Texas Commission on Environmental Quality fines Hardin County entity

The commission investigated the business location, 9700 Little Big Horn Dr. near Silsbee, on Feb. 2, 2022 and found eight violations.

The Commission said the business failed maintain all of the water treatment units, storage and pressure maintenance facilities; distribution system lines and related accessories in a watertight condition and free of excessive solids. The documents site four specific leaks within the distribution lines.

“Failure to maintain the distribution lines in a watertight condition could expose persons served by the facility to a significant amount of contaminants, which would not exceed levels protective of human health,” the documents state.

The Commission said the business also failed to initiate maintenance and housekeeping practices to ensure working conditions and appearance of the facilities and equipment, according to the documents. It was specifically noted that most of the fence and loose barbed wire were covered with excessive vegetation.

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The facility was also cited for not using an approved chemical or disinfectant of potable water that conforms to the American National Standards Institute/National Sanitation Violation Description Foundation standards. The documents state that no standards certification was provided for the hypochlorite used at the water plant.

It also did not review and updating the drought contingency plan at least every five years. The documents state that 100% of the rule requirements were not met. The four remaining violations also surrounded not updating plans or documents, not having clear records or not properly notifying the commission.

In addition to the fine, the business had to submit information on its operations and removed excessive vegetation from the fence and barbed wire, and tighten loose barbed wire by April 19, 2022. There is also a list of eight technical requirements, mostly surrounding submitting documents and information, to be completed within 30 to 285 days after the fine was issued.

Little Big Horn Services was just one of 20 entities the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality fined Sept. 6 for a total of $2.2 million for violations of state environmental regulations.