TCEQ renews temporary manager for troubled water system, sends ammonia plant permit to contested case and approves multiple permits, budgets and enforcement rul

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on Sept. 10 affirmed an emergency order extending Aqua Texas LLC's appointment as temporary manager for the T.L. Water Jones Acres public water system, voted to refer Nuasis Green Ammonia LLC's new-source air permit application in Nueces County to a contested-case hearing at the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH), and approved a package of other permits, budgets and enforcement orders.

The commission's actions were framed by staff presentations and public comment that highlighted long-running utility noncompliance, community concerns about industrial air emissions and questions about enforcement penalties for repeat violators. Chairwoman Popp opened the meeting and led votes on a range of items affecting water and air permits, watermaster budgets, a state implementation plan revision, and an enforcement docket.

Aqua Texas, temporary manager for T.L. Water Jones Acres

The commission affirmed the executive director's emergency order renewing Aqua Texas's appointment as temporary manager for the T.L. Water Jones Acres public water system. Ben Warms, an attorney in the Litigation Division representing the executive director, summarized the agency's findings: since at least 2017 the utility had been the subject of multiple complaints and enforcement actions for low pressure, outages and discolored or foul‑smelling water; a 2020 TCEQ default order found 32 rule violations; and a 2023 Travis County district court default judgment and permanent injunction followed a referral to the attorney general for civil enforcement.

"This long term neglect for the utility and its customers and the noncompliance with orders of both the commission and the district court led the ED to determine that the utility had been abandoned and that the appointment of a temporary manager was necessary," Warms said. The executive director asked the commission to affirm the July 16, 2025 emergency order renewing Aqua Texas for an additional period (the order contemplates up to 360 days or until Aqua Texas applies to the Public Utility Commission to acquire the utility's certificate of convenience and necessity). The commission voted to adopt the proposed order.

Office of Public Interest Counsel (OPIC) senior attorney Elon Martinez supported affirmation, noting Aqua Texas's reported repairs, continuous service and monthly reporting during its prior term. Martinez said the utility serves "approximately 40 connections and at least 25 people daily," and argued the record supports the statutory abandonment findings in Texas Water Code sections 13.412(f) and 13.4132.

Nuasis Green Ammonia air permit moved to contested case

The commission received more than 100 hearing requests on a new-source air permit for Nuasis Green Ammonia LLC (air permit number 174951) proposed for Nueces County. The Executive Director and OPIC recommended granting certain groups' and individuals' requests and referring the application to SOAH. Staff described a two-step analysis for hearing requests—(1) whether the requester is an affected person and (2) whether the requester raised issues referable to the agency's permitting authority.

After reviewing effectiveness and the issues raised, the commission voted to grant the hearing request from the group "Concerned Citizens of Robstown and Calallen" and a subset of individual requesters (the commissioners listed the individuals by name in the motion), deny other hearing requests, and refer a set of issues to SOAH for a contested-case hearing with a maximum duration of 180 days. The issues referred include protection of public health (including sensitive subgroups), impacts to animals and vegetation, cumulative impacts and climate-related risks, air quality and nuisance conditions, the adequacy of best available control technology (BACT), modeling and monitoring requirements, and the sufficiency and accuracy of the permit application.

Golden Triangle Polymers TPDES permit approved

The commission denied a hearing request from Jonathan Webster and issued Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (TPDES) permit number WQ0005432000 to Golden Triangle Polymers Company LLC, adopting the executive director's response to comments. The executive director's staff explained the two-step hearing-request analysis used for TPDES applications and recommended denial of the hearing request because the requester had not demonstrated a personal justiciable interest separate from the general public.

Other permit and program actions

- The commission adopted a renewal with amendment of the TPDES Conventional Water Treatment General Permit, TXG640000, which updates effluent limitations and monitoring requirements including a new requirement that discharges using chlorination be dechlorinated to less than 0.1 mg/L total chlorine residual prior to discharge.

- The commission approved the fiscal year 2026 assessment budgets for four Watermaster programs—the Rio Grande, South Texas, Concho River and Brazos Watermaster programs—after staff said advisory committees had voted to recommend approval.

- The commission adopted the Executive Director's recommendation not to appoint a Watermaster for the Canadian and Red River basins at this time after a statutory five-year review and public outreach; the ED reported no court orders, petitions to create a Watermaster, or a repeated history of threatened water rights from 2020–2024 for those basins.

Enforcement docket and public comment on penalties

The commission approved a large enforcement docket (items 13–27 and 29–38) that the executive director described as assessing a total of $2,879,264 in administrative penalties (with $518,339 deferred, $1,119,413 applied toward supplemental environmental projects, and $1,241,512 to general revenue). During public comment, representatives of advocacy organizations and residents raised concerns about the timeliness of enforcement and the size of negotiated settlements for repeat violators.

Catherine Deborah of Public Citizen's Texas office urged the commission to rethink the agency's practice of negotiated settlements for facilities with long histories of noncompliance, citing a large consolidated matter involving INEOS that spans many years and numerous investigations. Amy Sedemeyer of the Enforcement Division responded that historical case-consolidation practices had slowed staff resolution of complex matters, that the division has changed that practice (it stopped in 2023), and that staff had spent significant time developing a comprehensive agreed order that recognizes corrective actions taken by respondents. "We do believe that we've got a very solid order in front of you that appropriately addresses the issues at this site," Sedemeyer said.

Resident commenters also urged stiffer penalties in individual cases. Errol Summerlin, a former Coastal Bend resident, criticized a penalty assessed against a facility he referenced as CCL, saying the penalty was too small in relation to profits and that compliance took too long. The commission moved ahead with the enforcement docket after public comment.

Air quality planning and lead maintenance plan

Staff presented a proposed revision to the State Implementation Plan (SIP) establishing a second 10‑year maintenance plan for the 2008 lead National Ambient Air Quality Standard (0.15 micrograms per cubic meter) for the Exide-area in Collin County. OPIC supported adoption, noting Exide shut down in 2012 and that monitoring and inventories support maintenance through 2037. The commission adopted the SIP revision; staff said adoption by Sept. 10 would allow timely submittal to EPA by Sept. 27, 2025.

Public comment on methane rules and local nuisance

Environmental Defense Fund's Elizabeth Lieberknecht urged the agency to continue developing a state plan to implement methane performance standards for existing oil-and-gas sources in Texas, citing methane's strong near-term warming potential and co‑emitted harmful pollutants. "No state has more to gain from implementing the 2024 EPA methane rule than Texas," she said, and asked TCEQ to publish an updated timeline, a working draft state plan, and to provide additional public engagement ahead of formal rulemaking.

A resident in Fort Davis, Kathy Fulton, asked staff for guidance about a large on‑property trash pile in an unincorporated area and said she had been in contact with the county sheriff; Public Interest Counsel Garrett Arthur's office agreed to follow up.

What the votes mean and next steps

The commission's votes leave Aqua Texas in place as temporary manager for the T.L. Water Jones Acres system while staff continue to work on longer-term solutions for the utility's customers. The referral of the Nuasis air permit to a contested-case hearing means SOAH will consider the enumerated issues and produce a proposal for decision based on an evidentiary record. Adoption of TXG640000 and the Collin County SIP revision update permit and planning frameworks that staff said will be submitted to EPA where applicable. The enforcement orders adopted will be processed according to their terms; staff said they are continuing to work through several large, complex enforcement matters that span multiple years.

The commission said it will hold a closed session later in the day on several posted items; staff confirmed the meeting adjourned at 12:40 p.m.

(See "Votes at a glance" below for itemized outcomes and references to the meeting record.)