Clear Creek: A TMDL Project for Volatile Organic Compounds

Related Links:

TMDLs: Improving Water Quality

Clear Creek: Chlordane Project

Clear Creek: Dissolved Solids Project

Clear Creek: Bacteria Project

Map and Segment Descriptions: Houston Area (PDF)

Counties: Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston, and Harris
Parameter: Volatile organic compounds
River Basin: San Jacinto–Brazos Coastal Basin
Segments: 1101, 1102

Clear Creek Above Tidal

• Background and Goals
• TMDLs and
  Implementation Plan
• Status and Implementation
• For More Information

Background and Goals

The Clear Creek watershed drains parts of Fort Bend, Harris, Brazoria, and Galveston Counties. In 1993, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS; then known as TDH) issued a fish-consumption advisory for portions of Clear Creek due to elevated concentrations in fish tissue of two volatile organic compounds (1,2-dichloroethane and 1,1,2-trichloroethane) and the pesticide chlordane (covered under another TMDL project). These volatile organic compounds are associated primarily with chemical manufacturing. An abandoned refinery was identified as the source of VOCs in Clear Creek. The goal of this TMDL project is to reduce concentrations of contaminants in fish tissue to levels that constitute an acceptable risk to consumers.

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TMDLs and Implementation Plan

The following documents are available as PDF files. (Help with PDF.)

• Four TMDLs for Volatile Organic Compounds in Clear Creek
  These TMDLs were first adopted by the commission on February 9, 2001. In response to comments from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, they were revised to include minor clarifying language. The revised TMDLs were adopted by the commission on June 14, 2002 and submitted to the EPA. The EPA approved these TMDLs on May 9, 2003.
• Response to Public Comment on the Clear Creek VOC TMDLs
• Implementation Plan for Clear Creek VOC TMDLs
  The implementation plan was approved by the commission on October 12, 2001.
• Response to Public Comment on the Clear Creek VOC
  Implementation Plan

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Status and Implementation

The consumption ban was rescinded in October 2001; the fish consumption use is no longer identified as impaired. Concentrations of VOCs in Clear Creek have declined by more than 90 percent since 1993. The Brio Refinery, a Superfund site, was identified as a major source of VOCs to the creek. The refinery site is located along Clear Creek near the tidal boundary. Contamination at the site is being addressed under the federal Superfund program.

The TCEQ will fund an assessment by DSHS in 2005 of fish captured from the creek to verify that water quality continues to improve, and that the fish are still safe to eat. Download the DSHS's 2004 publication of Fish Advisories and Bans (PDF)  for the latest published information on fish tissue advisories and bans in Texas.

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For More Information

For further information regarding this project, please call Roger Miranda, Project Manager at 512/239-6278. Or e-mail us at tmdl@tceq.state.tx.us and reference the Clear Creek VOCs project in the subject line.

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