Houston Public Works presents municipal setting designation for former Ultrafine Cleaners site on Westheimer

Cassandra Walker, administration manager with Houston Public Works, presented a municipal setting designation application for property at 12280 through 12288 Westheimer Road. Walker said the designation certifies that on‑site groundwater is contaminated and should not be used for potable supply; it is administered by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and requires a local public hearing before TCEQ review.

Walker said the affected area is beneath and immediately downgradient of the former Ultrafine Cleaners lease space at the Village Shops shopping center. She said historical records show the dry cleaner used chlorinated solvent (perchloroethylene) beginning in the mid‑1980s and switched to petroleum‑based solvents by 2004. The presentation described sampling from six monitoring wells that, the applicant reported, show the groundwater plume is "stable or decreasing." Walker said sub‑slab soil gas samples beneath the dry cleaner space did not contain chlorinated volatile organic compounds above EPA screening levels.

Walker explained that municipal setting designations typically address groundwater 20 to 60 feet below surface, while municipal drinking water supplies come from much deeper wells (she said around 600 feet). She said the applicant has enrolled the site in the Texas voluntary cleanup program (VCP number 3031) and, if the city approves a local MSD ordinance, the applicant will submit the TCEQ MSD application for further state review and approval.

Walker described the MSD process steps for the committee: pre‑application, city review, public meeting and hearing (the committee hearing was part of that local process), city council decision, and then submission to TCEQ for its comment period and decision. She said the public was given 30 days' notice before the public meeting and that the complete application is available for public inspection at the Robinson Westchase Neighborhood Library (address provided during the presentation) and online at the Houston Public Works MSD web page. Walker invited questions and said senior scientist Arun Nupane would answer technical questions about the site.

No formal vote or city decision occurred at the committee meeting. The presentation emphasized that an MSD is a land‑use and public‑health tool to prohibit potable use of contaminated groundwater while encouraging cleanup and redevelopment; Walker said responsible parties remain responsible for cleanup and an MSD does not excuse mitigation obligations.