Our families deserve more than "mostly water."

TCEQ Final Hearing Date Set

The Final Hearing for the permit request to allow Toxic Injection Wells into Montgomery County has been postponed until Wednesday, November 19 - 1:00 PM. The meeting will be held at the TCEQ Headquarters in Austin, Texas. We need as many people in attendance as possible. So, if you were waiting for the right time to get involved, the time is now. Commit today!

Our Mission
Stop the Toxic Wells is a volunteer organization, formed for the sole purpose of defeating a current Class I Toxic Injection Well permit, which would allow TexCom Inc. to operate up to four injection wells on property they purchased on Creighton Road in Montgomery County.

Stop the Toxic Wells as an organization is not opposed to all injection wells. In fact, we champion safe, responsible disposal. We believe it is our responsibility to use our natural resources wisely, as our children will inherit the result of our actions.

Therefore, we demand for the sake of public safety that Class 1 injection wells meet these specific, common sense criterion, and the reasons why the currently proposed site doesn't pass the test:

1. Class 1 Injection wells need to be appropriately located. This means the above ground environs need to support required operations. The proposed site fails this criteria, as these wells will fall within:
   • 300 feet of residential water wells.
   • 2 miles of Little League fields, county parks, churches, and daycare facilities.
   • 2.5 miles of an elementary school.
   • 5 miles of thousands of residences, and the largest Boy Scout camp in East Texas.
   • 7 miles of over 100,000 residences, and one of the largest shopping malls in East Texas.
     
2. Class 1 Injection wells need to be well sited. The proposed site fails this criteria for the following reasons:
   • Expert engineers from the state (TCEQ) and the applicant (TexCom) differed in reservoir modeling for the cone of influence (zone of underground impact) by almost 10,000 feet. The state engineer came up with models ranging from 150 feet to 10,000 feet, and was unable to confirm a definitive impact.
   • The TexCom geological expert testified that his findings were totally different from every other geologist who mapped the site, including Exxon geologists who have managed the site since 1932.
   • Expert engineers, chemists, geologists, and toxicologists living and working in Montgomery County have gone on record saying the site fails the established EPA criteria for Class 1 injection wells.
   • Huntsman Chemical, the largest Class 1 waste generator in Montgomery County, stated that their review of the site deemed it unsuitable, and they have gone on record that they have no plans to use the site for disposal.
   • To date, there is no consensus by the experts about the well’s ability to be operated safely.
     
3. Class 1 injection wells need to be appropriately managed. The proposed wells come with significant risk, for the following reasons:
   • The permit, if granted, will allow operation of Class 1 injection wells for 30 years. No one knows who will be managing or operating these wells 1, 5, 10, or 30 years from now. Dr. Ross, CEO of TexCom has made no commitment of how long they plan to own or operate these wells.
   • Not one, single employee, manager, or officer of TexCom, nor any of their subsidiaries has ever operated or managed a Class 1 injection well.
   • Mr. Robert May, managing partner of Foxborough Energy, LLC (a 60% owner of TexCom), has been twice named in lawsuits for failure to comply with the Federal Clean Water Act. One case was dismissed on a technicality, and the other was settled by Mr. May.
     
4. Class 1 injection wells need to be appropriately monitored. The proposed wells fail this criteria for the following reasons:
   • The current policy of “self-monitoring” used by the TCEQ is unacceptable when the consequences of a well failure compromises the entire water supply for Montgomery County, the 26th fastest growing county in the U.S. Additionally at risk is a portion of the water supply for 53 other counties, including the city of Houston, the 4th largest city in the U.S.
   • The financial burden of ensuring that the SOAH recommendations are in place and in force should not be on the people of Montgomery County. Nor should it be at the discretion of the applicant. It should fall squarely on the agency which is mandated and funded to ensure compliance by the Texas State Legislature, namely the TCEQ.
   • An article appearing in the Houston Community News Online on 8/26/08, outlines how ineffective TCEQ fines are in providing adequate funding for repairing failed well damages, or to compel operators to follow safe standards.

The people of Montgomery County, including all residents, business owners, city officials, and elected officials unanimously oppose the permit application for operation of Class 1 injection wells in our county. The economic health and growth of Montgomery County, which is the 26th fastest growing county in the country, is inextricably tied to the protection of our precious water supply.

We therefore urge the TCEQ Commissioners to deny this permit.

For more information, contact:

• Jennifer Real
  • 936-499-7173
  • jreal1@peoplepc.com
    
• Shirley Hoagland
  • 936-756-1464
  • prissy3@consolidated.net
    
• Liz Stephan
  • 936-756-3173
  • ajrodriguez@hotmail.com
  • Se hablo espanol.

Thank you for your support. As a community, we can band together to fight this, and protect our right to safe drinking water.