TCEQ approves City of Kyle wastewater permit after contested hearing; commissioners adopt ALJ proposal

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality voted Jan. 30 to adopt the Administrative Law Judges' proposal for decision and to issue the executive director's draft permit for the City of Kyle, approving a renewal and major amendment that will allow the city's wastewater treatment plant to discharge up to 12,000,000 gallons per day in its final phase.

The commission fronted its decision on the ALJ findings that the draft permit meets applicable water-quality standards, satisfies anti‑degradation requirements and need not be revised based on the city's compliance history. The commission also approved technical renumbering changes to newly added findings of fact before voting to issue the permit.

At oral argument, Lauren Kalashek, counsel for the City of Kyle, told commissioners the judges concluded the city met its burden on all three referred issues and reserved time for rebuttal. Victoria Rose, representing the San Marcos River Foundation (SMURF), urged denial, citing field observations and monitoring data that she said show low dissolved oxygen, nutrient-driven algal shifts and a history of permit violations below the city's outfall on Plum Creek. Rose said the QualTex model used by staff predicted violations of dissolved-oxygen standards in areas affected by the discharge and argued TCEQ had not adequately evaluated tier‑2 anti‑degradation requirements.

The executive director's representative, Fernandez Salazar Martinez (Environmental Law Division), and the Office of Public Interest Counsel (Jessica Anderson) told the commission that the record supports the ALJ findings. OPC stated the preponderance of evidence shows the draft permit is protective if effluent limits in the permit are met and said the ED performed the required tier‑1 and tier‑2 anti‑degradation reviews. In rebuttal, Kyle's counsel pointed commissioners to the PFD summary and to the inclusion of a 0.5 mg/L total phosphorus limit in the final phases, which the city and ED witnesses testified would reduce phosphorus and improve receiving-water concentrations.

Commission discussion focused on the ALJ record and modeling. One commissioner noted the ALJs’ findings and the ED's responses to protestant arguments, and the commission adopted the PFD with agreed clarifying edits and approved the ED's response to comments. A motion to adopt the ALJ proposed order as revised carried on a voice vote.

The commission’s action adopts the ALJ decision and issues the draft permit as modified on the record. The order and related response-to-comments document were adopted for the record.