News Room

Media Contact:

Amery Reid

Director of Communications
Amery.Reid@pct3.hctx.net
Direct: 281-840-0099

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Texas Health and Environment Alliance (THEA) & Precinct 3 Call on EPA to Take Immediate Action on Jones Road Superfund Site

Cypress,TX - During a press conference held earlier today, Harris County Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey and Rachel Jordan, Assistant Director of Texas Health and Environmental Alliance, urged the EPA to take immediate action on the Jones Road Ground Water Plume Superfund Site in Cypress. 

“So often the EPA wants to monitor something for decades rather than actually getting in and removing it,” said Commissioner Tom Ramsey. “It’s been there long enough. It’s time that we’ve dealt with it in terms of remediation.”

The EPA report, published in September of 2022, stated that the current remedy toclean up the Superfund Site “is not protective of human health or the environment,” which is a direct acknowledgement that residents and businesses within the plume boundaries are currently being exposed to toxins. The report also notes that remediation milestones aren’t scheduled to be met for another two years.

“As an engineer who’s worked in this area for over 40 years, when you say there’s toxins in the groundwater, you don’t want anything to do with it. You’ll want to do whatever you can not to drink the water,” said Commissioner Ramsey.

Rachel Jordan explained that the EPA has publicly admitted that the existing plan is inadequate and is now proposing to launch an investigative process before announcing any new measures. On behalf of the residents who are part of THEA’s Cypress Community Coalition, Ms. Jordan called on the EPA to trigger an emergency process, called a Time Critical Removal Action (TCRA), a remedy that is put into place when there is no time to wait for the full approval of a cleanup plan due to active exposures. Specifically, she called on the agency to take short-term immediate action to stop exposures, and long-term efforts to clean up the aquifer contamination.

Residents are urged to attend the EPA’s community meeting scheduled for Monday, February 27th from 6:30 PM - 8 PM at Bleyl Middle School located at 10800 Mills Rd, Houston, TX 77070. 

The Jones RoadGround Water Plume Superfund Site is the location of the former Bell Dry Cleaners facility which began improperly dumping their waste in 1988 until it was shut down in 2002. The chemicals seeped into the ground and migrated, forming an underground plume of pollution below a community in Cypress, Texas that depends largely on groundwater wells for their water supply. For more information, visit www.txhea.org

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Media Contact:

Amery Reid

Director of Communications
Amery.Reid@pct3.hctx.net
Direct: 281-840-0099

Interested in monthly updates?

Sign up for Precinct 3’s Newsletter

Texas Health and Environment Alliance (THEA) & Precinct 3 Call on EPA to Take Immediate Action on Jones Road Superfund Site

Cypress,TX - During a press conference held earlier today, Harris County Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey and Rachel Jordan, Assistant Director of Texas Health and Environmental Alliance, urged the EPA to take immediate action on the Jones Road Ground Water Plume Superfund Site in Cypress. 

“So often the EPA wants to monitor something for decades rather than actually getting in and removing it,” said Commissioner Tom Ramsey. “It’s been there long enough. It’s time that we’ve dealt with it in terms of remediation.”

The EPA report, published in September of 2022, stated that the current remedy toclean up the Superfund Site “is not protective of human health or the environment,” which is a direct acknowledgement that residents and businesses within the plume boundaries are currently being exposed to toxins. The report also notes that remediation milestones aren’t scheduled to be met for another two years.

“As an engineer who’s worked in this area for over 40 years, when you say there’s toxins in the groundwater, you don’t want anything to do with it. You’ll want to do whatever you can not to drink the water,” said Commissioner Ramsey.

Rachel Jordan explained that the EPA has publicly admitted that the existing plan is inadequate and is now proposing to launch an investigative process before announcing any new measures. On behalf of the residents who are part of THEA’s Cypress Community Coalition, Ms. Jordan called on the EPA to trigger an emergency process, called a Time Critical Removal Action (TCRA), a remedy that is put into place when there is no time to wait for the full approval of a cleanup plan due to active exposures. Specifically, she called on the agency to take short-term immediate action to stop exposures, and long-term efforts to clean up the aquifer contamination.

Residents are urged to attend the EPA’s community meeting scheduled for Monday, February 27th from 6:30 PM - 8 PM at Bleyl Middle School located at 10800 Mills Rd, Houston, TX 77070. 

The Jones RoadGround Water Plume Superfund Site is the location of the former Bell Dry Cleaners facility which began improperly dumping their waste in 1988 until it was shut down in 2002. The chemicals seeped into the ground and migrated, forming an underground plume of pollution below a community in Cypress, Texas that depends largely on groundwater wells for their water supply. For more information, visit www.txhea.org

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