User:Gayatrikds

Summary
Historic treatment of rail ties in the Houston, Texas Fifth Ward and Kashmere Gardens neighborhoods has exposed residents to cancer-causing soil contamination. Creosote and its extenders were used in wood preservation processes at a nearby rail yard and have been identified as carcinogens that are hazardous to human health.

Former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and the EPA have advocated alongside the community for environmental justice. As of 2015, the Greater Fifth Ward neighborhood had a majority population of color: 48% non-Hispanic Black, 46% Hispanic or Latinx, and 4% non-Hispanic white. As of 2015, the Kashmere Gardens neighborhood had 10,055 residents, 67% of which were non-Hispanic Black, 30% were Hispanic or Latinx, and 1% were non-Hispanic white.

For decades, the defunct Southern Pacific Railroad wood-preserving facility dumped chemicals into an unlined pit for disposal, and the facility’s operations were eventually linked to groundwater contamination observed at the site. Residents noticed high cancer rates in the community, and the Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed a cancer cluster in the area in 2019. In 2021, the EPA collaborated with the Houston Health Department and Mayor Turner to begin addressing these concerns. In 2022, the City of Houston, Harris County, and the nonprofit organization Bayou City Initiative filed a lawsuit against Union Pacific Railroad under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act about the contamination and initiated a plan to support residents. As of 2023, the Fifth Ward Voluntary Relocation Plan has begun with an initial $5 million from the City of Houston allocated to the community. In 2024, results from further soil testing will be released.

Resident Voluntary Relocation Plan
In July of 2023, former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner announced the development of the Fifth Ward Voluntary Relocation Plan. He created a “strike force” that would relocate affected residents living within two to three blocks of the site, the 41 residential lots between Liberty, Lockwood, Wipprecht, and Jewel streets. Turner said the goal of the plan was to relocate residents to nearby uncontaminated areas as quickly as possible. He estimated that the relocation plan would cost between $24 and $26 million and hoped that Union Pacific would step in to cover costs. Union Pacific noted that they would not participate in relocation efforts until their testing alongside the EPA was completed.

In September of 2023, the Houston City Council voted unanimously to allocate $5 million towards the Fifth Ward Voluntary Relocation plan to cover the costs of those wanting to relocate immediately. The $5 million was framed as a small initial investment, and the City Council asked Union Pacific, the EPA, and other donors to fund the remainder of the relocation plan. As of the City Council meeting, nine residents are considering relocation. Through the plan, the city offered renters $10,000 to relocate, which is estimated to cover two months of rent and moving costs. Houses of homeowners would then be appraised and bought out by the city for up to $250,000 per home.

Mayor Turner’s term ended in December of 2023, and in January of 2024, new mayor John Whitmire paused the relocation plan, as many residents were wary about leaving their Fifth Ward and Kashmere Gardens communities and wanted more information on the relocation plan’s logistics. Then, in February of 2024, Houston City Council voted unanimously to allocate $2 million of the initial $5 million towards the Houston Land Bank to manage the relocation process. As of February 2024, residents in nine of the affected homes were considering relocation.