TMDL Project for Dioxin and Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) in Fish Tissue
Background - Meetings - Additional Information - Contact
Stakeholder Meeting Materials, April 4, 2012
Agenda (PDF) 57K | Meeting Notes from August 2011 (PDF) 82K
PCBs and Dioxin in the Galveston Bay System
Hanadi Rifai, University of Houston
Presentation (PDF) 4.1M
Site Status Report Patrick Bayou Superfund Site
Phil Allen, US Environmental Protection Agency
Presentation (PDF) 2.2M
San Jacinto River Waste Pits Superfund Site Update
Gary Miller and Steven Tzhone, US Environmental Protection Agency
Presentation (PDF) 1.6M
Dioxin Fingerprinting in the Houston Ship Channel
Linda Broach, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
Presentation (PDF) 6.1M | Fingerprint Maps (PDF) 4.6M
Dredged Material Evaluation in the Houston Ship Channel
Jeffery Stevens, US Army Corps of Engineers
Presentation (PDF) 3.2M
Background
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The State of Texas currently requires water quality in various parts of the Houston Ship Channel and Upper Galveston Bay to be suitable for contact and noncontact recreation, fishing, navigation, industrial water supply, and aquatic life; however, not all of these segments are required to support all of these uses. Fishing is not supported in the area as a result of a seafood consumption advisory (ADV-3) for catfish and blue crab issued September 1990 by the Department of State Health Services (DSHS). The advisory was issued to protect consumers from adverse health effects caused by dioxin found in specimens analyzed from the area. Dioxin is a generic term for a suite of toxic and environmentally persistent compounds.
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Bagre marinus |
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Callinectes sapidus
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Subsequently, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were detected in fish tissue, and the DSHS issued consumption advisory ADV-20 in October 2001, for all species of finfish in much of the Houston Ship Channel. In January 2005, the DSHS issued another advisory related to PCBs, ADV-28, for speckled trout, also known as spotted seatrout or spotted weakfish, in Upper Galveston Bay and a large percentage of the Houston Ship Channel. An additional advisory, ADV-35, for gafftopsail catfish and speckled trout in Galveston Bay was issued in 2008 for dioxin and PCBs. More information about seafood advisories can be found on the DSHS website: www.dshs.state.tx.us/seafood
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In response to these conditions, two total maximum daily load (TMDL) projects, one for dioxins and one for PCBs, have been initiated to determine the measures necessary to restore water quality in water bodies affected by the consumption advisories in the Houston Ship Channel and Upper Galveston Bay. The goal of a TMDL is to determine the amount (or load) of a pollutant that a body of water can receive and still support its designated uses. This allowable load is then allocated among all the potential sources of pollution within the watershed, and measures to reduce pollutant loads are developed as necessary. The TMDL projects for PCBs and Dioxins are still collecting and analyzing data. One source for Dioxins has been identified: the San Jacinto River Waste Pits Superfund Site. The Superfund Project is being managed by the US Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6.
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Cynoscion nebulosus
Images courtesy of Texas Parks & Wildlife Department ©2008
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Current Meetings
The stakeholders usually meet twice each year in H-GAC's Conference Room A, Second Floor unless time-sensitive information must be discussed. The date for the next stakeholder meeting for the TMDL Projects for Dioxin and PCB has not been set. Webcast and teleconference will be available.
Past Meetings
Links and Additional Information
TCEQ's Dioxin TMDL Web Page
TCEQ's PCB TMDL Web Page
H-GAC Seafood Advisory Brochure English (PDF) 1.4M
H-GAC Seafood Advisory Brochure Spanish (PDF) 1.4M
H-GAC Brochure "Dioxin for Dinner?" (PDF) 4.7M
H-GAC Brochure "¿Dioxin para la cena?" (PDF) 4.7M
Clear Creek Seafood Consumption Advisory
Galveston Bay Seafood Consumption Advisory
San Jacinto River Waste Pits Superfund Site Status Summary from EPA
Fish Consumption Advisories from the Texas Department of State Health Services
Contact
Last updated: April 16, 2012