Howard County, TX
The federal environmental record for Howard County (population 30,554): what is on file, where it is, and what remains open. Sources and retrieval dates are on the methodology page.
0
Superfund NPL sites
2
federal cleanup sites
2
PFAS-detecting water systems
6
TRI facilities
5
open tank releases
Drinking water: PFAS testing
Public water systems serving Howard with at least one PFAS detection under UCMR5. The federal limit for PFOA and PFOS is 4 ng/L; EPA proposed in May 2026 to rescind the limits for the other compounds, which are shown for information.
| System | Highest results | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| CITY OF BIG SPRING TX1140001 | PFBA: 12.5 ng/L PFHxS: 11.1 ng/L PFBS: 5.8 ng/L | above final limit |
| CITY OF COAHOMA TX1140002 | PFBA: 6 ng/L PFHxS: 4.3 ng/L PFBS: 3 ng/L | detected |
On a system with detections? Testing and treatment options
Facilities reporting toxic releases (2024)
6 facilities in Howard filed TRI reports for 2024, totalling 542k lb released.
| Facility | City | Top chemicals | Total released |
|---|---|---|---|
| ALON USA-BIG SPRING REFINERY | BIG SPRING | Benzene, Methanol | 368k lb |
| BIG SPRING CARBON BLACK PLANT | BIG SPRING | Sulfuric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Carbon disulfide | 147k lb |
| ENDURANCE LIFT SOLUTIONS LLC | BIG SPRING | Styrene | 18k lb |
| R2R & D LLC DBA SUPEROD | BIG SPRING | Styrene | 7k lb |
| NALCO CO - BIG SPRING | BIG SPRING | Methanol, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene | 1k lb |
| BIG SPRING ASPHALT PLANT | BIG SPRING | Polycyclic aromatic compounds | 3 lb |
Underground fuel tanks
EPA's UST Finder records 184 tank facilities in Howard: 111 tanks in service and 391 closed. 68 fuel releases are on record, of which 5 remain open. Open releases are cleanups that have not reached "no further action".
Radon
EPA maps Howard as Zone 3, the lowest predicted indoor radon (under 2 pCi/L average). Radon and air quality are covered in depth on lung.com.
The record for one specific address
County figures blur what matters: distance. The Address Environmental Report runs these same federal datasets against one address and reports every site, tank, polluter and water result around it, with distances, in about a minute.
Get the report - $39All federal cleanup sites on file
The wider Superfund enterprise inventory (SEMS) for Howard, including sites assessed but never listed. Presence here records that EPA had reason to look, not a finding of danger.
- BIG SPRING TRAIN DERAILMENTBIG SPRING
- KERR-MCGEE HOWARD COUNTY SPILLBIG SPRING