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Oil pits dominated the Malone site prior to the cleanup.
Oil pits dominated the Malone site prior to the cleanup.

Trustees seek public comment on additional project proposed to fully restore for injuries from the Malone Service Company Superfund Site

October 29, 2021

NOAA and natural resource trustees in the Malone Service Company Superfund Site (Site) are seeking public comment on a Draft Supplement to the Final Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan that was originally released in July, 2015. With this supplemental plan, the trustees are proposing additional restoration at Swan Lake Marsh to provide all of the necessary restoration “credits” identified in the Malone Service Company Consent Decree.

The final plan released in 2015 proposed the construction of 70 acres of intertidal saltwater wetland in Pierce Marsh, in Galveston Bay. Although the 70-acre Pierce Marsh Restoration project was successful, the completion of the project was unable to provide all of the necessary restoration credits for the Malone Service Company case because these were split among several of the cases and responsible parties that contributed to contamination at the Site, dating back to the 1960s. Ultimately, Malone Service Company settlement funds were used to restore approximately 28 of the 70 acres at the marsh, leaving a balance of roughly 10 acres to achieve the full compensation required for damages assessed in this case.

Like the Pierce Marsh project, the proposed restoration at Swan Lake Marsh will be combined with funds from multiple cases and responsible parties, as part of a larger initiative to restore approximately 185 acres of intertidal marsh habitat at the Site. The project would consist of placing sediment within the marsh area to restore intertidal wetland elevations and the planting of native marsh vegetation, like smooth cordgrass. It is anticipated that this project would eventually provide ecological services similar in type and quality to those of a natural brackish marsh by increasing tidal exchange and the benthic productivity of the project area. 

In the Draft Supplement to the Final Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan, the trustees propose to contribute to the implementation of the Swan Lake Marsh Restoration to fulfill their obligations for the outstanding credits and outline the proposed project. The trustees invite the public to submit comments during a 30-day window ending on November 29, 2021. 

To submit comments via email, please send them to TCEQ Natural Resource Trustee Program Manager, Michael Cave at michael.cave@tceq.texas.gov, with the subject line “Malone Draft Supplement Restoration Plan Comment”

To submit comments via mail, please mail them to

TCEQ Superfund Section, Remediation Division
Attn: Michael Cave
MC-136 P.O.Box 13087
Austin, TX 78711-3087

Requests for hard copies of the draft plan should be submitted to the email or mailing address above before the November 29, comment deadline.

 

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Color key: blue = Pierce Marsh restoration; orange = Swan Lake marsh injury; and green = Swan Lake restoration site.