Republic Services LLC in Robstown, Texas
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Facility Description
Republic Services LLC (US Ecology Texas, Inc. (Robstown Facility)), owns and operates an industrial and hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facility located at 3277 County Road 69 in Robstown, Nueces County, Texas. The Robstown Facility supports various industries producing refined products, petrochemicals, agricultural chemicals, and pharmaceuticals. The EPA regulates the Toxic Substances Control Act The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976 was enacted by Congress to give U.S. EPA the ability to track the 75,000 industrial chemicals currently produced or imported into the United States. (TSCA) Approval for the Facility to store and process PCBs. Specific procedures for handling polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are documented to provide information on the acceptance, characterization, verification, and storage capabilities of the Robstown Facility. PCB operations at Republic Services are currently taking place in the Controlled Parking/Storage Building II Bay C (West Side) and the Drum Processing Building. The storage units are currently operating under an approval to manage PCB wastes issued by EPA in 2024. In addition to TSCA and the regulations at 40 C.F.R. § 761.65, EPA’s issuance of the Approval is consistent with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), Presidential Executive Order 12898, and Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.
Facility Layout
The Facility is located in Texas approximately four miles south of Robstown, Nueces County, on Petronila Road, also known as County Road 69. The facility’s total area is 473 acres, which is divided into an eastern portion (159 acres), a northwest portion (233 acres), and a western portion (81 acres). The facility's Maximum Permitted Storage Capacity of PCBs is 518 cubic yards (104,500 gallons). The Controlled Parking/Storage Building II Bay C (West Side) operates with a maximum PCB inventory of 928 55-gallon drums (51,040 gallons) which equates to 253 cubic yards and the Drum Processing Building operates with a maximum PCB inventory of 972 55-gallon drums (53,460 gallons), which equates to 264 cubic yards. Hazardous waste operations are overseen by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). PCB storage is overseen by EPA.
Summary of PCB Operations
The TSCA permit allows the Robstown Facility to store up to 1,900 equivalent 55-gallon containers (104,500 gallons) of PCB inventory in the Controlled Parking/Storage Building II Bay C (West Side) and the Drum Processing Building. These PCB wastes exceed 50 ppm of PCBs and require treatment at facilities capable of handling non-exempt PCB-bearing waste. While the waste can be temporarily stored at the Robstown Facility before being transferred to a suitable treatment and/or disposal facility, it cannot be treated or disposed of on-site. The storage/operating area features multiple storage bays with delineated concrete curbs to segregate wastes into compatibility groups, alongside a concrete floor that slopes toward blind sumps. The storage units are mainly used for storing drums of PCB-contaminated waste and PCBs awaiting off-site transfer on a drum-in/drum-out basis only. In most cases, these wastes will require a new manifest or shipping paper for outbound shipment from the Robstown Facility, a process commonly known as trans-shipping waste.
Documents
Final PCB Approval Republic Services - Robstown (pdf) .
Final Response to Public Comments Republic Services - Robstown (pdf) .
Mapping Report Republic Services - Robstown (pdf) .
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) Factsheet (pdf) .
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) Factsheet (Español) (pdf) .
US Ecology Texas Factsheet (pdf) .
US Ecology Texas Public Notice of Re-Authorization Approval for Commercial Storage (English) (pdf) .
US Ecology Texas Public Notice of Re-Authorization Approval for Commercial Storage (Español) (pdf) .