City’s Public Safety Headquarters Property Formerly EPA Site

By: Samantha Rae Herrera and Jose G. Landa, Copyright 2015, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc.

The City of Eagle Pass’ proposed property for the future Public Safety Headquarters, located at 489 South Monroe Street and formerly known as the Texas Army National Guard Armory, was formerly designated as a United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Site for possible lead contamination, according to the EPA’s website. The EPA website identifies the Eagle Pass property as TX0001028109 with the site name as Texas Army National Guard Armory.

The City of Eagle Pass Public Safety Headquarters will be the future joint Police and Fire Departments’ headquarters at the old Texas Army National Guard Armory located across the street from Rogers Field in Fort Duncan Park.

The Eagle Pass City Council is seeking to renovate and remodel the former Texas Army National Guard Armory property site as the new Public Safety Headquarters for both the Police and Fire Departments. The City Council and City Administration estimate the total cost to renovate and remodel the former Texas Army National Guard Armory property into the new Public Safety Headquarters is approximately $6.5 Million.

The City of Eagle Pass has been diligently working on plans to renovate and remodel the former Texas Army National Guard Armory as its new Public Safety Headquarters for approximately two years, including numerous meetings with architects, both the Police and Fire Departments, the Public Safety Headquarters Committee, and City Council public workshops and meetings. City plans to renovate and remodel the former EPA Site into Eagle Pass’ new Public Safety Headquarters are extensive, well-developed, and imminent. The Eagle Pass City Council is seeking up to $10 Million Certificates of Obligation including $3.5 Million for use in the construction and furnishing of the new Public Safety Headquarters during 2016.

The proposed property site for the new police and fire department headquarters may need to be reviewed and have an environmental impact study or assessment done by the City of Eagle Pass before starting construction and spending more money on the critical public project.

The once Texas Army National Guard Armory was placed on the EPA Site list in 1996. An EPA site is an uncontrolled or abandoned place where hazardous waste is or was located, possibly affecting local ecosystems or people. The former Texas Army National Guard Armory site was a state facility, but is no longer listed on the National Priorities List (NPL). According to the EPA website, the former Texas Army National Armory property was listed as being investigated for possible lead contamination. It is unknown as of press time if the Texas Army National Guard Armory was remediated, removed, or cleaned of any toxic or hazardous chemicals since having been listed as an EPA Site.

According to the EPA, “lead is a naturally-occurring element that can be harmful to humans when ingested or inhaled, particularly to children under the age of six. Lead poisoning can cause a number of adverse human health effects, but is particularly detrimental to the neurological development of children.”

The Eagle Pass Business Journal interviewed a City of Eagle Pass employee if they knew that the future home of the City’s Public Safety Headquarters was a former EPA Site for potential lead contamination, and answered that they did not but would have concerns working at the new Public Safety Headquarters if it was listed as an EPA Site. The City employee expressed concerns to their personal health and safety if the new Public Safety Headquarters property site was once listed as an EPA Site and has not been remediated from any potential contamination of any toxic or hazardous chemicals.

This salient and critical information will definitely have to be evaluated, researched, and considered by the City Council and City Administration whether the property is suitable for its intended use, whether the site is safe for city employees and citizens public health, whether it is prudent to continue with their current plans to renovate and remodel the former EPA Site into the new Eagle Pass Public Safety Headquarters, and whether surrounding properties to the former Texas Army National Armory Guard are also compromised and/or possibly contaminated.