DEER PARK, Texas – The Deer Park company that reportedly agreed to receive millions of gallons of toxic wastewater used to fight fires during the Ohio train derailment has made a statement in regard to the pause placed by federal officials on their operation.
According to Texas Molecular’s Vice President of Sales, Jimmy Bracher, their company has a permit that ‘allows over 230 million gallons [of wastewater] annually.’ Bracher added that the staffers at TM process approximately five to seven million gallons each month, and that they’ve seen loads bigger than the one officials from East Palestine, Ohio planned on sending for disposal.
On Saturday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency stated that they would be placing a temporary halt on the operation until they can review and approve the process after criticism from Harris County elected officials.
In response, Bracher said that TM is not required by permit to alert authorities in advance of shipments, however, he says they typically brief local stakeholders when a project has high visibility, “like this one.”
Additionally, Bracher says their company started receiving the wastewater by truck on Feb. 16. As of Feb. 24, workers have safely offloaded 167 trucks (about 747,000 gallons).
On Sunday, the EPA approved the wastewater to be transported to two other Ohio cities. It is unclear if the EPA will approve the operation and allow TM to proceed with the disposal of the water in Harris County.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said the entire situation was ‘bad communication’ between her office and those at TM, stating it would have been a courtesy to be made aware of the transport happening throughout her county.
Read the statement from Texas Molecular below:
“We began receiving water on February 16th and, as of 12:30 2/24, have safely offloaded 167 trucks (747,000 gallons). Our permit allows over 230 million gallons annually and this volume is well within our authorizations, capabilities, and experience. We process approximately 5 to 7 million gallons each month. We have done many major projects with similar volumes (and some with even larger volumes). While we are not required by permit to alert authorities in advance of shipments, we do brief our local stakeholders when a project has high visibility, like this one.
All shipments we have received to date have come by truck only. Texas Molecular neither transports nor selects the mode of transportation for the water. We are unsure of the duration (or if it will restart). It will depend on the amount of waste collected by the agencies on-site.
Regards,
Jimmy Bracher”
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