In 2003, the Texas Legislature authorized the creation of Municipal Setting Designations (MSD), which designate an area in which the use of contaminated groundwater is prohibited for use as potable water. The law is administered by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and requires local City support to designate an MSD. The intent of the legislation is to encourage redevelopment of vacant or abandoned properties while protecting public health. On August 22, 2007, City Council approved an ordinance amending Chapter 47 of the Code of Ordinances by adding Article XIII relating to groundwater, which provides a process to support or not support an MSD application to the State (ordinance amended 7/14/2010).
Asian Pacific Texas, LLC Application: Asian Pacific Texas, LLC is seeking a Municipal Setting Designation (MSD) for 3.9347 acres of land located at 2701 Clinton Drive, Houston, TX 77020, which includes 3.8416 acres of real property and 0.0931 acres of city right of way. The contamination consists of Trichloroethylene, Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons, 2,6-Dinitrotoluene. The site operated as Standco Industries, an industrial facility, which manufactured a variety of products from approximately 1940 until 2010. The site was undeveloped prior to the 1920s. Between the 1920s and 1940, the site was a shipping warehouse. A licensed Professional Engineer has certified that the area of contamination has been thoroughly investigated, is fully delineated and is stable or decreasing in concentration.
Asian Pacific Texas, LLC is seeking an MSD for this property to restrict access to groundwater to protect the public against possible exposure to the contaminants. There is a public drinking water supply system that meets state requirements that supplies or is capable of supplying drinking water to the MSD property and all properties within one-half mile of the MSD property. A public meeting was held on August 15, 2017 at the Houston Permitting Center, and a public hearing was held on August 21, 2017 during the Transportation, Technology, and Infrastructure Council Committee. Both meetings are necessary steps prior to City Council’s consideration of support.
Recommendations: It is recommended that City Council adopt a Municipal Setting Designation (MSD) ordinance prohibiting the use of designated groundwater at the Asian Pacific Texas, LLC site located at 2701 Clinton Drive, Houston, TX 77020, and support issuance of an MSD by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
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Carol Ellinger Haddock, P.E.
Acting Director
Department of Public Works and Engineering