Public hearing held for MSD at 3511 West 12th; consultant says contamination source removed and monitoring shows decline

The Quality of Life Committee held the public hearing required for a municipal settings designation (MSD) application for the property at 3511 West 12th Street in Houston.

Cassandra Walker of Houston Water summarized the MSD program, explaining that an MSD is a voluntary deed restriction that prevents the use of shallow groundwater for drinking and helps enable redevelopment of contaminated sites while ensuring public protection. She noted the state (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality) leads environmental cleanup and that the City of Houston requires applicants to enroll in a state or federal cleanup program, demonstrate a delineated and stable or decreasing groundwater plume, and provide third‑party certification.

Walker said the site — identified as project 2023172ACP — is a 5.745‑acre commercial property composed of two tracts and enrolled in the TCEQ Industrial Hazardous Waste Corrective Action Program under registration number 38591. She told the committee application materials are available at Heights Neighborhood Library and online at the city's municipal settings designation web page.

The applicant's geoscientist, Darryl Modlin, told the committee the property was previously used for metal fabrication and that an oil‑water separator/sump and associated metal cleaners were likely the source of contamination. "The source has since been removed, and is no longer a source," Modlin said, adding that quarterly groundwater monitoring over a year showed declines in concentrations of the contaminant of concern (1,1‑dichloroethylene).

Chair called for public comment after the presentation; no one present to speak was available for the MSD item, and the committee closed the hearing for this MSD. The city will proceed with its MSD review steps and submit the application to TCEQ for its review and action.