By Sherry Koonce
The News staff writer
In the light of day with the sunshine gleaming down on Steve and Tina Webb’s Hillebrandt Acres property, a colorful prism emits from the black muck that ruined the couple’s home just two weeks ago.
They aren’t sure what it is, but believe the sticky substance is more than the Southeast Texas gumbo mud that washed ashore when Hurricane Ike slammed the Upper Texas Gulf Coast two weeks ago.
“It’s more than just mud. Everybody has mud, It’s in our kitchen, our yard, the ditches and it smells like petroleum. And now that it is starting to dry, it’s as black and black can be and looks like tar. It’s drying in rainbow colors, like somebody poured dirty motor oil on our home,” Steve Webb said.
The Webb’s aren’t alone. Mud covers their neighbors’ homes and yards, just as it does other thousands of other homes in the region.
Since Hurricane Ike slammed the Upper Texas Gulf Coast two weeks ago, leaving a trail of oil spills, dead animals and debris in the wake of a devastating storm surge, environmentalist began the process of containing potential contaminants.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is establishing a hotline for residents to report potential contaminants, and the number should be available next week, Janie Acevedo, EPA public information officer.
For the past week, a joint coalition comprised of the U.S. Coast Guard, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the Texas General Land Office and the EPA began canvassing the area, looking mainly for oil spills that are a potential threat to the environment.
Eric Delgado, federal on-scene coordinator for the joint coalition, said though early in the process, the number of spills discovered thus far does not appear to be excessive.
“I’ve been involved in Katrina, Rita, and Ike. As far as Ike goes, there does not appear to be a giant amount of spills,” Delgado said. “It is hard to say right now what the long-term effects are going to be, we will know in the week’s to come.”
Acevedo said since the storm the coalition has collected 478 unidentified industrial drums. Another 1,478 drums or groups of drums were located, but have not yet disposed of or claimed by the owner.
At Sabine Pass High School, a 16,000 gallon tank washed up and stands a testament to the storm’s power.
Delgado said the tank most likely contained some type of hydrocarbon.
Other containers appeared to be used as water tanks, much like those at hunting camps, Delgado said.
Once the drums are located, those that are not identified are disposed of in a hazardous materials landfill.
“Right now we are just trying to get our arms around the whole universe of what is out there,” Delgado said.
Larry Chambers, a spokesman for the U.S. Coast Guard, said the group is in the second phase of assessment.
“We are finding a real range of everything from 5-gallon containers of propane; we have a big range of pollutants and hazardous materials,” he said.
Acevedo said since Ike, there have been two major leaks reported to the EPA. The first, a 55,000 barrel storage tank at Exxon Mobile in Beaumont, leaked into the company’s secondary containment area, but did not leave the plant.
The second spill occurred at the Chevron plant in Port Arthur. Acevedo said the EPA had few details about the incident since the agency had just received the report.
Delgado said the coalition is also looking at a marshland oil spill in western Jefferson County, but, like many of the areas, cannot get it because the area is inaccessible because of mud.
Contact this reporter at skoonce@panews.com.
Hurricane Ike - Latest News
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Sherry Koonce/The News
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September 26, 2008
Environmentalist won’t know Ike’s effect for long time
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Environmentalist won’t know Ike’s effect for long time
For the past week, a joint coalition comprised of the U.S. Coast Guard, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the Texas General Land Office and the EPA began canvassing the area, looking mainly for oil spills that are a potential threat to the environment.
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