Oil illegally buried near Texas canal found leaking into a waterway, authorities say
(This story was updated Monday, June 8, with a comment from the Railroad Commission of Texas.)
The Harris County Constable’s Office’s Environmental Crimes Unit is investigating thousands of gallons of oil it says were buried illegally and found leaking into a nearby waterway in Crosby, Texas on Friday, according to KHOU.
Harris County tweeted out that an investigation is currently underway after KHOU broke the story Friday afternoon.
“Environmental crimes unit on scene serving search warrant where it appears thousands of gallons of oil have been illegally buried,” Constable Alan Rosen’s tweet said. “Investigators digging for source of contamination. Oil discovered as far as a quarter-mile west on Church Street and 655 feet to the south.”
Crosby is around 25 miles northeast of Houston.
In May, Texas regulators relaxed rules about where companies can store oil underground, the Associated Press reported. This had raised concerns among environmentalists about the possibility of groundwater contamination.
“This order does not suspend any rule that protects public safety, health or the prevention of pollution,” said Wayne Christian, chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the state’s oil and gas industry , the AP reported. “All it does is allow operators to begin storing crude oil in all formations where it may make sense to do so.”
Railroad Commission of Texas communications director R.J. DeSilva told McClatchy News that the spill in Harris County is not related to crude oil storage and that the relaxed rule played no part in the spill.
DeSilva also said that the RRC would “assist the constable’s office with information and assistance they request as part of their broad investigation.”
This story was originally published June 5, 2020 at 4:14 PM with the headline "Oil illegally buried near Texas canal found leaking into a waterway, authorities say."