Hazardous waste spill occurs on Hwy. 35

On April 21, 2017, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality was notified of a spill involving a transport vehicle hauling an EPA listed hazardous waste (alumina concentrate mixture) from Gulf Chemical and Metallurgical Corporation (GCMC) in Freeport, Texas to U.S. Ecology in Robstown, Texas. The load departed the facility in Freeport on Friday, April 21, 2017. It began leaking around Bay City, Texas in Matagorda County and continued leaking through Jackson, Calhoun, and Refugio Counties to the north end of the LBJ causeway (also known as the Copano Bay Bridge) in Aransas County, a distance of approximately 95 miles primarily along State Highway 35 (click here for map of vehicle route). The waste has adhered to the road surface and is not being transferred to passing vehicles. Control measures were undertaken and minimal cleanup occurred on Friday, April 21st. Experimental clean up measures were conducted over the weekend to find a viable clean up option due to the difficulty in removing the waste. Large “Annihilator” pressure washing vehicles were deployed on Monday, April 24, 2017 with effective results. Three passes were required to ensure complete clean up on the approximately one mile stretch of roadway remediated. It is anticipated that the clean up may take two or more weeks to complete. The TCEQ has been in communication with GCMC consultants (Civil & Environmental Consultants), US Ecology Texas (the designated disposal facility), Miller Environmental (3rd party contracted transporter of the waste and the Environmental clean up company) and TXDOT. TCEQ has been on-site daily since notification (April 21 - 24, 2017). TCEQ in partnership with TXDOT is monitoring the clean up of the waste. Miller Environmental will be coordinating the appropriate traffic control with TXDOT as necessary during the clean up.