McAllen Edinburg Mission Texas area is ranked as the least toxic metro area in the country

I read with interest a recent Forbes article which stated that the McAllen Edinburg Mission Texas area is ranked as the least toxic metro area in the country. The article stated that the parameters of the study were air quality, water quality, toxic material and the number of superfund sites. As a northerner, I can not comment on the water, air, industry and toxics of McAllen Edinburg Mission Texas; I don't even know where McAllen Edinburg Mission Texas is located. I can however comment on superfund. According to our database, EPA Region 6, southern states which includes Texas has over 200 consent decrees (legal documents where the parties, the government and judge have agreed) and Administrative Orders on Consent (consenting parties and EPA) agreements. EPA region 4, southeastern states (Florida and Georgia) has over 700 documents; and region 5, great lake states (Illinois and Ohio) has over 800 documents from the inception of superfund to the present. This may be due to increased industry in these parts of the country, but I speculate that it could be on the model that makes a site eligible for superfund clean-up. As a northerner, my concept of the panhandle of Texas is that groundwater is very deep and the distance between surface waters are far in between. The Superfund model includes the amount and type of toxic material flowing in surface water. Without this parameter the numbers are going to be skewed with less number of sites meeting the threshold for National Priority List status.