NEWSCHANNEL 5 Investigation: 33 Acres in McAllen Contaminated with Toxic Substance

City's known about contamination since 1992

MCALLEN - A NEWSCHANNEL 5 investigation uncovers what some call an environmental disaster.

Hundreds of McAllen families are sitting on top of a highly toxic, highly explosive substance. The toxic substance is floating on top of groundwater under 23rd Street. NEWSCHANNEL 5 took a sample from the ground. With one spark, it went up in flames.

"It's a disaster," says Scott McClain. "Something has to be done about this."

He and Richard Roth are two attorneys who want the pollution cleaned up. The affected area is around 23rd Street and Business 83. It's home to over 200 families.

It's 33 acres of contamination, one of the largest areas of contamination in the United States.

"It's floating underneath McAllen," says Roth.

McClain and he filed a lawsuit on behalf of the families who live right above the area with the substance.

"This stuff is highly flammable. If any spark were to get to it, it could explode," says McClain.

That's exactly what happened in 1992 in Guadalajara, Mexico. The very same substance we pulled from the ground in McAllen leaked into the sewer system there, triggering a series of explosions.

Two-hundred-six people died. Five hundred were hurt. Fifteen thousand people were left homeless.

"That town literally blew up," says Roth.

Just like McAllen, Guadalajara had an underground plume. Once the dangerous gases seeped into the sewers, one small spark created the disaster.

An internal document from the Texas Railroad Commission shows McAllen city workers reported fuel fumes in the sewers. It also says workers noticed natural gas odors while laying a water line.

"It puts them in danger if a pipeline were to explode," says Roth.

McClain and he tell us another danger lurks in the ground. It's the toxic chemical Benzene.

McClain says, "The Benzene vapors can travel through soil, get into people's homes, and cause leukemia."

That's exactly what Gracie Ozuna claimes happened to her daughter, Nuvia. Nuvia was two years old when she was diagnosed with leukemia. When she was six, Nuvia died.

"Nuvia was a very special child," says Ozuna. "Losing her was like a knife straight through my heart. But I know she's with God. And one day I'll be with her again."

Ozuna's wasn't the only one. Another girl down the street got leukemia. She survived.

Roth fears more could get sick.

"People getting cancer from being in their house," he says.

While it's clear this pollution is a big problem, it's not clear whose problem it is. Nobody can seem to agree on where this contamination comes from.

There are three possible sources.

One is spilled fuel. For decades, diesel and gasoline spilled from the trains on tracks owned by Union Pacific. According to the state, the company admits they're partially at fault.

Gas stations is a second possible source. Leaking underground fuel tanks at the old Coastal Mart on 23rd Street caused the 37,000 gallon plume.

Cleanup of the coastal mart mess took 14 years and cost one million dollars.

Leaking pipelines is another possible source. McClain and Roth took video of pipelines in 2004.

The owner of the natural gas pipelines in south McAllen said they were welded shut. But when they tested the lines, you can see the green testing liquid just squirts out.

Pictures show holes in the pipelines.

Roth says, "We found one part of the pipeline fixed by wrapping tape around it."

The gas company's own documents from 1989 show "leaks" in the "McAllen area" and "contaminated soil," potentially causing "real problems."

The February explosion in McCook was caused by a leaking natural gas line. That's the same kind of leak Roth and McClain say helped create the 33-acre underground lake of toxic explosive poison in McAllen.

The two lawyers' lawsuit on behalf of families in this neighborhood was settled out of court just before trial. The families got some money.

But the settlement meant no trial and no court order to clean it up.

"I lose sleep at night because that plume's still there," McClain tells us.

NEWSCHANNEL 5 went to McAllen City Manager Mike Perez. He says the city has known about contamination in this neighborhood since 1992.

He admits McAllen has done nothing. We asked why.

Perez says, "It's the responsibility of the State of Texas."

But that's not exactly true. Under the Texas Water Code, local government can sue to get the pollution cleaned up.

Perez says the city has other things to worry about.

"Of course we'd like to have it cleaned up, Will. I think any time you have a problem you'd like to get it taken care of," he tells us. "Should the local government be responsible? I don't think so."

The State of Texas hasn't done much either.

In Austin, they spent years going back and forth about who should clean up the pollution. The case file started collecting dust until NEWSCHANNEL 5 stepped in.

Since the McAllen contamination comes from more than one source, two state agencies are involved. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality handles pollution from trains and gas stations.

The Texas Railroad Commission handles pollution from pipelines.

The Railroad Commission turned down our request for an interview. They did give us this report from pipeline owner, XTO Energy. The company says none of the pollution comes from their pipelines. Those were the same pipelines shown leaking in a 2005 video.

XTO's explanation seems to be good enough for the state. An e-mail to NEWSCHANNEL 5 states the Texas Railroad Commission doesn't plan to pursue further investigation. The case is closed.

But we got a much different response over at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Jay Carsten of the TCEQ says, "We've got finger-pointing going on between potential responsible parties."

Carsten manages the clean-up division of the TCEQ. His agency has known about the McAllen plume for at least 16 years.

During that time, the State of Texas received billions of dollars from the oil and gas companies. We asked if the delay in action is because Texas is considered an oil and gas state.

Carsten says, "That has nothing to do with my day-to-day decision making."

He tells us his first priority is public health and safety. But he tells us the pollution in McAllen isn't a health and safety issue.

Carsten says the families living here are safe, because the plume is more than 15 feet underground. He also says no one drinks the groundwater.

NEWSCHANNEL 5 pointed out that by law the state is required to get pollution like this cleaned up. And because of our investigation, it's going to be.

Carsten says, "You've brought this issue to our attention. And we're going to act on it."

He tells us says one company, Union Pacific, has already agreed to help clean up. We tried contacting the other companies. But so far, we haven't gotten a response.

After more than a decade of fighting, the cleanup is welcome news to Roth and McClain.

"Everyone's dropped the ball here," says McClain, "They acknowledge this is one of the largest plumes in the country, yet they've done nothing about it."

Now the state is finally doing something about it. The Texas Railroad Commission is re-opening its case. Thursday at 10 a.m., they'll meet with the TCEQ and experts in Austin.

They promise they're going to figure out who caused this and push hard to get it cleaned up.

NEWSCHANNEL 5 will stay on top of the developments, until this pollution is gone for good and the people who live here can feel safe again.

There are five known areas of contamination in McAllen. As for other Valley cities, NEWSCHANNEL 5 is still working to get answers.

The state admits they're not aware of every single trouble spot. But we learned possible locations include areas near train tracks, old gas stations, and locations with underground pipelines.