The fire led to the release of a massive amount of petrochemical products and firefighting substances into Tucker Bayou and the surrounding waterways, including the Houston Ship Channel.
Attorney General Ken Paxton made an exciting announcement today regarding the resolution of the natural resource damages caused by the unfortunate fire at the Deer Park facility owned by International Terminals Company, LLC ("ITC"). The State of Texas and the United States have successfully reached a settlement with ITC, ensuring that justice is served.
In this settlement, ITC has agreed to pay a substantial amount of over $6.6 million to the state and federal Natural Resource Trustees. This payment will help recover the damages caused by the release of hazardous chemicals from ITC's terminal facility in Deer Park, Harris County, Texas. It's a significant step towards protecting our environment and ensuring a safer future for all.
“I’m pleased we were able to secure this natural resource damages settlement after the serious destruction caused by the fire at Deer Park. This fire burned for three days, spewing hazardous chemicals into our air, water, and land,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Texas’s environmental enforcement suit against ITC is still pending. All companies operating in our state must take the utmost precaution to prevent any such disaster from harming our citizens and our environment.”
The State of Texas and the United States have jointly filed a civil complaint and a proposed consent decree. This complaint aims to seek monetary damages and costs under CERCLA for the harm caused to natural resources due to the fire that occurred at ITC's Deer Park facility in March 2019.
The fire led to the release of a massive amount of petrochemical products and firefighting substances into Tucker Bayou and the surrounding waterways, including the Houston Ship Channel. The Natural Resource Trustees have determined that the hazardous substances released from ITC's facility have caused significant damage to ecological resources and habitats, including marshes, riparian areas, and bird populations.
Additionally, the release of these substances into the air and water has resulted in the temporary closure of several shoreline parks, the Lynchburg Ferry, and the cancellation of an annual historical reenactment at San Jacinto State Park. As a result, recreational opportunities in the Deer Park area have been severely impacted.
As part of the proposed consent decree, ITC has committed to a payment of $6,645,000 to compensate the public for damages caused to natural resources and cover agency costs. The Trustees, in collaboration with the public, will utilize this cash payment to carry out projects aimed at restoring the affected ecological resources and enhancing recreational facilities to mitigate the impact on human use. Additionally, ITC has already reimbursed federal and State trustees approximately $1 million for their previous assessment expenses.
The action was filed by the Texas Office of Attorney General and the Department of Justice on behalf of the federal and State trustees for natural resources. The designated state trustees for the natural resources impacted by the releases from ITC’s facility are the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and the Texas General Land Office.
The federal trustees are the United States Department of the Interior through the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and the United States Department of Commerce through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The State and federal trustees worked with ITC to perform the injury assessment. The Trustees will continue working together to develop and adopt a restoration plan.
Five years earlier, the historic blaze not only resulted in instant devastation, but also left a lasting impact on the environment and the well-being of almost 9,000 people.
One of those affected, Greta Pires, continues to endure permanent health issues. Even with the substantial compensation, she expressed to FOX 26 that her health is priceless and cannot be bought.
"I cannot breathe, I have 10 nodules on my lungs. It’s constantly, very aggravating, very stressful. I don’t sleep in bed, I sleep in the recliner. I cannot breathe," Pires said. "I’m afraid that it turns cancer eventually. It was very obvious to see all the smoke and plants all over the air and floor."
Pires, whose eyesight was impacted by the incident, further disclosed the peril of using steroids or cortisone for her lungs, as it could potentially result in blindness. This unfortunate reality has placed her in a difficult predicament, as she must endure regular MRI and CT scans every six months, living in constant fear of a potential cancer diagnosis.
Last year, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) released its final report giving us a detail look on house the disaster happened.
The press release explains," The incident occurred just after 10:00 a.m. on March 17, 2019, when an accidental release of butane-enriched naphtha product accumulated and ignited near a large aboveground atmospheric storage tank, known as Tank 80-8. The CSB found that a circulation pump connected to Tank 80-8 failed, allowing the butane-enriched naphtha product contained in the tank to escape. The Tank 80-8 circulation pump continued to operate as the butane-enriched naphtha product released from the failed pump for roughly 30 minutes before its flammable vapors ignited, causing a fire to erupt and engulf the Tank 80-8 piping manifold. Once the fire erupted, ITC was unable to isolate or stop the release."
The report continues, "As a result, the fire burned, intensified, and spread to the other 14 tanks located in the same containment area. The fire burned for three days until it finally was extinguished. The fire caused substantial property damage at the ITC Deer Park terminal, including the destruction of fifteen (15) 80,000-barrel aboveground atmospheric storage tanks and their contents….. Additionally, the secondary containment wall surrounding the tank farm partially collapsed, allowing the mixture of released hydrocarbon products, firefighting foam, and contaminated water in the containment area to release into the surrounding waterways, resulting in the closure of a seven-mile stretch of the Houston Ship Channel adjacent to the ITC Deer Park terminal, as well as several waterfront parks in Harris County and the City of LaPorte, due to the contamination.”
CSB Chairperson Steve Owens said, “This was a very large and disruptive event. The fire burned for three days, caused over 150 million dollars in property damage at the facility, put the surrounding community potentially at risk, and significantly impacted the environment. This disastrous event could have been prevented if proper safeguards had been in place at the facility.”
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