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TCEQ issues renewal and amendment of Lyondell Chemical’s Channelview permit
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Summary
The commission approved a major amendment and renewal of Lyondell Chemical Company’s TPDES permit WQ0002927000 for its Channelview plant, adopting ALJ findings that the draft permit meets anti-degradation and water quality protection standards; an adjacent resident’s concerns did not rebut the record.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality voted to grant Lyondell Chemical Company a major amendment and renewal of its Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (TPDES) permit WQ0002927000 for the Channelview South plant.
Applicant counsel Whit Swift told the commission the application does not seek any increase in permitted discharge volume but requests site-specific copper limits tailored to receiving-water characteristics. "The permit at issue in this matter is the Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System or TPDES permit for Lyondell's Channel View south plant," Swift said, adding the ALJ found the draft permit complies with the agency's Anti-Degradation Policy and will be protective of water quality and human health.
An adjacent resident, Douglas Stewart, testified as a Protestant and criticized the permitting process and the difficulty of participating without counsel; he raised concerns about odors and health effects from the facility. OPIC and the Executive Director’s staff said Stewart’s testimony and exhibits did not rebut the prima facie demonstration that the draft permit meets statutory and regulatory criteria.
Eli Martinez (OPIC) summarized the technical record, noting the draft permit contains numeric limits for conventional pollutants, metals and organics, retains chronic and acute whole-effluent toxicity limits, and updates monitoring regimes. The Office of Public Interest Counsel and the ALJ concluded that the draft permit maintains existing uses and water quality in the receiving waters (Old River and the Houston Ship Channel) and recommended issuance.
Commissioners proposed clarifying additions to the order to memorialize the agency’s anti-degradation review (including a new finding the draft permit will maintain existing uses) and voted to issue the permit in the form recommended by the Executive Director, with the ALJ's letter revisions incorporated.
What happens next: The Executive Director will issue the permit consistent with the Commission's order; monitoring and permit conditions will apply as specified in the issued document.
