While a hearing on Thursday night was about an application from Intercontinental Terminals Company to renew the operating permit for the Pasadena terminal, company representatives and state officials also faced questions related to the 2019 fire in Deer Park.
A bill filed by a Dallas-area senator would ramp up regulations for certain chemical companies that use above-ground storage tanks. A trip out Texas Highway 225 reveals countless above-ground tanks. But these above-ground storage tanks are relatively unregulated, Houston Public Media's Katie Watkins reports. Democrat Sen. Nathan Johnson's SB 126 seeks to require more stringent building regulations for above-ground storage tanks in flood-prone areas. The bill would apply to existing and new tanks if it became law, Watkins reported.
chron.comThursday afternoon, Harris County officials provided an update on the county’s environmental monitoring and protection efforts since the 2019 ITC Deer Park fire. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia, as well as other county officials and representatives from a research nonprofit and private industry spoke at the briefing. AdIn the wake of the fire, Harris County officials undertook several steps to improve the county’s environmental monitoring and enforcement efforts. $11 million was allocated towards improving the county’s preparedness and response to chemical incidents, county officials stated in a release. AdAltogether, these steps represent the county’s biggest investments in environmental protection in more than 30 years, officials stated in the release.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- In the wake of the Port Neches TPC plant explosion , it's not unusual to hear of plant explosions in southeast Texas so far this year.The ITC plant in Deer Park burned for several days in late March, after a fire there. TCEQ later announced that during the cleanup phase, the EPA recorded readings of 1,000 ppb of benzene on Penninsula Street near Buffalo Bayou.A few weeks later, in April, the KMCO plant caught fire near Crosby. During that fire, one person died and two were injured.Months later, the ExxonMobil plant in Baytown had a fire, where 66 people had to be treated. No one was hospitalized, according to local authorities.Then, the Celanese plant in Pasadena caught fire, causing workers to evacuate the plant. No one was hurt in that incident.This most recent explosion in Port Neches makes it the fifth plant fire in southeast Texas this year.
abc13.comGarcia also discusses the efforts on bail reform, flood mitigation and the health challenges being faced by his constituents on the East side of Harris County. One of those restaurants is Mikki’s Soul Food Café whose co-owner said to expect a culinary experience when eating the food inspired by his mother. “We sell soul food. When people think of soul food they think of heavy, gravy, smothered, but when I think of soul food and what my mother thought of soul food,” he said. 2 Harris County Commissionerhttps://www.hcp2.com713-455-8104Twitter: @HarrisCoPct2Instragram: @harriscopct2
