Primary Department: Management and Budget
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Daniel Ramos, Executive Director
Secondary Department: County Engineer
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official: Milton Rahman, County Engineer
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Financial Authorization
Project ID (if applicable): TBD
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A - Not a grant item
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request for discussion and possible action to authorize use of up to $1.5 million from the Public Contingency Fund for containment and cleanup of chemicals that were released from a Bluebonnet Chemical Solutions facility in Baytown in December 2024.
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Background and Discussion:
Commissioners Court policy on use of the Public Contingency Fund, formerly called the Public Improvement Contingency (PIC) fund, was most recently amended August 15, 2024 and states that "[c]ontingency funds are to be used for major, unforeseen events [...] to respond, mitigate, or recover from an emergency endangering public health, safety, or property."
On December 10, 2024, a fire was reported at the Bluebonnet Chemical Solutions facility in Baytown. Due to this fire, chemicals were released into the environment, including into channel Q112-05-00, which is a part of the County's channel system. Additional liquid was discharged into the channel on December 12. Various Harris County departments have been responding to this chemical leak, including the Harris County Flood Control District (FCD), the Harris County Engineering Department (HCED), and the Harris County Pollution Control Services Department. Hazmat International Inc. (HMI) has been working...
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