TCEQ adopts ALJ recommendation and issues draft permit for Municipal Operations wastewater plant despite protest

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on Oct. 22 adopted the administrative law judge's proposal for decision and voted to issue a draft Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (TPDES) permit authorizing a new wastewater treatment facility applied for by Municipal Operations LLC (permit WQ0016171001). The commission's vote followed oral arguments from the applicant, protestants and the executive director and a public statement by a state legislator urging denial.

Representative (name not specified), who spoke under the meeting's allowance for legislators, told commissioners the proposed plant "is unwise" and said the Helotes Creek watershed drains recharge to the Edwards Aquifer and poses a risk to drinking-water supplies. "If we're not a 100% certain that the treatment plant won't threaten that wonder of the natural world, we must deny this permit," the representative said.

The applicantrepresented by attorney Helen Gilberturged the commission to adopt the PFD, saying the ALJ "did a thorough job…