Ballard Pits
This Former Drilling Mud and Refinery Waste Disposal Site Near Robstown, Nueces County, is in the Operation and Maintenance Phase.
Site Summary
The Ballard Pits state Superfund site (the site) occupies approximately 296 acres of vacant undeveloped land, at the end of Ballard Road (also known as Ballard Lane), west of its intersection with County Road 73, approximately 5.8 miles north of Robstown, Nueces County, Texas.
The Ballard Sand and Gravel Company formerly operated at the site. It performed soil (mostly sandy) mining excavation, creating three unlined waste pits (waste pits).
In the 1960s, Brine Service Company, Inc., and possibly other companies, transported oil-field drilling mud and refinery waste from Corpus Christi area facilities to the site for disposal in the waste pits. In September 2002, the Nueces River overflowed its banks, flooding the waste pits. Consequently, the Texas Railroad Commission, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the TCEQ performed site investigations, which included collecting and analyzing soil, groundwater, surface water, and surface water samples.
Superfund Registry and Remediation Activities
The TCEQ proposed the site to the state Superfund registry in January 2006.
TCEQ continued its site investigation. Waste and contaminated soils, containing hazardous substance, including volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds, metals, and polychlorinated biphenyls, presenting an imminent threat to human health and the environment was detected in the waste pits also known as the East, West, and North (waste) Pits. In the mid-2000s, TCEQ performed removal actions at the site, removing the waste and soil contamination, and remediating the adjacent utility easement and affected residential properties. In the late 2000s, a remedial investigation determined total petroleum hydrocarbons in groundwater and non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPL) needed further remediation.
In January 2022, TCEQ issued an administrative order selecting the remedial action, including institutional controls. TCEQ established a Plume Management Zone (PMZ) to control and prevent exposure to the contaminated groundwater and NAPL within the PMZ. The PMZ encompasses the West and Easte Pits; and extends off-site under residential properties eastern of the East Pit. TCEQ also filed a deed notice to prohibit environmental exposure to site contamination.
Current Status
The site is in the operation and maintenance phase. TCEQ collects groundwater samples biannually, to monitor the groundwater contamination and NAPL within the PMZ.