San Jacinto River Waste Pits cleanup estimate climbs

David Taylor Managing Editor

HIGHLANDS — Federal environmental officials met with residents Tuesday evening to discuss the latest developments in the long-running cleanup of the San Jacinto River Waste Pits Superfund Site, including changes to the cleanup plan and a new enforcement order directing responsible parties to carry out remedial work.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 6, in cooperation with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Harris County agencies, local officials and industry representatives, hosted a community meeting Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, at the Highland Community Center, 604 Highland Woods Drive in Highlands.

EPA officials provided residents with updates on cleanup activities at the site and answered questions about the project, which has drawn public concern for years because of dioxin and furan contamination along the San Jacinto River near Interstate 10.

The meeting included a discussion of an Explanation of Significant Differences, or ESD, a decision document that outlines changes to the remedy EPA approved in its 2017 Record of Decision. According to EPA, the changes do not fundamentally alter the original cleanup plan, which calls for excavation and off-site disposal of contaminated material from the waste pits.

The ESD identifies two major updates: a substantial increase in estimated remedial costs for the Northern Impoundments and an increase in the volume of material excavated for disposal from the Southern Impoundment. The estimated cost for the Northern Impoundments has risen from about $105.5 million in 2017 dollars to a revised estimate ranging from about $210.9 million to $262.3 million in 2025 dollars.

The EPA also discussed a Unilateral Administrative Order issued to International Paper and McGinnes Industrial Maintenance Corporation. The order directs the companies to carry out cleanup work at the Northern Impoundments and Sand Separation Area in Channelview/Highlands and establishes enforcement guidelines to ensure the work follows the remedial design EPA conditionally approved in September 2025.

The Superfund site includes two sets of waste impoundments built in the mid-1960s to dispose of pulp and paper mill waste. The northern impoundments, covering about 14 acres, sit on the western bank of the San Jacinto River north of the I-10 bridge and are partially submerged. The southern impoundment, less than 20 acres, is located on a peninsula south of I-10.

The northern impoundments were covered with an armored cap in 2011 as a temporary containment action. In 2017, EPA selected a final remedy that called for removing dioxin-contaminated material and transporting it off-site for disposal, with engineering controls such as a cofferdam to be installed before excavation.

EPA said all other remedy components selected in the 2017 Record of Decision remain unchanged. The agency also said it may consider a future modification that would allow a small volume of lower-concentration waste material to remain at the lowest elevations below the excavation surface, but only under criteria to be developed by EPA and documented in a future decision.

Presentation slides from the meeting are expected to be posted on EPA’s San Jacinto River Waste Pits Superfund Site webpage.

The meeting will cover an Explanation of Significant Differences (ESD), which describes some minor changes to the cleanup plan approved in the 2017 Record of Decision (ROD). EPA will also discuss a Unilateral Administrative Order (UAO) issued to International Paper and McGinnes Industrial Maintenance Corporation to carry out cleanup work at the Northern Impoundments and Sand Separation Area in Channelview, Harris County, Texas. For more information on background or the 9/8 meeting, we recommend visiting our webpage.

EPA will continue to be transparent with residents regarding the latest cleanup actions for the San Jacinto Waste Pits site.

YOU ARE INVITED TO ATTEND SAN JACINTO RIVER WASTE PITS SUPERFUND SITE COMMUNITY MEETING

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in cooperation with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), Federal, State and Harris County agencies, local officials and industry, invite you to attend the Community Meeting for the San Jacinto River Waste Pits Superfund site.

The meeting will be held: Tuesday, September 8, 2026 6:00 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. The Highland Community Center 604 Highland Woods Drive Highland, Texas 77562

EPA Region 6 will share updates on the cleanup activities and answer questions from residents. The meeting will cover an Explanation of Significant Differences (ESD), which describes some minor changes to the cleanup plan approved in the 2017 Record of Decision (ROD).

EPA will also discuss a Unilateral Administrative Order (UAO) issued to International Paper and McGinnes Industrial Maintenance Corporation to carry out cleanup work at the Northern Impoundments and Sand Separation Area in Channelview, Harris County, Texas.

If you have any technical questions about the site, please contact Robert Appelt, EPA Remedial Project Manager, at (214) 665-2730 or appelt.robert@epa.gov.

The meeting is being held in a fully accessible facility. Should you have any specific needs or questions about the facility, please contact Janetta Coats, EPA Community Involvement Coordinator, at 214-665-7308 or 1-800-533-3508 (toll-free) or coats.janetta@epa.gov.

The presentation slides will be posted online on the San Jacinto River Waste Pits Superfund Site: https:/ /www.epa.gov/tx/sjrwp

The San Jacinto River Waste Pits Superfund site, located in Harris County, Texas (Figure 1), consists of two sets of impoundments, or pits, built in the mid- 1960s for disposing solid and liquid pulp and paper mill wastes that are contaminated with dioxins and furans. The northern set of impoundments, about 14 acres in size, are located on the western bank of the San Jacinto River, north of the Interstate 10 (I-10) bridge over the San Jacinto River.

These northern impoundments are partially submerged in the river. The southern impoundment, less than 20 acres in size, is located on a small peninsula that extends south of I-10. The northern impoundments were covered with an armored cap in 2011 as a Time Critical Removal Action as a temporary way to contain the contaminants.

On October 11, 2017, EPA approved the cleanup plan to address dioxin contamination at the site. The selected remedy includes removal of the dioxin containing material from the waste pits and off-site disposal. The EPA’s cleanup plan includes installing engineering controls such as a cofferdam before excavating approximately 212,000 cubic yards of dioxin contaminated material for disposal. The estimated cost for the remedy is $115 million.

EPA, in cooperation with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, federal, state and Harris County agencies, local officials, and industry, invites you to attend a community meeting for the San Jacinto River Waste Pits Superfund site.

Date: Tuesday, September 8, 2026 Time: 6:00 pm – 7:45 pm CT

Place: The Highland Community Center604 Highland Woods DriveHighland, Texas 77562

EPA will share updates on the cleanup activities and answer questions from residents. The meeting will cover an Explanation of Significant Differences, which describes some minor changes to the cleanup plan approved in the 2017 Record of Decision. EPA will also discuss the cleanup schedule pursuant to a Unilateral Administrative Order issued April 28, 2026.

If you have any technical questions about the site, please contact Robert Appelt, EPA Remedial Project Manager, at (214) 665-2730 or appelt.robert@epa.gov.

EPA has issued a unilateral administrative order (UAO) to International Paper and McGinnes Industrial Maintenance Corporation for remedial action at the Northern Impoundments and sand separation area at the San Jacinto River Waste Pits Superfund Site in Channelview, Harris County, Texas. The UAO establishes enforcement guidelines to ensure work is carried out according to the remedial design that EPA approved on September 9, 2025.

Review the Unilateral Administrative Order for Remedial Action of the Northern Impoundments and San Separation Area. pastedGraphic.png

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 6 has issued an Explanation of Significant Differences (ESD) for the San Jacinto River Waste Pits Superfund Site (Site). This decision document describes two significant changes made to the remedy presented in the 2017 Record of Decision (ROD) for the Site, but which do not fundamentally alter the ROD remedy. The two significant updates are: 1) an increase in estimated remedial cost for the Site’s Northern Impoundments, from an estimate of a p p r o x i m a t e l y $105,485,770 in 2017 U.S. dollars (USD) in the ROD to a revised cost estimate of approximately $210,852,000 to $262,322,000 in 2025 USD in the ESD; and 2) an increase in the volume of material excavated for disposal during Remedial Action construction at the Site’s Southern Impoundment.

The 2017 selected remedy for the Site requires the excavation and off-site disposal of waste materials and contaminated soil/sediment from the Site impoundments, which are located both north and south of Interstate Highway 10 (I-10) on the San Jacinto River. The primary hazardous substances documented at the Site are polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans. The changes discussed in the ESD to the estimated costs for the Northern Impoundment remedy follow the development of the Remedial Design for the Northern Impoundments and Sand Separation Area by the Site responsible parties, which was approved by EPA upon specified conditions on September 9, 2025. For the Southern Impoundment, International Paper completed the construction of the Remedial Action in 2023, and the ESD documents changes in the volume of material sent off-site for disposal during Remedial Action construction, as detailed further in the ESD. This ESD also addresses EPA’s evaluation of information regarding waste excavation depths in the Northern Impoundments developed during Remedial Design, as discussed in EPA’s conditional approval of the 100% Remedial Design, as well as EPA’s consideration of information subsequently presented by the responsible parties in an October 2025 letter regarding the Northern Impoundments. As discussed in more detail in the ESD, a future modification to the excavation plans may also be considered that would allow a relatively small volume of lower concentration waste material exceeding the sitespecific cleanup level to remain at the lowest elevations below the excavation surface, based on specific criteria to be developed by EPA. Any such modifications to the full excavation approach will be documented, as appropriate, in a future decision document and ensure that the remedy continues to achieve the remedial action objectives and remains protective.

All other remedy components selected in the 2017 ROD remain unchanged. The ESD is available at: ESD in Administrative Record