Port Neches voluntary evacuation order remains in place Thursday
Published 7:07 am Thursday, December 5, 2019
A voluntary evacuation order issued by Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick and the city of Port Neches remains in place, Thursday morning.
“Monitoring has been conducted overnight and although levels are lower they are still detectable,” an alert read. “Highest levels are still in the Earle/Merriman/Saybrook areas. We will update when conditions change.”
A shelter-in-place was initially ordered at 6:10 p.m. Wednesday after elevated levels for 1,3-Butadiene were measured at the site of TPC Group Port Neches Operations.
The Port Neches-Groves Independent School District then canceled classes for the rest of the week.
A voluntary evacuation was ordered at approximately 10 p.m. Wednesday.
Air monitoring reports show a decrease in overall levels of butadiene overnight. The highest levels continue to be in the Earle Street, Merriman and Saybrook area.
According to the City of Nederland, the City has not received any information above actionable levels in the Nederland city limits. The City will continue to closely monitor the air quality.
Nederland Chamber Director Dianna Laborde and Port Neches Chamber Director Debbie Plaia also announced they decided to cancel this year’s Mid-County Mixer, which was scheduled for Thursday night.
“Due to elevated Air Emissions in Port Neches, including the Saba Lane area, we feel this is the best decision under the circumstances,” they said.
About I.C. Murrell
I.C. Murrell was promoted to editor of The News, effective Oct. 14, 2019. He previously served as sports editor since August 2015 and has won or shared eight first-place awards from state newspaper associations and corporations. He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, grew up mostly in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and graduated from the University of Arkansas at Monticello.
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