RELEASE: Congressman Menefee Demands Trump’s EPA Release Long-Delayed Health Risk Report as Fifth Ward Families Continue to Die of Cancer

November 9, 2026 Press Release HOUSTON, TX — Today, Congressman Christian D. Menefee (TX-18) stood alongside Fifth Ward and Kashmere Gardens residents, community advocates, and local elected officials to demand that the Trump administration's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) immediately release a long-delayed health risk evaluation of the contaminated Union Pacific rail yard and former Houston Wood Preserving Works site. In conjunction with the press conference, Rep. Menefee sent a new letter to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and Region 6 Administrator Scott Mason IV demanding the immediate release of the report, a 60-day public comment period, and a firm timeline for its completion. The Congressman gave EPA until December 1, 2026, to respond in writing, warning that he would use every tool available to him in the next Congress if the agency continues to withhold answers. The press conference came 396 days after EPA received a draft of the health risk evaluation on October 9, 2025, with residents still waiting to learn what years of testing mean for their health, their homes, and their families. “Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency has sat on a draft health risk assessment for 396 days. The families who live beside the rail yard have never seen it,” said Congressman Menefee . “So I'm here today as the congressman for this neighborhood to demand that EPA release the draft and start the public comment period.” For decades, residents of Fifth Ward and Kashmere Gardens have raised concerns about contamination from the former wood treatment facility, which left behind toxic chemicals in the surrounding environment. In 2019 , the Texas Department of State Health Services identified significantly higher than expected rates of certain cancers in census tracts surrounding the site, validating longstanding community concerns. In 2023 , EPA entered into an agreement requiring Union Pacific to investigate contamination at the site under federal Superfund law. The resulting health risk evaluation is intended to help determine what the contamination means for residents and what steps may be necessary to protect public health. But despite receiving the draft evaluation more than a year ago, EPA has yet to release it for public review or provide a firm timeline for its completion. “EPA has posted soil results, but numbers on a page don't tell a mother whether her backyard is safe,” Rep. Menefee said. “No family should have to pay to guess at an answer that the administration has right now.” Rep. Menefee first pressed EPA for answers in a July 2 letter , requesting a briefing, access to draft materials, information about any extensions requested by Union Pacific, and a timeline for the final report. EPA did not respond until September 23, 83 days later, and failed to provide a release date or the requested briefing. In his new letter, Rep. Menefee criticized EPA for repeatedly failing to deliver on its promises to residents, who were previously told to expect the report in late 2025 or early 2026. “The community is done waiting. As am I,” Rep. Menefee wrote. At today's press conference, Rep. Menefee was joined by members of EPA's Community Advisory Group (CAG), including Chair Joetta Stevenson and community advocate Sandra Edwards, who have spent years fighting for transparency and accountability. Stevenson condemned the agency's continued delays and emphasized that residents need access to the draft so independent scientists and community experts can examine the findings. “Give us that report so we can look at it, the public can look at it and do commentary about it,” said Ms. Joetta Stevenson, Chair of EPA's Community Advisory Group . “We're not playing with you.” For Edwards, the delay is deeply personal. Just before the press conference began, she learned that another friend had died of cancer. “We want that report. We want our report because you came out here to get the information. Give it to us. We need it to proceed. We need to know what our future looks like. We need to know where we stand,” said Ms. Sandra Edwards, community advocate and CAG member. While the health risk evaluation will not establish the cause of individual cancer cases or fully account for decades of historical exposure, residents say its release is an essential step toward understanding current contamination, evaluating the investigation, and determining what cleanup measures are needed. “People in these communities are suffering, and the Environmental Protection Agency needs to do its job and get this report to communities so that they can know what's what, provide public comment, and finally get the justice that they deserve ,” Rep. Menefee finished. Click HERE to read Congressman Menefee’s full letter. Click HERE or below to watch the full press conference. Image Issues : Environment