State regulators ordered a $175,000 sanction and the continuation of remediation at 800 Middle Street, where lead-contaminated ash was discovered during the construction of an affordable housing complex.
The penalty for toxic ash in Houston has now been formalized. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) closed an agreement with the city’s housing authority, now reconfigured as Housing Alliance HTX, to sanction $175,000 for the violations detected at 800 Middle Street, where contaminated ash was found alongside an affordable housing development. The official file describes the site as two parcels: one to the north, still undeveloped, and another to the south, where the Pointe at Bayou Bend complex was erected.
The TCEQ document places the violations at an inspection conducted on April 23, 2024. There, the regulator concluded that the housing authority discovered ash in the north tract, adjacent to Buffalo Bayou, and failed to notify the state within the required deadline. It also noted that the handling of the material exposed people or environmental receptors to contaminants above protective levels.
The findings in the file include lead contamination and total petroleum hydrocarbons in site soils. The TCEQ also noted in writing that the housing authority subsequently submitted a new soil management plan and spill notification, as well as a new round of sampling for metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PCBs, dioxins, and furans.
TCEQ requires cleanup of the north tract and ongoing monitoring in the south
The agreement not only imposes a monetary sanction. It also requires continuing corrective actions. In the north tract, the TCEQ ordered the cleaning and removal of all known contaminated soils from the site and transporting them to an authorized facility, or addressing their remediation under the applicable state program. The document also requires continuing air control measures, proper waste handling, and surface runoff management during the term of the order.
In the south tract, where Pointe at Bayou Bend has already been built, the state concluded on September 11, 2025 that the land met residential-use standards, but left that approval conditioned on meeting pending requirements tied to the rest of the property. Later, on October 3, 2025, the authority filed a corrective action closure report for that portion, describing the installation of a concrete cap over the area where lead exceedances and hydrocarbons remained in surface soils. The file also notes that a deed notice was filed in Harris County to record where that cap is located and how it should be maintained and monitored.
That sequence aligns with the lease-up announced in January. In an official communication, Housing Alliance HTX reported on January 15, 2026 that the development would begin accepting residents after the TCEQ determined that the South Tract met residential standards and that the City of Houston did not object to that use. The organization described the project as a 398-unit, 100% affordable community built to address the housing need and prioritize families displaced by the I-45 expansion.
The money will not go directly to the state
The sanction approved by the TCEQ has a peculiarity. The enforcement file calculates a final penalty of $175,000, but the agreement allows the amount to be channeled to a Supplemental Environmental Project instead of being paid directly to the state. In this case, the funds were authorized for the Clean Vehicles Partnership project, administered through the Houston-Galveston Area Council’s air quality division. The objective described in the document is to reduce emissions by replacing or retrofitting old school buses.
The agreement itself sets a schedule. Within 30 days from the effective date, the authority must make the contribution to the project administrator and send proof of payment to the TCEQ SEP coordinator. If it fails to meet that obligation, the regulator can demand full or partial payment of the amount directly to the state agency.
The 800 Middle site remains split between opening and remediation
The current course of the case leaves two realities on the same site. On one hand, the south tract is already approved for housing and the Pointe at Bayou Bend complex has begun opening to residents this year. On the other hand, the north tract remains fenced and under remediation. The official Housing Alliance HTX communication itself acknowledges that concerns arose after finding ash buried from the former Velasco Street incinerator on a nearby property owned by them. It also states that the South Tract does not contain ash from the incinerator and that it underwent extensive testing before opening.
In the TCEQ file, the 800 Middle Street site remains classified as an industrial and hazardous waste case within the Houston region. The order is registered as Docket No. 2025-1046-IHW-E and keeps the corrective obligation at the site in effect.
