TCEQ July 23, 2025 — votes at a glance: permit approvals, contested-case referrals, SIP withdrawals and enforcement actions

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality took a series of formal actions July 23, 2025, including issuing or amending several permits, referring one wastewater discharge permit application to a contested case, adopting State Implementation Plan (SIP) withdrawals, approving two total maximum daily loads (TMDLs), and adopting multiple enforcement orders. Below are the outcomes and key details for each item recorded on the public agenda.

Votes and outcomes (selected items)

- Item 1 — 130 Environmental Park LLC (municipal solid waste permit amendment): Commission revised the ALJ PFD and approved the Executive Director’s draft permit for extended operating/waste-acceptance hours (see separate article). Motion passed by voice vote.

- Item 2 — Enforcement action vs. Patrick K. Mora (UST registration/financial assurance): The commission adopted the ALJ’s proposed order as amended by the Executive Director. The ED presented evidence of two violations (failure to demonstrate financial assurance and failure to timely update the UST registration); the ALJ found violations and the commission adopted the order and proposed penalty adjustments discussed in the record.

- Item 3 — JC Water Resource Recovery LLC (new TPDS permit WQ0016386001): The commission granted hearing requests from three affected persons (C. W. Howell Jr., Curry Regan, and Lyle Regan), denied other requests, and referred four issues to State Office of Administrative Hearings for a 180‑day contested‑case hearing with a concurrent referral to the Commission’s Alternative Dispute Resolution program. Referred issues included nuisance odor potential, impacts to human and wildlife health and water quality (including drinking wells), and operation/supervision of the facility.

- Item 4 — TAMCO Building Products, LLC (air quality permit 4421A renewal): The commission found no right to a hearing on this no‑increase renewal (applicant had satisfactory compliance history), denied hearing requests, and issued the renewal as recommended by the Executive Director.

- Item 6 — The Dow Chemical Company (NSR amendment and PSD permit PSD TX 1642): The commission found the hearing request defective and/or withdrawn and issued the NSR amendment and PSD permit as recommended by the Executive Director.

- Items 7–13 — SIP withdrawals: The commission voted to withdraw seven SIP provisions from EPA consideration, including Section 185 fee program rule provisions and several attainment‑demonstration, RACM and motor‑vehicle emissions budget elements for the DFW and HGB nonattainment areas, and an El Paso County emissions inventory SIP provision. Staff and OPIC explained these elements are no longer required or applicable under the Clean Air Act given reclassification and court actions.

- Item 14 — Two TMDLs (Halls Bayou and Willow Bayou, Brazoria & Galveston counties): The commission adopted two total maximum daily loads for indicator bacteria and permitted staff to make non‑substantive clerical corrections. TCEQ staff and a stakeholder committee coordinated the document and staff recommended adoption.

- Items 15–18, 20–21, 23–30, and 32 — Enforcement orders: The commission adopted the proposed enforcement orders presented by staff except for Item 24, which the commission remanded to the Executive Director for further analysis at the request of a member after a local business owner raised concerns about service and grandfathering of UST requirements. The total assessed penalties in the package presented to the commission were $325,127 with amounts deferred and applied to supplemental environmental projects as described in the ED memo.

- Item 33 — Monthly enforcement report: Staff presented the monthly enforcement report (FY2025 through May); no commission action was required. Staff reported a 50% reduction in a defined backlog of pending mail‑out orders since the start of the fiscal year and summarized enforcement metrics.

- Item 34 — Rulemaking (publication and hearing on proposed amendments to 30 TAC Chapters 39 and 55): The commission approved publication and a hybrid public hearing on proposed amendments to public‑notice and contested‑case rules required by Senate Bill 1397 (sunset legislation), including extended comment windows following consolidated public meetings for certain air permits. Staff will offer a hybrid public hearing on Sept. 8, 2025; a Spanish interpreter will be available.

Other actions and procedural notes

- Several items were handled without oral argument; commissioners asked program staff questions on the record before taking action. Where hearing requests were granted, the commission set issues for SOAH referral and hearing durations as required by statute and agency rules.

Speakers and participants cited in the meeting record included Executive Director staff, applicant representatives, counsel for protestants and OPIC, individual petitioners and business owners in enforcement items, and the commission’s chair and commissioners.

For more detail on any specific agenda item, consult the TCEQ meeting docket for July 23, 2025, which contains the staff summaries, administrative records, and adopted orders.