2025: Looking Back At A Big Year For THEA
Ten years ago, we launched Texas Health and Environment Alliance to give a voice to people who faced threats from Superfund and other toxic waste sites in their backyards. We gave them the facts in plain language, broke down the bureaucratic walls that prevented real communication with the EPA and other agencies and made sure residents could make informed decisions about their health. That formula, plus untold hours working behind the scenes, brought some big victories this year.
Harris County’s 250-Square-Mile Cancer Cluster
We hear directly from people who live along the San Jacinto River about loved ones lost to cancer. For more than a year, THEA pushed the state to analyze cancer rates in a section of the river. State officials dragged their feet, but we kept pushing. The results were jaw dropping. The state found higher-than-expected rates for four types of cancer for the entire 250-square-mile study area, making it the largest cancer cluster in the state. It was a wakeup call for the region.
Jumpstarting The San Jacinto River Waste Pits Superfund Site Cleanup
At the start of 2025, the plans to remove dioxin material from the site’s Northern Pit were stuck in neutral. The process dragged on as the companies responsible for the cleanup presented one unacceptable plan after another. We decided it was time to break the logjam. We generated national news attention, met with high-ranking EPA officials and enlisted help from elected officials from both parties. We made sure the community's concerns made it all the way to the head of the EPA’s desk. In September, the EPA effectively took direct action to push the cleanup forward and supported the community’s preferred cleanup requests.
Real Solutions At Jones Road
For years, the EPA followed a plan to remove carcinogens from the Jones Road Ground Water Plume Superfund Site, even though the plan wasn’t working. We kept the attention focused on the people and the problem. We hosted meetings between the community and the EPA. We continued our own residential testing program to find chemicals in people’s drinking water. This year, the EPA started the fieldwork on a new approach to actually remove chemicals from the groundwater.
We Forced The Army Corps Of Engineers To Stop Ignoring Its Permitting Rules
When we learned the Corps approved a dredge project that would stir up the riverbed near a Superfund Site full of hazardous chemicals, we told them it was a really, really bad idea. They approved it anyway without considering any of the community concerns. So, working with the EarthJustice legal team, we sued - And we won! In March, the Army Corps of Engineers revoked the permit. The Army Corps of Engineers has a budget of $7.2 billion. THEA’s staff can fit in a compact car. But they broke the rules and we held them accountable.