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La Pata Oil Company

No further Superfund environmental response actions are required on this former waste oil recycling facility in Houston, Harris County.

Site Background

The LaPata Oil Company site is located at 1403 Ennis Street in the central part of Houston, near the U.S. 59 Interstate 45 interchange and between Ennis Street and Palmer Street. The 1.19 acres were used for recycling waste oil and industrial and hazardous waste chemicals. The site contained at least five underground tanks. The first recorded complaint was received in 1980 concerning unattended oil spills by the occupant, Southwest Oil Service, Inc. LaPata Oil Company took over the lease and operations, but was subsequently evicted March 1, 1982, and abandoned the site. Waste samples showed hazardous characteristics of ignitability. On May 28, 1982, the Texas Water Commission referred LaPata Oil Company for enforcement action for violations regarding contamination of soils. Less than five months later — on October 2, 1983 — a fire, which the Houston Fire Department determined had been set by an arsonist, destroyed two aboveground storage tanks and released the contents onto the ground.

Superfund Actions Taken to Date

  • October 16, 1987, a legal notice was published in the Texas Register (12 TexReg 3858) proposing the site to the state Superfund registry and announcing that a public meeting to receive citizen comments would be held at the Pasadena Convention Center on November 4, 1987.
  • November 4, 1987, a public meeting was held at the Pasadena Convention Center to receive citizen comments on the proposal of the site to the state Superfund registry.
  • January 22, 1988, a legal notice was published in the Texas Register (13 TexReg 427) listing the site on the state Superfund registry.
  • January 1988, a site perimeter fence was constructed to limit unauthorized access,
    and signs were posted warning of contamination.
  • September 1, 1993, effective date of the creation of the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission from the joining of the Texas Water Commission and the Texas Air Control Board and a portion of the Texas Department of Health.
  • March 10, 1997, the remedial investigation/feasibility study final report was completed and approved.
  • March 31, 1997, removal action under way.
  • April 30, 1997, removal action completed.
  • June 26, 1998, a legal notice was published in the Texas Register (23 TexReg 6771) and the Houston Chronicle proposing to delete the site from the state Superfund registry in accordance with 30 TAC §335.344(c), and inviting public comment on the determination that the site no longer presented an imminent and substantial endangerment to public health and safety or the environment. No further remedial action planned.
  • August 7, 1998, a legal notice was published in the Texas Register, (23 TexReg 8295) officially deleting the LaPata Oil Company from the state Superfund registry in accordance with 30 TAC §335.344(c). No challenges or comments were received to the determination that the site no longer presented an imminent and substantial endangerment to public health and safety or the environment. No further remedial action planned. The site may now be returned to industrial/commercial use.
  • September 1, 2002, effective date of the name change from Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC) to Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).

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