Community Information about the Union Pacific Site in Houston's Fifth Ward

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is committed to advancing environmental justice and incorporating equity considerations into all aspects of our work, including permitting, enforcement, investigation, and cleanup activities under two EPA authorities to ensure that historic and ongoing impacts of contamination on overburdened communities are fully considered and addressed: the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA).

For up-to-date information on the CERCLA investigation (also known as Superfund) and ongoing community engagement, please visit our Fifth Ward/Kashmere Gardens UPRR Hubsite. 

For information on RCRA activities, please read below.

The Union Pacific Railroad Houston Wood Preserving Works site (UPRR) is located adjacent to the Kashmere Gardens community within the Fifth Ward in the City of Houston. Formerly owned and operated by Southern Pacific Railroad, the site ceased operating as a wood preserving facility in 1984.

UPRR is conducting ongoing investigation and cleanup of the site under a Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) Industrial and Hazardous Waste Permit under its approved RCRA program. Additionally, EPA is overseeing an investigation under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) authority at this site and in the surrounding neighborhood. 

• Learn more about the UPRR site.

On February 27, 2023, EPA announced an Administrative Settlement Agreement and Order on Consent with UPRR. The consent order compels UPRR to investigate and evaluate potential contamination in and around the former wood preserving facility in the Greater Fifth Ward area of Houston, Texas. UPRR will conduct the investigation and evaluation and EPA will oversee its work.

• Press release about the Agreement and Order on Consent.

In July 2022, EPA received notifications from the Bayou City Initiative, City of Houston, and Harris County that they intend to initiate citizen suits, on or after 90 days, in Federal Court against UPRR under RCRA regarding the storage and/or disposal of hazardous waste at the Houston Wood Preserving Works facility. 

• 90‐Day Notice of Intent to Sue from the City of Houston (pdf) (311.04 KB)
• 90-Day Notice of Intent to Sue from the Office of the Harris County Attorney (pdf) (255.13 KB)
• 90-Day Notice of Intent to Sue from the Bayou City Initiative (pdf) (2.31 MB)

On May 4, 2022, EPA responded to correspondence from the Texas Health and Environment Alliance (THEA) and a Fifth Ward resident.

• EPA Letter to Texas Health and Environment Alliance (THEA) (pdf) (131.07 KB, May 4, 2022)
• EPA Letter to Fifth Ward resident (pdf) (220.81 KB, May 4, 2022)
• Letter to EPA from THEA (pdf) (2.24 MB, April 8, 2022)

On March 14, 2022, EPA finalized comments and recommendations after an extensive review of TCEQ’s proposed permit renewal and corrective action amendments that govern cleanup of contamination at the UPRR site.

• Comment Letter from EPA to TCEQ (pdf) (March 14, 2022)

On September 9, 2021, EPA's Acting Assistant Administrator for the Office of Land and Emergency Management, Barry Breen, sent a letter to UPRR transmitting the questions posed by Mayor Turner in his June 25, 2021, letter and requested that the company provide answers to the questions by September 30, 2021 (extended to October 21, 2021). EPA received UPRR’s response on October 21, 2021.    

• Letter to EPA from Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner (pdf) (3.93 MB, June 25, 2021)
• EPA Letter to UPRR (pdf) (5.03 MB, September 9, 2021)
• UPRR Response to EPA Letter (pdf) (6.68 MB, October 21, 2021)
  • Documents provided in the October 21, 2021 Union Pacific response to EPA