Galveston, TX

High Risk (61/100)

A PlainEnviro-computed score from reported facility/violation counts, not an official EPA rating, health forecast, or population-adjusted rate. See methodology. This is a different measure than the EJ Screening score for this county, which ranks it by percentile against every other tracked county rather than against fixed national thresholds.

Environmental data for Galveston in Texas · Population: 354,721

Galveston, TX is tracked across three EPA datasets covering 24 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) facilities, 21 Safe Drinking Water Act systems, and 0 Superfund National Priorities List sites. Together these generate an environmental burden score of 61/100 (High Risk), calibrated against national distributions for facility density, chemical release volume, Superfund concentration, and water-system health violations.

Industrial disclosures inside the county total 47.1M lbs of reported toxic releases under EPCRA Section 313, while 9 water systems carry an active health-based violation in the SDWIS record. EPA Air Quality System monitors logged a median AQI of 44 and a peak AQI of 159 in 2024, with 68% of observed days rated "Good" (0–50).

All figures below draw directly from federal EPA records, TRI self-reported emissions, SDWIS compliance history, NPL Hazard Ranking System scores, and AQS daily AQI summaries, and are not adjusted, weighted, or forecast. A past violation or elevated score does not itself indicate current unsafe conditions; it documents the regulatory and disclosure history publicly filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through the most recent reporting cycle.

Population
354,721
TRI Facilities
24
Water Systems
21
Superfund Sites
0
Total Releases
47.1M lbs

Air Quality History (2020–2024)

EPA Air Quality Index (AQI) data showing how many days per year fall into each air quality category.

Year Good Moderate Unhealthy (SG) Max AQI
2024 245 (68%) 109 6 159
2023 177 (49%) 164 19 159
2022 236 (65%) 122 6 159
2021 259 (72%) 99 3 122
2020 238 (66%) 119 3 143
2024 Good Air Quality: 68% of days
Unhealthy days: 8
Median AQI: 44

Source: EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by County EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by County AQI categories: Good (0-50), Moderate (51-100), Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (101-150), Unhealthy (151-200), Very Unhealthy (201-300), Hazardous (301+)

For real-time air quality readings and pollutant breakdowns in Texas, see the EPA's AirNow.gov.

Water Systems (21)

System Population Violations
CITY OF LEAGUE CITY 128,412 0
CITY OF FRIENDSWOOD 43,190 0
GALVESTON COUNTY WCID 1 30,399 0
BOLIVAR PENINSULA SUD 19,476 0
CITY OF LA MARQUE 15,154 0
SAN LEON MUD 11,622 0
BACLIFF MUD 8,900 0
CITY OF HITCHCOCK 8,379 14
GALVESTON COUNTY WCID 8 7,065 0
GALVESTON COUNTY FWSD 6 TIKI ISLAND 2,568 0
BAYVIEW MUD 1,839 0
CITY OF JAMAICA BEACH 1,072 1
COTTON BAYOU PARK 270 130
LONE PINE SUBDIVISION 141 12
SOUTH HATFIELD TRAILER COURT 129 0
TIFFANY WATER 128 0
RAIN RIVER ESTATES 100 1
K & B WATERWORKS 81 1
WINDSONG PARK 78 4
HIGHLAND BAYOU ESTATES WSC 30 19
GULF COAST WATER AUTHORITY TX CITY 0 1

TRI Facilities (24)

# Facility Total Releases
1 Blanchard Refining Co LLC 23.5M lbs
2 Isp Technologies Inc 11.5M lbs
3 Valero Refining-Texas LP 8.0M lbs
4 Ineos Acetyls Chemicals Texas City 2.0M lbs
5 Union Carbide Corp Texas City Plant 586.6K lbs
6 Bp Amoco Chemical Company 444.0K lbs
7 Clean Harbors San Leon Inc 381.4K lbs
8 Ineos Styrolution America LLC 311.3K lbs
9 Linde Inc Texas City Smr 281.4K lbs
10 Texas International Terminals 83.7K lbs
11 The Dallas Group of America Inc 26.3K lbs
12 Texas International Refining 8.0K lbs
13 Texas City Extraction Plant 7.3K lbs
14 Third Coast Packaging Inc. Friendswood 7.2K lbs
15 Texas City Crude Oil Terminal 4.8K lbs
16 Custom Chemical Services 3.4K lbs
17 Martin Operating Ptnr-Galveston 2.8K lbs
18 Southwest Shipyard L.P. - Galveston 250 lbs
19 Air Products Industrial Gases LLC 71 lbs
20 U.S. Coast Guard Base Galveston 13 lbs
21 Scv Valve 10 lbs
22 Cemex Construction Materials Houston LLC - Galveston 0 lbs
23 Momentive Performance Materials Inc. 0 lbs
24 Halliburton Galveston Field Camp 0 lbs

Cities in Galveston (6)

San Leon
Pop: -
1 facilities · 1 water
Galveston
Pop: -
7 facilities · 1 water
Hitchcock
Pop: -
1 facilities · 3 water
Texas City
Pop: -
13 facilities · 2 water
Santa Fe
Pop: -
1 facilities · 4 water
Friendswood
Pop: -
1 facilities · 2 water

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the environmental risk level in Galveston, Texas?
Galveston, TX has an environmental risk score of 61/100 (High Risk), based on 24 TRI facilities, 0 Superfund sites, and 21 water systems on record. 9 water systems have health-based violations. Source: EPA TRI, SDWIS, and Superfund NPL.
Are there Superfund sites in Galveston?
No Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) sites are currently registered in Galveston, TX in the EPA database.
How many toxic release facilities are in Galveston?
Galveston, TX has 24 TRI-reporting facilities on record with the EPA Toxic Release Inventory, with a combined total of 47.1M lbs in reported toxic releases. TRI facilities self-report annual chemical release data to the EPA.
What is the air quality in Galveston?
In 2024, Galveston, TX recorded a median AQI of 44 and a peak AQI of 159. 68% of monitored days had "Good" air quality (AQI 0–50). Source: EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by County.
Is the drinking water safe in Galveston?
Galveston, TX has 21 EPA-regulated water systems. 9 systems have reported health-based violations (MCL exceedances). A past violation does not necessarily mean water is currently unsafe. For current water quality, contact your local water utility. Source: EPA SDWIS.
What environmental agencies cover Galveston?
Environmental compliance in Galveston, Texas is overseen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at the federal level and the Texas state environmental agency. Facilities report to the EPA Toxic Release Inventory, water systems are regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act, and contaminated sites are managed under the Superfund program. Contact your state environmental agency for local concerns.

What does this county environmental profile show?

This county environmental profile rolls up EPA Toxics Release Inventory facility reports, Safe Drinking Water Information System public-water-system filings, and Superfund National Priorities List sites for the county boundary defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. Facility counts reflect facilities with a reporting address inside the county, not where downstream environmental effects may be observed. Population figures are from the most recent Census ACS 5-year estimate. The county detail page is updated whenever the upstream EPA programs publish revised data; see the methodology page for the documented ingest cadence and the editorial choices governing how aggregations are computed.

Related

Data sourced from U.S. EPA environmental datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainEnviro Editorial