In 2018, a group of concerned citizens met at Lakewood Baptist Church. The discussion covered an older, informal study, and inquiry from the 1990’s. There were environmental concerns about cancer rates in the Williams Estates / Meadowlark area of District 8 near Shiloh and Forest Rd. The topic was renewed and the group chose to move forward again in investigating and pursuing verification of the neighborhood’s safety.
The Garland Texan has an excellent article that covers the history here:
https://thegarlandtexan.com/citizens-group-expresses-concern-over-possible-environmental-contamination/
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Texas Commission for Environmental Quality (TCEQ) were both engaged, as suspected environmental issues of this type are well beyond the abilities of municipalities to tackle.
The TCEQ performed statistical analysis on cancer rates for the area and found them to be statistically insignificant. However, the biggest source of error for these types of studies is that people move homes from time to time. Since cancers are reported for the current residence of a person and they take awhile to develop, it is extraordinarily difficult to perform a precise study.
The City of Garland, at my urging, covered the cost of a very basic set of initial soil samples- which is about all that we are equipped to do. The results of these tests, which we are expected to receive soon, will tell the EPA if the area warrants further investigation.
As part of their standard process, the EPA produced a preliminary report which was delivered to the citizen’s group and to the city on the same day. Those reports are available here:
Globe Union PA Report – Final Narrative.pdf (28 pages)
Globe Union PA Report – Final References.pdf (1222 pages)
Globe Union PA Report – Final.pdf (1250 pages, full document – Narrative + References)
My role in this is to be an advocate for the neighborhood. Since cities are unequipped to handle environmental questions of this size and scope, we will simply facilitate the neighborhood and other levels of government working through their investigation. Since I am not trained in environmental science I will largely refrain from giving my opinions on the subject. I will use my website to host reports and test results for the most part and let the experts speak. We as a city will continue to guarantee access to meeting spaces, city data, and we will make sure that the citizens continue to have their voice amplified so that we have a full, valid, and scientifically rigorous investigation.
Meadowlark / Williams Estates Concerned Citizens Facebook Group