TCEQ adopts dairy‑waste emergency land‑application rules; revises wastewater treatment design criteria rulemaking underway

TCEQ staff reported on two rulemaking efforts affecting on‑farm waste management and wastewater treatment design criteria.

Dairy waste rulemaking: Staff said rulemaking implements House Bill 692 (88th regular session), adding new sections to 30 TAC chapter 321 (subchapter B) to allow concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and unpermitted animal feeding operations to directly land‑apply dairy waste under emergency conditions. A new subchapter Q will allow land application of dairy waste under emergency conditions on agricultural land not associated with an animal feeding operation. Staff also said they amended solid‑waste rules (30 TAC chapter 335.2 and 335.6) to exempt these activities from permitting and notification requirements in chapter 335. The rulemaking was adopted at the commissioners’ July 9 agenda and becomes effective July 31 (year not specified in transcript); staff said they will provide a final update after a short implementation period.

When asked whether “emergency conditions” are defined, staff said there is a definition in the new subchapters and that language will be available in posted rule text; they offered to include a link to the adopted language in the meeting summary notes.

Wastewater treatment systems design criteria (30 TAC Chapter 217): Staff are revising Chapter 217 design criteria for wastewater treatment systems. The division held a series of stakeholder meetings beginning with a kickoff in November (year not specified), followed by meetings in 2023 that covered collection systems, activated sludge, disinfection, safety, preliminary treatment, natural treatment units, sludge processing and subsurface drip irrigation. In April 2024 the division held a Spanish‑language stakeholder meeting on the completed draft revisions. Proposed revisions being worked on by division engineers include changes to collection system requirements (subchapter C), expanded reclaimed‑water distribution system requirements, updated emergency‑power requirements for critical components, new nutrient removal requirements, and moving subsurface drip dispersal system requirements from 30 TAC chapter 222 to chapter 217 as a new subchapter I with a concurrent repeal of the moved provisions from chapter 222.

Staff asked stakeholders to review the proposed language when posted and noted additional outreach will continue as the rulemaking progresses.