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City details repairs, $324,335 proposed penalty in TCEQ draft for Hollywood Road plant
Summary
City staff briefed council on a proposed Texas Commission on Environmental Quality agreed order addressing unauthorized discharges and multiple operational violations at the Hollywood Road wastewater plant; staff said repairs are underway and applied for a supplemental environmental project to offset the proposed $324,335 penalty.
Shannon Tolleson, speaking for city utilities, walked council through a proposed TCEQ agreed order related to alleged violations at the Hollywood Road wastewater treatment plant that occurred in 2022 and 2023. Tolleson said the enforcement package included roughly a dozen operational violations and multiple unauthorized discharges; TCEQ proposed an administrative penalty of $324,335.
Tolleson detailed the causes and fixes: the 2022 incident involved solids overloading and unauthorized discharges to Playa Lake 40 that were addressed within days, and continued inspection after severe 2023 flooding revealed failures across primary clarifiers, aeration basins, sludge digesters and other units. The city reported stepwise remediation: ceased unauthorized discharges, cleaned basins, repaired clarifiers and digesters, replaced filtration and installed rotary drum thickeners that remove roughly 40% more solids than the prior units. Tolleson said the city had one screw pump installed (May 15, 2025) and noted the new Archimedes screw pumps are rated at 15,000,000 gallons per day each, compared with about 7,000,000 gpd capacity per older pump.
Tolleson said municipalities can apply for a supplemental environmental project to retain penalty funds locally; the city submitted an application with tentative approval to offset the full penalty by funding replacement of influent screw pumps and related work. She outlined outstanding ordering provisions that would require removal of unnecessary solids within 60 days of a finalized order and several repairs (aeration basin diffusers, concrete, clarifiers) within 180 days, with final certification by the top elected official after each phase.
Council members thanked Tolleson for a technical briefing and confirmed the city has budgeted funds for many of the necessary repairs; staff said they will continue remedial work and documentation so the city can demonstrate compliance in the revised agreed order process.
