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Sterling County, Texas: environmental and disease records

Federal databases place 38 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (9), Public airport (6), Major air pollution source (5). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 20 in a million, driven mainly by formaldehyde.

Rates are age-adjusted per 100,000 people. A cancer signal is marked significant when the lower bound of its 95 percent confidence interval is above the U.S. rate. Facility counts use active federal records located inside the county boundary. Approximate county center: 31.8332, -101.045.

How this county ranks in Texas

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Cancer deaths and new cases versus the United States

Source: NCI and CDC State Cancer Profiles, both sexes, all ages. Sorted by the ratio of the county rate to the U.S. rate.

Cancer rates for Sterling County compared with the United States
CancerMeasureCounty rateU.S. rateTimes U.S.95% intervalYears
All cancerNew cases478453.41.05x325.5 to 676.32019-2023

Mortality measures versus the U.S. county median

Source: County Health Rankings, built from CDC National Vital Statistics System death records. The comparison value is the median of all U.S. counties.

Mortality measures for Sterling County
MeasureCountyU.S. medianDifferenceUnit
Premature deathn/a9,842.6n/ayears of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancyn/a75.3n/ayears
Child mortalityn/a59.8n/adeaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortalityn/a6.2n/adeaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deathsn/a96.9n/adeaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deathsn/a28.6n/adeaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 20 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

  • Formaldehyde15.02 per million
  • Carbon Tetrachloride2.7 per million
  • Benzene0.94 per million
  • Acetaldehyde0.91 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

No EPA air quality monitor reports daily AQI for this county.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

38 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

  • NPDES wastewater discharge permit9
  • Public airport6
  • Major air pollution source5
  • Air permit holder (minor source)4
  • Gas station (mapped facility)4
  • Wind power plant3
  • Solar power plant2
  • TRI reporting facility2
  • Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
  • Large greenhouse gas emitter1

Highest-severity records

The 25 records with the highest Envyrofax severity in the county, with the agency identifier to cite in a records request.

  1. Silver Plant, Sterling City

    Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Benzene, Toluene, n-Hexane, Methanol and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 58,360 lbs released over 5 years.

    TRI facility ID 7695WSLVRP248HI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)

    Severity 8.2

  2. Sterling Gas Plant, Sterling City

    Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Formaldehyde, Benzene, n-Hexane, Xylene (mixed isomers) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 46,343 lbs released over 5 years.

    TRI facility ID 7695WSTRLN1426U (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)

    Severity 8.1

  3. Sterling Gas Plant, Sterling

    TRI reporting facility.

    EPA FRS registry ID 110000755889 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record

    Severity 6

  4. Silver Plant, Sterling City

    TRI reporting facility.

    EPA FRS registry ID 110064453764 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record

    Severity 5.9

  5. Conger Gathering Facility, Sterling City

    Major air pollution source.

    EPA FRS registry ID 110007182217 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record

    Severity 3.5

  6. Sterling Gas Processing Plant, Sterling City

    Major air pollution source.

    EPA FRS registry ID 110008136034 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record

    Severity 3.5

  7. Conoco, Inc. -- Ng & Gp, Sterling City

    Major air pollution source.

    EPA FRS registry ID 110010499503 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record

    Severity 3.5

  8. Conger Sales Facility, Sterling City

    Major air pollution source.

    EPA FRS registry ID 110040928057 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record

    Severity 3.5

  9. Silver Plant, Sterling City

    Major air pollution source.

    EPA FRS registry ID 110063959248 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record

    Severity 3.5

  10. Sterling Gas Plant, Sterling

    Large greenhouse gas emitter.

    EPA FRS registry ID 110000755889 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record

    Severity 2.5

  11. Foster Pit, Sterling City

    NPDES wastewater discharge permit.

    EPA FRS registry ID 110070365540 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record

    Severity 1.5

  12. Jessica Lee Sang, New Braunfels

    NPDES wastewater discharge permit.

    EPA FRS registry ID 110071254889 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record

    Severity 1.5

  13. Sterling City Street Improvement, Sterling City

    NPDES wastewater discharge permit.

    EPA FRS registry ID 110071347772 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record

    Severity 1.5

  14. Sterling City To Magnox 69kv Rebuild Project, Sterling City

    NPDES wastewater discharge permit.

    EPA FRS registry ID 110071358172 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record

    Severity 1.5

  15. Magnox To Goloid 69kv Rebuild Project, Sterling City

    NPDES wastewater discharge permit.

    EPA FRS registry ID 110071364011 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record

    Severity 1.5

  16. Lacy Creek Wind Project, Garden City

    NPDES wastewater discharge permit.

    EPA FRS registry ID 110071364690 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record

    Severity 1.5

  17. Lacy Creek Wind Project, Garden City

    NPDES wastewater discharge permit.

    EPA FRS registry ID 110071662464 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record

    Severity 1.5

  18. Honey Mesquite Wind, Ross City

    NPDES wastewater discharge permit.

    EPA FRS registry ID 110072004535 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record

    Severity 1.5

  19. Goat Mountain Wind Repower, Sterling City

    NPDES wastewater discharge permit.

    EPA FRS registry ID 110072072364 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record

    Severity 1.5

  20. Capricorn Ridge Wind Llc, Sterling City

    Wind power plant.

    Record ID 56763 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)

    Severity 1.2

  21. Parker & Parsley Gas Processing Co., Sterling City

    Air permit holder (minor source).

    EPA FRS registry ID 110007199183 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record

    Severity 1

  22. Perkins Gas Plant, Sterling City

    Air permit holder (minor source).

    EPA FRS registry ID 110007202375 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record

    Severity 1

  23. Conoco, Incorporated, Sterling City

    Air permit holder (minor source).

    EPA FRS registry ID 110007203034 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record

    Severity 1

  24. Conoco Inc Natural Gas & Prod Dept, Sterling City

    Air permit holder (minor source).

    EPA FRS registry ID 110012164353 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record

    Severity 1

  25. Alon

    Gas station (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.

    Record ID way/1096164579 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record

    Severity 1

Correctional facilities

Prisons, jails and corrections operations with an EPA facility record, and the drinking water and wastewater compliance attached to them.

No correctional facility with an EPA record is located in this county.

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Sterling County

  • Texas state cancer registry

    Cancer incidence counts by census tract or ZIP code, by cancer type and year (de-identified). Any cancer cluster inquiries or investigations in Sterling County, and their findings.

  • Texas vital statistics office

    Death certificate counts by cause of death and residence tract or ZIP code, and the years behind the mortality measures above.

  • Texas health department, environmental epidemiology

    Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.

  • Texas environmental agency and the U.S. EPA regional office

    Compliance history, inspection reports, notices of violation, penalties and enforcement actions for each facility above, cited by EPA FRS registry ID.

  • Texas drinking water program

    Violation notices, sampling results and sanitary surveys for the public water systems serving the county, including any system serving a correctional facility.

  • Department of corrections or county sheriff

    Water testing, grievances and environmental health inspections for the correctional facilities listed above.

Each Envyrofax address report includes a printable records request worksheet with the custodian and the exact request wording per finding.

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