Nueces, TX
Transparent derived index from EPA TRI / SDWIS / Superfund extracts: not an official EPA rating. Fixed caps: facilities ≤25 pts (50+ = max), log10 releases ≤25 pts, Superfund ≤25 pts (5/site), health-violation systems ≤15 pts (3/system), high-chemical facilities ≤10 pts. Bands: High ≥60, Moderate ≥30. See methodology. This is a different measure than the EJ Screening score for this county, which ranks it by percentile against other tracked counties rather than against these fixed caps.
Environmental data for Nueces in Texas · Population: 352,829
TRI sites such as US Ecology Texas Inc; Citgo Refining & Chemicals Co LP East Plant; Flint Hills Resources Corpus Christi LLC - West Plant; SDWIS systems such as NUECES COUNTY WCID 4; NUECES COUNTY WCID 3; CORPUS CHRISTI NAVAL AIR STATION; NPL sites such as Brine Service Company anchor Nueces, TX's EPA extract. Derived burden score 72/100 (High Risk) uses fixed national caps on density, log release volume, Superfund count, and health-flagged systems - not an official EPA rating.
EPCRA disclosures in Nueces total 59.5M lbs; health-flagged SDWIS rows include NUECES COUNTY WCID 4; NUECES COUNTY WCID 3; CORPUS CHRISTI NAVAL AIR STATION, while US Ecology Texas Inc leads TRI pounds. AQS median AQI 51 / peak 153 in 2024.
Largest TRI sites in the extract: US Ecology Texas Inc; Citgo Refining & Chemicals Co LP East Plant; Flint Hills Resources Corpus Christi LLC - West Plant. Named SDWIS systems: NUECES COUNTY WCID 4; NUECES COUNTY WCID 3; CORPUS CHRISTI NAVAL AIR STATION. NPL sites on record: Brine Service Company. Burden score 72/100 (High Risk) is the only weighted composite here; tables reproduce EPA disclosure history, not a current-safety verdict.
Release-over-release change
What changed for Nueces, TX: EPA TRI 2023 reporting year
Same facilities, both years
-12.0%
24 facilities that filed in 2022 and 2023
Whole inventory
-12.0%
13.2 million lb → 11.6 million lb, every facility that filed
Between the two reporting years, 0 facilities filed for the first time and 2 stopped filing. Facilities entering or leaving the inventory are excluded from the same-facility comparison above.
- Nueces, TX's total reported releases fell from 13.2 million lb in 2022 to 11.6 million lb in 2023, based on EPA TRI filings.
- Nueces, TX's off-site transfers rose from 1.3 million lb in 2022 to 1.9 million lb in 2023, based on EPA TRI filings.
- Nueces, TX's land releases fell from 7.9 million lb in 2022 to 6.0 million lb in 2023, based on EPA TRI filings.
- Nueces, TX's air releases fell from 2.6 million lb in 2022 to 2.4 million lb in 2023, based on EPA TRI filings.
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 | 178 (49%) | 172 | 15 | 153 |
| 2023 | 196 (54%) | 167 | 2 | 101 |
| 2022 | 208 (57%) | 155 | 2 | 106 |
| 2021 | 200 (55%) | 162 | 2 | 113 |
| 2020 | 227 (62%) | 137 | 0 | 162 |
Source: 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 (9)
| System | System pop (SDWIS) | Violations |
|---|---|---|
| NUECES COUNTY WCID 4 | 14,880 | 13 |
| NUECES COUNTY WCID 3 | 14,000 | 24 |
| CORPUS CHRISTI NAVAL AIR STATION | 7,048 | 4 |
| CITY OF BISHOP | 3,186 | 0 |
| RIVER ACRES WSC | 2,700 | 10 |
| VIOLET WSC | 2,670 | 1 |
| NUECES COUNTY WCID 5 | 933 | 1 |
| CITY OF AGUA DULCE | 848 | 0 |
| CITY OF DRISCOLL | 680 | 5 |
TRI Facilities (36)
Superfund Sites (1)
| Site Name | Status | HRS Score |
|---|---|---|
| Brine Service Company | NPL Site | 50.00 |
Cities in Nueces (8)
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the environmental risk level in Nueces, Texas? ▼
Are there Superfund sites in Nueces? ▼
How many toxic release facilities are in Nueces? ▼
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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.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.