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Waste Site Reports: Texas
NOAA trust species in Texas include such fish as Atlantic croaker, Florida pompano, gulf kingfish, sand sea trout, southern flounder, bay anchovy, spotted sea trout, and striped mullet. Most of these fish serve commercial as well as recreational interests. Other commercially important species are blue crab, eastern oyster, and brown, pink, and white shrimp. The common harbor porpoise, the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, and the Atlantic sea turtle also inhabit the Texas coasts. Other important species found in Texas waters include the loggerhead turtle (federally listed threatened), Kemp's ridley turtle, and the leatherback turtle (federally listed endangered).
Areas of Special Concern in Texas
The NOAA CRC program works to protect and restore natural resources throughout Texas. However, Lavaca Bay is an area of special concern to NOAA since it provides protected nursery habitat for brown shrimp and habitat for green and Kemp's ridley turtles. Elevated levels of mercury have prompted closures of fisheries as a result of releases from the ALCOA Point Comfort operation. NOAA is working closely with ALCOA, EPA, and the State of Texas through an innovative cooperative agreement to address contamination and expedite restoration efforts.
The Galveston Bay / Houston area provides important estuarine habitat for a number of commercial and sport fisheries. Numerous waste sites are located in the area that affect NOAA trust species. NOAA is working to protect and restore fisheries in the area. For example, at the French, Ltd. site, treatment of contaminated sediment, surface water, and groundwater is underway. NOAA, DOI, and State of Texas trustees negotiated a settlement with responsible parties to implement a 60 acre wetland restoration project. Vegetation planting was completed in 1995 and the now-thriving wetland is used extensively by fish and birds.
Waste Site Reports
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- TX: Falcon Refinery (Reviewed 2007): CERCLIS No. = TXD086278058
(Document format: PDF, size: 715.9 K)
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- TX: French Limited (Reviewed 1989); CERCLIS No. = TXD980514814
(Document format: PDF, size: 28.1 K)
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- TX: Motco, Inc. (Reviewed 1984); CERCLIS No. = TXD980629851
(Document format: PDF, size: 287.3 K)
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- TX: Patrick Bayou (Reviewed 2003); CERCLIS No. = TXD000605329
(Document format: PDF, size: 260.4 K)
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- TX: State Marine (Reviewed 1999); CERCLIS No. = TXD099801102
(Document format: PDF, size: 109.5 K)
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Other pages in this series
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