Sawtooth Oil Spill Response

Around 4:00 PM on December 26, 2023, EPA received a National Response Center report of an oil discharge from a Sawtooth oil-water separator in Texas City, Galveston County, Texas 77510. State and local agencies originally responded and later asked for federal assistance to respond and assess the situation.

EPA staff and contractors arrived on-site at 7:00 AM on December 27, 2023. EPA is coordinating with the responsible party Sawtooth Oil and Gas, Texas City Emergency Management, U.S. Coast Guard, Texas Railroad Commission, Texas General Land Office, and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. EPA is providing oversight of the response efforts and community air monitoring. EPA has also notified the local Poison Center for situational awareness.

EPA arrived onsite at 7:00 AM on December 27, 2023, to conduct community air monitoring. EPA measured volatile organic compounds (VOCs) with a handheld MultiRAE multi-gas meter and measured benzene with a handheld UltraRAE and Dräger X-pid. If a sustained reading of 1 part per million (ppm) or greater for VOCs was observed, a benzene specific measurement was taken using an UltraRAE with a benzene separation tube or the Dräger X-pid. The incident-specific action level for benzene is 0.5 ppm. All measurements for VOCs in the community were below 1 ppm and all measurements for benzene were below the action level.