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Hi-Yield

No further Superfund environmental response actions are required on this former pesticide manufacturer in Commerce, Hunt County.

Site Background

The Hi-Yield site is located on the northeast side of the Southern Pacific Railroad, bordered by Sycamore Street (south), Johnson Street (east), and Ross Street (north) in Commerce. This site was used from the early 1950s until 1972 in the distribution of insecticides and cotton defoliants, the formulation and packaging of such products, and the manufacture of arsenic and monosodium acid methylarsenate. The TNRCC documented highly elevated levels of arsenic in the yard of a home located adjacent to Sayle Creek, downstream of the Hi-Yield site. Arsenic and pesticide contamination was detected both on and off the Hi-Yield site, including additional residential lots in the surrounding Norris community.

Superfund Actions Taken to Date

  • September 21, 1993, a September 21, 1993, a legal notice was published in the Texas Register (18 TexReg 6486) describing the site, and proposing the site for listing on the state Superfund registry. A public meeting to receive citizen comments on the proposal was to be held at the Sub-Fire Station in Commerce on October 14, 1993.
  • September 9, 1994, a September 9, 1994, a legal notice was published in the Texas Register and the Commerce Journal stating that more than 3,300 laboratory analyses on 2,000 samples showed that arsenic in the soil posed a threat to public health and safety on the approximate 200 acres of residential and commercial property surrounding the former chemical plant site. The threat was considered too serious to delay action. The notice announced a public meeting at the city hall in Commerce on October 25, 1994, to receive comments on a proposed immediate remedial action which was excavation and off-site disposal of contaminated soil.
  • November 1994, EPA Region 6 assumed responsibility for remediation of the site.
  • April 24, 1995, EPA conducted soil removal actions on residential areas.
  • October 2, 1995, EPA conducted a removal action along portions of Sayler Creek.
  • October 25, 1995, EPA excavated soil from the facility for off-site disposal.
  • January 31, 1996, to complete the removal, contaminated soil was concentrated in a pile, surrounded by a ditched slurry wall and then capped with clean soil and vegetation.
  • July 1, 1998, a legal notice was published in the Commerce Journal proposing to delete the site from the state Superfund registry in accordance with 30 TAC §335.344(c) and inviting public comment on the determination that the site no longer presented an imminent and substantial endangerment to public health and safety or the environment. No further remedial action planned.
  • July 3, 1998, a legal notice was published in the Texas Register (23 TexReg 7136) proposing to delete the site from the state Superfund registry in accordance with 30 TAC §335.344(c) and inviting public comment on the determination that the site no longer presented an imminent and substantial endangerment to public health and safety or the environment. No further remedial action planned.
  • August 28, 1998, a legal notice was published in the Texas Register (23 TexReg 8915) officially deleting the Hi-Yield site from the state Superfund registry in accordance with 30 TAC §335.344(c). No challenges or comments were received to the determination that the site no longer presented an imminent and substantial endangerment to public health and safety or the environment. No further remedial action planned.
  • November 17, 1998, the State of Texas received a $2.554 million settlement from a responsible party for the state share of recovery of Superfund investigation and remedial action-related costs.
  • September 1, 2002, effective date of the name change from Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC) to Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).

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