
North Channel Sun
Octoer 12,1995

The National Transportation Safety Board this week released it's first collection of reports, technical data and other information from the chemical fires that roared across the heavily flooded San Jacinto River last year.

Michael Benson, an NTSB spokesman assigned to the case calls the information "initial raw factual data" containing no "analysis" or "conclusions." NTSB reports traditionally play a landmark role in the legal, legislative and financial aftermath of transportation disasters. .

Benson estimates the oficial accident report woll be presented to the trustees of the NTSB at a public hearing in Washington, D.C. "towards the end of next year.".

Last October's explosions caused an estimated $15 million in damage and several injuries, say the reports. Fortunately, there were no deaths related to the explosions. .

The NTSB reveals that a pilot light in two-story Channelview home probably served as the ignition source for the explosion. The blast sent 207 people to local hospitals for complaints fo smoke and vapor inhalation..

Colonial Pipeline reportedly reveived about 4500 personal injury claims, including bodily and emotional injury. .

Many people, including NTSB's initial investigators, first thought barges or debris were to blame for the pipeline breaks, bu the reports indicate pipes buckled and cracked when the river's change in direction placed pressure on them. Four of the ruptured pipelines were first thought to be burried under water in the river. The new information shows that an overflowing river eroded the bankand created a new, 15 foot channel and exposed those pipelines. As water rushed through with goliath strength, the pipes gave way..

Amung other NTSB material released are "factual reports" focusing on specific aspects of the flood- fire: hazardous liquid spill, human performance, survival factors, meteorology, hydraulics, marine factors, and and metallurgy. There is also a report of toxicological testing of Colonial Pipeline Employees. .

While the pipeline that supplied products causing the main part of the inferno were not ruptured until the morning of Ocober 20, the first pipeline break in the river basin actually occured the day before. An 8-inch, liquid petroleum gas line owned by Exxon Pipeline Inc. broke int he river channel about 100 feet south of the Interstate 10 bridge on October 19 at 6:53 pm.

The company acted quickly, completely shutting down the closest motor operated valves several miles on each side of the river by 7:10pm. Then it manually closed valves closer to the river, and burned off the remaining LPG by using portable flair. The flairing was completed by 7 a.m. on October 20 -- a little more than an hour before the first large fires erupted from the larger pipelines farther north at 8:31 a.m..

Larry Harlan, a spokesman for EPLI in Houston, says the company contacted the National Responce Center at 9:27 p.m. and the Texas Railroad Commission at 9:34 p.m. The Texas Railroad Commission is the agancy that regulates pipelines. .

The biggest fires inthe disaster revolved arond four pipelines sharing the same easement about 2.5 miles north of Interstate 10, running east to west parallel to Wallisville Road near Rio Villa subdivision. .

The first of these, a 40 inch gasolene line owned b Colonial Pipeline Co., broke at 8:31 a.m. on October 20. The three other pipelines -- a 36 inch, Colonial Line, a 20 inch Texico Pipeline Co. line carrying crude oil,and a 12 inch natural gas Valero Pipeline Co. natural gas line -- later broke, with some releasing products into the river..

The first report of the ignition of flammable gasolene on the San Jacinto River came from a state employee traveling over the I-10 bridge at 10:10 a.m., the reports say. .

Those four pipelines were th focal point of most of the fire. The reports indicate that those lines were exposed as their cover soil was washed away in the flood waters. .

If pipelines becoming exposed was the major cause of the breaks that eventuallly lead to the fires, here is another ominous fact from the reports: "Further north (from the Colonial, Valero, and Texico lines), flood waters exposed 17 pipelines sharing the same right-of-way at another location.".

There was widespread speculation during the flood that a barge traveling from somewhere upstreem hit and ruptured the Colonial pipeline, but the NTSB metallurgical report indicates that only one line, Texico's, was perhaps broken by an unidentified object. The report says the other three lines were broke due to overstress, a condition caused by the worst San Jacinto flooding on record..

Included in the NTSB material is a humam performance report, which details toxicological testing and other performance factors of Colonial Pipeline Employees. NTSB-ordered blood tests of two key Colonial operators in Atlanta show negative results for drugs and alcohol..

The report also presents some rather telling information about the state of emergency preparedness of the area during the fire..

"Amung the problems Harris County safety officials idintified as a result of the accident was the need for improved emergency communication links between Harris County, U.S. Coast Guard and the Texas General Land Office," the reports say. .

Terri Juneau and Bill Brown contributed to this story


Sikes Superfund site wins recognition for engineers

Highlands Crosby Star Courier April 25, 1996

WASHINGTON, DC -- The Houston engineering firm of Lockwood, Andrews and Newnam, Inc., a subsidiary of Leo A. Daly, is a finalist in the American Consulting Engineers Council's 30th Annual Engineering Excellence Awards competetion for the work on the cleanup of the Sikes Disposal Pits in Crosby, Texas [ on the banks of the San Jacinto River at Highway 90].

The 185 acre pits had been used for unregulated dumping of a variety of chemical wastes, such as benzene, phenols, olefinic compounds and other organic solvents for the last 20 years. Some 496,000 tons of soil was contaminated, qualifying the pits as a major superfund site.

In an innovative effort, the soil was cleaned up by temporary on site incineration, and then the entire site was revegetated. The project was completed ahead of schedule at an under-budget cost of less than $125 million.

As part of the project, the firm developed a computerized monitoring system that evauated the incinerator to make sure that everything was working as planned. It also conducted sampling and environmental assessment plans to identify the type of waste it was dealing with. -- a major problem given the history of the pits. The firm also developed a special computerized reporting system and designed systems to deal with such issues as security, air quality and public health and safety.

Finalists were judged on March 16 and 17 at the Westfields International Conference Center in Chantilly, Virginia. A distinguished panel of 24 judges hailing from engeneering, architectural, government, media, academe and the military determined the winners from a field of 137 finalists.

Winners will be announced at the ACEC's 1996 annual convention in Denver, Co. in May.




Harris County Pollution Control

Phone -- 920-2831

24 hour service

Purpose

The activities of this department are directed towards providing clean air and clean water for the citizens of Harris County consistent with public health, enjoyment of property, and the protection of plant, animal and marine life.


History

In December, 1953, Harris County ?Commissioners Court organized a "Stream and Air Pollution Control Section" within the Health Department in order to provide citizens with an effective force to combat the growing air and water pollution problems in the county. From the beginnning a vigorous program of investigation, sampling and surveillance was conducted and, working with the County Attorney, a policy of aggressive enforcement was pursued. In 1971 the pollution control activities of the Health Department were detached and made a separate department. The department was named the Harris County Pollution Control Department (HCPCD) and is directly responsible to commisioners court.


Organization

The Harris County Pollution Control Department is divided into five sections: ADMINISTRATIVE, FIELD, ENGINEERING, CASE PREPARATION, AND LABORATORY. Offices are housed in the Courthouse Annex IV in PAsadena and remain open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Today the department employs 50 full time people. The 1992 budget was $2,255,924
Administration

This section is responsible for organizing, developing and maintaining all departmental records. Staff confers with and coordinates the activities of the various sections within the department and acts as a liason with other county departments. An interface is maintainted with the public through the attendance with the news medai. Speakers are provided to schools, clubs, and civic groups.
Engineering

Responsibility of the Engineering section include reviewing and evaluationg Texas Air Control Board and Texas Water Commission permits, making new source investigations and transmitting the results if the evaluations to the appropriate state agency. Other responsibilities include attendance of public hearings on permit applications and rule changes as well as industrial and inter-agency regulatory conferences. Composite samples are obtained to help determine compliance with Texas Water Commission discharge permits. Technical information and services are provided to the other sections of our department. Special projects are developed and conducted for specific purposes.
Case preparation

Primary responsibilitise include interfacing with the offices of County Attorney and District Attorney. Compilation of all materials related to cases for prosecution are transfered to the appropriate attorney's office. All data relating to violations of environmental law are assessed for civil or criminal litigation. Special investigations are conducted to determine compliance with environmental regulation sor support procecution.
Laboratory

Samples collected during routine investigations are analyzed for permit parameters by the latest approved physical, chemical and biological techniques. If the determined values are not in compliance with the permit issued to them by the Texas Water Commission, then the company or sewage treatment plant holding the permit will be issued a violation notice. Routine and non-routine investigations, including those of citizen complaints, frequently yield samples which, in addition to routine analysis, require more specialized methods of analysis. The lab is capable of performing gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, high performance liquid chromatography, atomic absorption spectrometry, and fluorescent charactaristics on water, soil, solid wastes and air samples. Violation Notices are often issued on the basis of the laboratory analysisof these non-permitted discharges. The primary goal of these analyses is the identification of compounds considered hazardous, a public nuisance or detrimental to the environment. Involved personel may be called as witnesses if legal action if initiated.
Field

Citizen complaints aer received and investigated by this section 24 hours a day. General surveillance is conducted by zone patrol on a County-wide basis. Water samples are collected from industrial and sewage treatment plants on a routine basis. Ambient and source air samples are also collected and Violation Notices are issued when regulation infractions are observerd. Evaluations are made on Texas Department of Public Health (TDH) permits and public meetings are attended. Inspections are conducted on permitted landfill sites to tetermine current compliance with TDH regulations.


Bay Day Festival 1996 coming soon!

Discover Galveston Bay and it's wonderful flowers -- in your own backyard -- at an entertaining and educational family festival.

June 8th
11 a.m. till 10 p.m.
at Sylvan Beach Park


Bay Day Festival is a fun family oriented festival in La Porte on Galveston Bay.

Admission:

Adults: $2.00; Students $1.00
After 5pm Saturday: Adults $5.00; Students $3.00
Under 6 and over 65: free
For more information, call 868-3383


Coast Alliance Newsletter Article


by Patsy Goss
April 1996

The San Jacinto River Association (SJRA) is a grassroots citizens environmental organization organized in 1992 to preserve, protect and defend the lower San Jacinto River near Houston Texas. This river was named on of the 20 Most Threatened Rivers of North America in 1995 by American rivers, the Washington, D.C. based national organization of rivers.

SJRA is presently concerned with the contaminated sediments created by a 100 year flood on the lower San Jacinto in October 1994, which ruptured oil pipelines crossing the river. Millions of gallons of spilled fuel ignited and burned but much of the resudue remains in wetlands and cypress swamps along the river. The lower San Jacinto is a major migritory bird feeding and breeding area in southeast Texas as well as a major recreational river for boating, skiing, and fishing. Via the Houston Ship channel, our river's mouth empties into Galveston Bay, the 2nd largest commercial fishing bay in the United States. Crab, shrimp and assorted fish depend on the river for marine estuaries/nurseries. The river bottom was scoured by the flood, resuspending a real witches brew of toxic chemicals deposited over 20 years by tidal flow from the Houston Ship Channel. Because our river was a "spill of opportunity",a state funded bioremediation project is being conducted by scientist and students from Texas A&M to develope strategies for future oil spills worldwide. Our association has been kept informed regarding progress; the scientists have been amazed at how much natural bioremediation has occured, but they are testing accelerating the natural cleanup with superfeeding the microorganisms.

SJRA is also concerned with future plans for disposal of dredge spoils in /or downsteam of our river from the upcoming massive federal project to widen and deapen the Houston Ship Channel, in order to accommodate the expected increase in trade as a result of the North American Free Trade Agreeement (NAFTA). We have lost 1000's of acres of wetlands from dredging and subsidence over the past forty years, and we area afreaid that EPA and Corps of Engineers will decide to find "environmentally beneficial" developement of these dredge spoils to rebuild our wetlands. Contaminated sediments from the Houston Ship Channel piled in our river and calling them "restored wetlands" is not our idea of a blessing.

San Jacinto River Association
Minutes
Board of Directors Meetings
April 11, 1996



ATTENDENCE: 

Officers/Board Members 
     Brad Christensen (chair); Julie Gilbert (1st Vice Chair), Patsy Goss(Secretary)
Regular Board Members -- 
      Jeni Taylor, Joe and Dora Sciacca, Carolyn Hawkins
Delagate Directors: 
      Stella Wilshimer (Banana Bend Civic Association) 
ExOfficio Directors: 
      Thomas Mayo (representing Congressman Bentsen)
Absent: 
      Bobby Lowe (2nd vice chair), Lora Minton, Janet Vitter, Debbie Williams

I.	Treasurers Report:
	Diana Hendriz reported $4,914.84 bank balance. She recogmended discontinuing monthly phone expense
	of $40, totaling $600 in precious funds for little results. John moved, Joe seconded, to discontinue phone
	service. Unanimously approved. 

II.	Old Business
	A.	CAPLA River Tour with SJRA as guides. Brad reported we had received a thank you note from 
		Diane Sheridan of CAPLA; we were glad to show our river and flood aftermath to these community
		members and company reps. 
	B.	Patsy reported sending letters October 1995 from SJRA to support Greenpeace's appeal to UN 
		meeting for global ban on Persistant Organic Pollutants as directed by the SJRA Board last fall; She
		received responses from Vice President Al Gore, Tim Worth, U.S. Undersecretary of State for 
		global affairs, and Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Executive Director of UN Environmental program. 
	C.	Houston Chronicle series on "Superfund Sites" reported that the 3 on our river are some of the 
		worst in Texas. (Stella asked for a copy or this article).
	D.	Lyondell Plant Expansion (undergoing preliminary study to increase ethylene production by 2 
		billion pounds to be built by year 2000). What and how much will be discharge into our river? 
		Lyondell is working to get in compliance with it's old permits in hopes of assuring approval
		of permit to expand if and when that expansion if approved by companies involved. Brad 
		suggests we resume our ongoing dialogue with Lyondell which has been on hold since the flood of
		Oct '94 -- Patsy will call to request a meeting for the near future. 
	E.	Administrative Business:
		1.	Brad reported he had filed SJRA's annual non-profit status with the State of Texas. He 
			has received a letter from the state authorizing SJRA to continue operation (document
			on file in bylaws folder)
		2.	Annual meeting and election of officers: Brad omstructed the secretary to check our 
			bylaws, determine procedure, which board members terms had expired, ect. so May 
			board meeting can proceed with planning annual elections,ect.
III.	New Business
	A.	Dredging Update:
		1.	Houston International Terminal (HIT) has renewed it's Corps dredging permit until 1999
			and has asked to amend its mitigation agreement.  Patsy sent a letter to Congressman 
			Bentsen (delivered by Jeni Taylor while in Wash. D.C. attending the Coastal Alliance 
			conference in March, 1996) outlining our concerns about this permit, which involves 
			commercial sand removal for sale and barge berthing just north of the I-10 bridge between
			Riverside Inn and that bridge. PAtsy will try to find out when HIT plans to begin this 
			dredging project. We discussed asking Dr. Bonner to test soil in those submerged waste 
			pits to see if dioxin or other toxins are present; then call EPAif the soil is found to be 
			contaminated. Brad will attempt to contact Linda Shead of Galveston Bay Foundation
			to follow up on his earlier warning to her regarding these old waste pits which she 
			indicated that she would investigate and perhaps reconsider their agreement not to oppose
			this dredging operation if HIT would provide soil for wetlands restoration through cord
			grass planting. We have until May 13 to make a public comment against HIT's latest 
			request to the Corps to amend their earlier  mitigation promise; they want to reduce the 
			size from 15 acres to about 5 acres and relocate to a more protected area of the river than
			previously projected.
		2.	The other dredging projects are all south of the I-10 bridge -- Old River Shipbuilding and 
			Repair, McDonough Marine, Coflexip and Continental Dreedging -- people in the Old 
			River area off Market Street have asked our help. We don't have the reserves to fight these
			projects one by one. We are exploring other avenues through our federal and state officials
			to try to prevent further commercial development north of the I-10 bridge. 
	B.	Barge Removal
		1.	Thomas Mayo from Congressman Bentsen's Northshore office was present to report that
			Bentsen is working with the Coast Guard to get these hazardous barges removed from our
			river. He has asked congerss for 3.5 million; SJRA provided him with a mailing list of 
			citizens that have attended our association rallys se he could send these interested river 
			supporters a report on his efforts regarding barge removal. Bentsen plans to tour the river
			with the Coast Guard in the next couple of weeks to see these hazards first hand. He is 
			somewhat frustrated at the lukewarm cooperation he is receiving from the Coast Guard
			which identified these barges as navigational hazards. Thomas reported that FEMA 
			provided the funding to remove the barges from Banana Bend Beach because they were 
			"imminent danger." Brad asked Thomas Mayo to find out who determined that "danger"
			to get FEMA to remove those other three barges.
		2.	Town Meeting with Congressman Bentsen
			a.	11.am Sat -- Diana will attent in Channelview
			b.	1 pm Sat  in Highlands -- Jeni, Julie, Brad, Dora

	C.	Contaminated Sediments Conference: MArch 7-8
		1.	Jeni Taylor attended to represent SJRA in Washington D.C. Her written report will be 
			ready for the next board meeting  and the next SJRA newsletter.
		2.	JEni reported that the Chemical Manufacturers Association tried to get EPA to suppress
			their annual report on point source pollution nationwide but Coastal Alliance intends to 
			go public and demand that this report be published; that report will be published.
		3.	Coastal Alliance requested our support to protest the proposed attempt by EPA, the 
			Corps of Engineers and Congress to gut the Ocean Dumping Act.  Jeni moved, Joe 
			seconded that SJRA send a fax indicating our support of this protest.  Passed Unanimously
		4.	Jeni moved, Carolyn seconded that we print and get signatures on 250 post cards to send
			Coastal Alliance with individual protests regarding this attempt to weaken the Ocean 
			Dumping act. Passed Unanimously. Jeni and Carolyn were authorized to spend $50 for 
			printing and postage. Stella and Jeni will get signitures for Banana Bend, Dora in Highlands, 
			Diana in Rio Villa. Jeni will mail to Washington DC before April 29 deadline for these
			protests. 
	D.	Pollutant discharges into SJR
			1.	Brad reported public notice that Otto Marine, one of the barge washing operations
				south of the I-10 bridge has requested to amend it's discharge permit from 15,000
				gallons a day to 100,000 gallons. 
			2.	Proeller Barge Facility is doing barge removal, turnign them into scrap metal but 
				dumping residue from these barges into river just south of I-10 bridge.
			3.	General discussion that we do not have the resourses to fight these one by one. 
				Pursue avenues other than litigationto stop them.
	E.	Visits with political Rapresentatives.
			1.	Brad and Patsy visited our State Rep. Fred Bosse recently to see if the state has 
				the authority to declare the lower Sand Jacinto River a Recreational special use 
				area to restrict further development, by refusing new permits to discharge, dredge,
				ect. Bosse is investigating that possibility as well as determining what power the 
				Houston Port Authority has over our river.
	F.	Miscellaneous
			1.	Organizations
				a.	River Network -- Julie Gilbert was authorzed to contact about our 
					membership renewal, inclusion in their directory, Watershed 2000, and
					their $5000 grant offer. Diana moved, Julie seconded. Passed
			2.	b.	SJRA Home Page on the Internet -- Jeni reported over 1600 contacts; She
					and Mike will scan onto our homepate the UH Geology student's thesis
					just completed on our river since '94 flood. (W. Scott Snyder). Scott would
					like to tour our river in May when his thesis is finished.
			3.	Books we should add to our SJRA collection:
				Patsy recommended purchase of Texas Environmental Almanac for $7.00; Texas
				Lost: Vanishing Heritage for $39.95 and Our Stolen Future for $24.95. Carolyn
				moved, Diana seconded to purchase all three books. Passed  unan.
		G.	Recent spills on or near SJR:
			Exxon docks, MArch 1996; Diana reported Water District #6 is being investigated by the
			the State for dumping toxins in our river; Star Courier article in Jan '96 reported that Dr. 
			Bonner began spraying 100 gallons of oil to procede with their experiments.
		H.	Wetlands Preservation
			1.	Brad and Patsy discussed issue of habitat destruction with Rep. Bosse
			2.	General discussion of this topic should be discussed at a future meeting focusing
				on renewing our dialogue with Lyondell and some new possibilities utilizing 
				concept of "conservation easement" discovered on the Internet.



Public Notice
San Jacinto River Association
Board Meeting

May 9, 1996
7.pm., John McDanial's House
700 W. Houston, Highlands, Texas
RSVP to Diana 452-2009

Agenda 
1.	Planning annual meeting, including Election of Executive committee, board members, appointment of 
	nominating committee.

2.	Resumption of dialgue with Lyondell regarding wetlands

3.	Fund raising -- SJRA hats, t-shirts, ect

4.	Quarterly newsletter/Membership renewal July 1st -- send reminders.

5.	Report from Bosse and Bentsen

6.	Schedule River Tours with Bentsen, Bonner and UH Geology Student

Flood Flames and Fear

A relentless storm delivers a devastating one-two punch to the swamped residents of Southeast Texas


By Kevin Fedarko
Time, October 31, 1994

The Heavens about southeast Texas fianally seemed ready to give the region a break last Wednesday. More than 20 inches of rain had fallen in less than 48 hours, sending Houston's San Jacinto River to record levels and forcing 13,000 residents to abandoned their homes. At least 18 people died in the swirling floodwaters. But now the skies were clearing, the river subsiding, and the people were returning to their homes. Then the river exploded.

While it will be impossible to tell what happened until the water recedes, officias speculate that the roiling currents of the swollen San Jacinto had possible scoured away the earth around two massive pipelines burried 3 feet beneath the riverbed. The exposed lines, which carry nearly one-sixth of U.S. daily gasolene supplies, were then either rammed or simply collapsed. In any case, about 200,000 bbls. of gasolene and deisel spewed into the water, floated to the surface and at 8:30 a,m, ignited. Flames and smoke shot mre than 100 feet into the air as the inferno raced down the river at speeds of 80 m.p.h., gobbling up trees, boats, abarges and several homes.

Miraculously, no one was killed by the fire, but it caused major disruption. The accident occured near the heart of Houston's refining and petrochemical district, the nexus of the U.S. Pipeline network. The breach sent fuel prices soaring int he futures market, interupted supplies throughout Northeastern states (the pipeline runs as far north as Linden, NJ) abd forced the Houston Ship Channel to shut down for several days. On Friday, two other pipelines began leaking oil that seeped into Galveston Bay.

The giant leaks compounded the havoc in a part of Texas that had already been declared a disaster area. Early last week, a massive storm front that parked itself over Southeast Texas began washing the region away. In some places rivrs prowled nine miles from their banks, marauding through neighborhoods that had never seen flooding before. Water poured over earthen levees, bubbled up through storm cellers and then broke into at least 6,000 residences.

The storm struck with sudden brutality. In one of the most tragic episodes, Catherine and Forest LAnglinais's car slipped into 12 ft of water in Chambers County in the midst of a torential downpour. As the vehicle came to a stop, the father grabbed his 2 year old son and his baby, who was born only two months ago. Attempting to scramble to safety on the roof of the car, he lost his grip on the infant, who immediately disappeared in the swirling water; the childs body was found Wednesday.

There were many other victims. In Baytown, a 10-year-old girl watched in horror as a 46-year-old man was swept into a rain gorged gully. In Grimes County, three children drowned when currents washed the car in which they were riding off the road. In Hardin County, a construction worker who decided to take a dip in in the floodwaters was swept away and lost. In San Jacinto County, the body of a rancher was discovered among a herd of drowned cattle.

As if fertilized by the water, strange stories seemed to spring up over night. In Liberty a farmer was forced to conduct a submarine cattle drive through snake infested flood waters in order to the his herd onto higher ground. In Kingwood a man chased from his house by rising water returned by boat the next day in the hope of finding his missing dog; not far away, the dog -- very much alive -- was bobbing like an apple in 18 ft. of water.

Official response was swift. Governor Ann Richards designated 33 counties disaster areas, clearing the way for federal assistance. Richards, in the midst of a tough re-eection campaign, toured extensively throughtout flooded areas in a Texas National Guard helicopter on Tuesday, then held a news conference in the Houston airport. Her opponent, George W. Bush, toured a flooded Houston subdivision ina boat piloted by a Republican County Commisioner and helped a stranded teenager from her home.

By week's end additional flooding was expected southwest of Houston as floodwater of the Brazos River made their way to the Gulf of Mexico. But by Friday, some residents in many other parts of the region were at least able to return home and begin gauging the devestation. They wrestled sodden carpets, matresses, couches and other water logged items onto their washed out lawns and sscrubbed the smears of mud and slime from their walls. The true size of the loss, however, remains hidden for now. "Until the water fully recedes," said Houston's mayor Bob Lanier, "we cannot even estimate total damage."


Oil Coated marshlands cleanup testing ground


by Mark Horvit
Houston Chronicle

A small portion of the oil coated marshlands off the San Jacinto River has become a testing ground for technology that state officials hope will expeditei oil-pill cleanup in the future.

But critics say the experiment is being done at the expense of cleaning up the existing mess.

And both sides agree that heavy layers of bureaucracy have delayed cleanup efforts.

About 1.5 million gallons of oil and gasolene poured from broken pipelines during heavy flooding along the river in October. More than 90 percent f that oil is gone, having been removed or burned in the huge fires that erupted after the spill, according to state and federal officials.

Most of what remains is the oil that washed into marshlands. It couldn't be reached without damaging the environment.

Most of that oil won't be removed by the sate, according ot officials with the General Land Office. Instead, they say nature will have to take it's course, slowly breaking down the oil over the coming months.

But a small protion of the area - about the size of two football fields -- has been targeted for an experiment that could help develop future strategys for cleaning up in environmentally sensitive areas.

In the experiment, fertilizer -- the same kind used by homeowners in their flower beds -- and commercially available oxidants are being sprayed on oil covered areas. That material should provide needed nutrients to naturally occuring bacteria that will eat the oil.

The experiments should take about 6 months, according to Texas A&M Professor Jim Bonner, who is overseeing the work. While the total cost has not been determined, Bonner said he's authorized to spend up to $1 million, if necessary. The money comes from a tax levied on those who transport oil, according to a state official.

The results could have worldwide impact ad may be used to help Russians clean up a massice oil spill larger than the Exxon Valdez, state officials said.

But the concept of using fertilizer and other nutrients on oil spills is not new -- ant that's one of the complaints of some business owners in the bioremediation field.

The wonder why the state isn't using existing tools to clsan up the entire spill instead of concentrating on the limited experiment.

To Bob Fairchild, the marshy areas aren't a suitable place for experimentation. "This is a mess," said Fairchild, who works for Verde Environmental Inc., a bioremediation firm.

He believes leaving some areas untreated is bad for the environment. "It contaminatesalls the wildlife that's around it," he said.

Fairchild concedes that his main concern is monitary. Bioremediation firms have spent millionis of dollars researching and receiveinggovernment approval for bioremediation tools. Those firms should have been able to sell their products for use in the cleanup, he said.

One point on which Fairchild and state officials agree is taht it would have been better to begin whatever cleanup work was going to be done much sooner.

But currently, approval to place any chemical or bacteriological substance in the water to fight a major oil spill is required from an advisory body of federal and state regulators, said Greg Pollock, associate deputy land commissioner.

The experiment was delayed by more than a month while the committee considered the proposal.

If the land office has it's way, a pre-approval process will be adopted in which certain techniques will be cleared for immediate use after oil spills, and the San JAcinto River Experiment will help determine which techniques are used.


Cost of cleaning up oil spill hits $3.5 million


The Associated Press
October 25, 1994

HOUSTON -- The cost of purging the flooded San JAcinto River of an oily mess from punctured pipelines reached $3.5 million Monday, the Coast Guard said.

But the cleanup from the rupturing of at least four pipelines inthe river east of Houston was ahead of schedule and the Coast Guard said it hoped the operation could be finished by mid-week.

"I feel pretty confident that by Wednesday we will have gotten the bulk of the oil or at least 95%," Coast Guard captain Richard Ford, coordinator of the spill recovery, said.

Ford credited evaporation and burning of the crude oil, diesel fuel and gasolene that had been flowing into the river since last Thursday for eliminating much of the estimated 200,000 gallons of petroleum products that had leaked into the waterway.

An armada of skimmers in place since the weekend had retrieved some 4000 bbls or about 160,000 gallons of oil and water. Roughly half of that was oil, Ford said.

Officials allowed one of two ruptured pipelines belonging to Colonial Pipeline Co. to continue to burn. On the west side of the river, skimmers were collecting pockets of crude oil from a broken Texico Inc. crude oil line.

However, Ford said skimmers could not be used to cleanup oil that massed in shallow areas.

Instead, he said, the Coast Guard on Monday begainusing vacumn trucks that could get close enough to the waters edge. Hoses were dipped into the river to suck out the oil.

The cleanup by Monday had cost about $3.5 million from teh federal Oil Pollution Trust Fund, Ford said. "That does not include the salaries of government oficials that have had to be involved in this or the costs associated with government equipment .. nor does it include the extrordinary trael expenses," he added.

Both Texico ad Colonial worked Monday to finish capping of their leaking pipelines. The Colonial line, a major conduit for shipping gasolene to the northeast, was shut Thursday. The Texaco line, carrying crude oil to a refinery in Port Arthur, had been idle at the time of the leak but each of the lines products that had already been in the lines.

Colonial said Monday it's gasolene shipments were at 75% capacity, pumping 60.5 million gallons of fuel from east of Houston.

The pipeline leaks resulted in a spectacular fire on the river last week that sent some 120 people to hospitals for smoke and fume inhalation. The rsulting spill sent streaks of gooey black oil as far as 20 miles downstream from the river's mouth.

The river leads into the Houston Ship Cahnnel and empties into Galveston Bay, which contains environmetnally sensitive wetlands.

Ron Brinkley, of the Texas General Land Office, said on oily birds had been recovered and that while some marhlands were blackedned, the damage was believed to be minor.

Also Monday, The Houston Ship Channel was open for the first full day of traffic for the first time in a week after a sunken tugboatwas removed. During the closing, the channel - one of the nations busiests waterways -- had been opened only to barges during daytime and not to ocean going vessels.

Flooding that began 8 days ago with torrential rains claimed 19 lives and left 35 Texas counties designated as Federal Disaster areas.

High wateron Monday continues to recede. In hard hit Liberty County, east of Houston, the Trinity River stood at 28 feet, still 4 feet above flood stage.

Somelowland floodong was also reported in areas along the Brazos River southwest of Houston in Brazoria County,

The Red Cross on Monday operated 27 shelters for people still left homeless by the floods. A little more than 800 people were staying overnight, Spokesman Kerry Onyett said. At the height of the flooding the agency had 55 shelters operating.


Seeing eye to eye on barges?


by Bill Broun
Lake Houston Sun, May 2, 1996

The waters of the lower San Jacinto River last week ran the way their supposed to -- lazy, warm and sandy brown.

If they could just stay that way, the crush of Houston area media members who boated upriver with Congressman Ken Bentsen (25th District -D) Friday to view abandoned barges on the lower San Jacinto River might have found something else to do.

Memories of October 1994, when the water was mud and anything but lazy, made that impossible. For a few, tense days that month, some of these same reporters and photographres documented a flood- swollen river which broke pipelines and tossed barges like toys.

In a political sense, the river barges crashed onto the desk of the newly elected Bentsen too.

Some of the barges today sit like long, dark wounds on the west shoreline, near Rio Villa subdivision, in a place residents call "The Barge Graveyard."

Another site is across the river at Mule Shoe Hole, also known as Parker's Cove, after the dredging company -- Parker Brothers -- whose barges used to excavate and transport sand down river.

Bentsen is asking Congress to give the U.S. Coast Guard an extra $4 million to get the barges removed.

On Febuary 28, Bentsen testified before the House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee.

He told Subcommittee members the San JAcinto River was a "dumping ground" for old and damaged barges that have become too costly for their owners to maintain.

An estimated 30 abandoned barges are onthe Lower San Jac, creating a safety hazard and an eyesore, says Bentsen.

The immediate dangers are that barges could drift into commercial shipping lanes, act as illegal dumping recepticals or leak hazardous materials into the water from their storage tanks.

Partly because of the absense of any identifying marks, none of the vessel owners have been tracked down.

Most of the interested parties seem to agree that forcing the owners to pay for barge removal would be the best solution.

For now, however, federal law puts the Coast Guard in charge of remopving the barges.

But the Coast Guard, citing a lack of funds and the need to focus on other priorities, has not removed the barges.

Bentsen, invoking the 1992 Barge Removal Act, has asked the Coast Guard to develop a plan for their removal.

Each barge cost an estimated $120,000 to remove, acording to figures Bentsen cited before the suncommittee.

Friday, some of Bentsen's aides, apparently a bit annoyed, alluded to what they considered the Coast Guard's lack of cooperation in the matter.

This tension was apparent in Bentsen's address before the committee.

"To date, the Coast Guard has provided me with no clear directino on how o proceed with this matter to the satisfaction of my constituents," he said.

A Coast Guard spokesmand said Teusday the offersers who could comment on the subject were not available at that time.

Bentsen's involvement pleases local residents such as Dickie Woods, President of the Highlands Chamber of Commerse and owner of Banana Bent Park, on whose beaches washed up 2 barges during the 1994 Flood.

"I hope we'll see something happen," said Woods. "This is just another step in the process of getting the problem solved."

The barges once beached at Banan Bend by floodwaters were removed through joint funds from Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Texas NAtural Resourse Conservation Commission. Highlands resident Truman Nolden says the barge problem goes back to the 1970's, but it did not attract musch attention until the flood.

"They just kept stacking barges in there (on the river) and it just got worse and worse," says Nolden, Vice President of the Banana Bend Civic Association.

Many observers credit the San Jacinto River Association, whos members live in Highlands, Channelview and elsewhere, originally formed in the 70's to combat river dredging.

According to Jeni Taylor, the group eventually took up the barge issue and began needling the Texas Department of Transportation, the Coast Guard and other agencies for action.

But the group, now about 300 strong, acording to Taylor -- could not make headway until the 1994 flood. "When the flood hit, it kind of backed up our story," says Taylor. "They (the barges) really created a lot of havoc in the Banana Bend and Rio Villa area. This time we went directly to (Ken) Bentsen."

Taylor says that Bentsen staffers in Washington, such as Meredeth Grabois, and East Harris County staff assistant, Thomas Mayo, seemed to go out of the way to respond to the group.

"There is nothing we have submitted that they haven't acted on," she says.

Patsy Goss, another river association member, says the next step for the group will be to bring about pressure on the coast guard to "do their job" and remove the barges.

Goss and Taylor say a letter writing campaign to urge the Coast Guard into action might begin in about 2 weeks.

"I just can't figure out what their reluctance is," says Goss. "It kindof blows my mind."