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TCEQ sends Hudson Oaks wastewater permit issue on discharge route to contested case
Summary
The commission granted a hearing request from a neighboring landowner for the City of Hudson Oaks' proposed TIPDES permit and will hold a contested‑case on whether the discharge route is properly characterized.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on Feb. 27 granted a hearing request by DAB Oil Inc., doing business as DAB Estates, and referred an application from the City of Hudson Oaks for a new TIPDES permit to a contested‑case hearing limited to whether the proposed discharge route is properly characterized.
The proposed permit would authorize treated domestic wastewater with a final‑phase daily average flow not to exceed 1,190,000 gallons per day. According to staff, DAB Oil Inc. raised concerns about how the discharge would reach the receiving stream, who owns the discharge route, and whether the capacity of the receiving waters is sufficient. The commission found that, although flooding issues may lie outside the commission’s permit review, the characterization of the discharge route is a relevant and material issue for a wastewater permit and therefore granted standing to the requester.
Commissioners agreed with the executive director’s recommendation to refer the single issue — the discharge‑route characterization and whether it will function properly as an operational feature — to the State Office of Administrative Hearings and set a 180‑day hearing duration. The motion passed on an aye vote.
The contested‑case will focus on technical and factual questions about the discharge route rather than broad policy questions about flooding or local drainage on properties not within the commission’s jurisdiction.
