EPA's Region 6 Office
Serving: Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and 66 Tribal Nations
Port Arthur Environmental Profile
Port Arthur, Texas Westside Community
Port Arthur, Texas, is located 90 miles east of Houston, in Jefferson County on the western bank of Sabine Lake. Port Arthur is at the center of the largest oil refinery network in the world. The Westside community is located in the southwest end of the City of Port Arthur and is adjacent to refineries, chemical plants, a hazardous waste incinerator, and next to a blighted downtown and an under used waterfront.
The Westside community was chosen as the EPA Region 6 Environmental Justice (EJ) Showcase Community to participate in EPA's national initiative to address EJ challenges in ten communities across the country. The two-year EJ Showcase Community project used a collaborative community-based approach by gathering input from all stakeholders to improve the community's public health and the environment.
The Westside community was chosen as the EPA Region 6 Environmental Justice (EJ) Showcase Community to participate in EPA's national initiative to address EJ challenges in ten communities across the country. The two-year EJ Showcase Community project used a collaborative community-based approach by gathering input from all stakeholders to improve the community's public health and the environment.
Port Arthur Environmental Profile
Environmental Profile
This environmental profile is a resource to help you understand important environmental indicators for your area. The information in this profile is a summary of documents prepared by EPA and various state agencies.
The Environmental Profile:
- Provides information on the current environmental conditions in your area.
- Identifies past and present sources that contribute to the environmental conditions.
The environmental profile has three sections: air, water, and land.
Color Code Ratings
To quickly learn about the current condition of Port Arthur air, water, and land, EPA has created a color code rating system you will see throughout this website.
| Short Answer | Long Answer |
|---|---|
| OK, No known concerns | No known risk levels are exceeded based on existing knowledge and data |
| Limited Concern or risk is uncertain | Risk is limited or intermittent. Some uncertain risk may be present, or risk is to the ecology but not directly to human health |
| Caution is Advised (condition may be temporary) | Risk is present to human health and/or the environment. However condition may be temporary |
| Avoid. Known chronic risk to human health | Risk is known to exist on a consistent basis and should be avoided. |
Additional Resources
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ)
- General contact information: Region 10, 3870 Eastex Freeway, Beaumont, TX 77703-1830 / (409) 898-3838 / www.tceq.texas.gov/about/directory/region/reglist.html#10
- Calendar of public meetings and hearings on permitting cases: www.tceq.state.tx.us/agency/opa/calendar.html
- Gathering and preserving information and evidence showing a violation: www.tceq.state.tx.us/compliance/complaints/protocols/evi_proto.html
- Office of the Chief Clerk: www.tceq.texas.gov/about/organization/commissioner.html
- Public participation in environmental permitting (overview): www.tceq.texas.gov/agency/opa/pub_part.html
- Review of requests for reconsideration and contested case hearings information: www.tceq.texas.gov/agency/opa/pub_part.html#review
U.S. EPA
- General contact information: EPA Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 1200, Dallas, TX 75202 / (800) 887-6063 / www.epa.gov/region6
- Enforcement and compliance history online (ECHO) database: www.epa-echo.gov/echo
- Public involvement: www.epa.gov/publicinvolvement
Additional Resources
Air
- Plain English Guide to the Clean Air Act: www.epa.gov/air/caa/peg
- Summary of the Clean Air Act: www.epa.gov/lawsregs/laws/caa.html
- Introduction to the Clean Air Act (tribal audience): www.epa.gov/ow/tribaltraining/2009/tcourse0911.html
- Permits and enforcement: www.epa.gov/air/caa/peg/permits.html
Land
- Beach Advisory and Closing On-line Notification (BEACON) database - Jefferson County: iaspub.epa.gov/waters10/beacon_county_page.main?p_county_fips=245&p_state_fips=48
- Brownfields and land revitalization: www.epa.gov/brownfields/tools/index.htm
- Texas Beach Watch (Texas General Land Office): www.texasbeachwatch.com
- Vapor intrusion information: www.epa.gov/oswer/vaporintrusion
- The process EPA uses to cleanup Superfund sites: www.epa.gov/superfund/cleanup/index.htm
Water
- 2010 Texas index of water quality impairments (draft): www.tceq.state.tx.us/assets/public/compliance/monops/water/10twqi/2010_imp_index.pdf
- 2010 Texas Water Quality Inventory Water Bodies with Concerns for Use Attainment and Screening Levels (draft): www.tceq.state.tx.us/assets/public/compliance/monops/water/10twqi/2010_concerns.pdf
- Listing of water bodies with possession bans (Texas Department of State Health Services): www.dshs.state.tx.us/seafood/survey.shtm#Bans
- Texas water quality standards document repository: http://water.epa.gov/scitech/swguidance/standards/wqslibrary/tx_index.cfm