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Council approves MSD restricting groundwater use at site with historic TCE contamination, 8–1
Summary
Garland council approved a Municipal Setting Designation (MSD) tied to 1010 E. Walnut for Arrow Fabricated Tubing on the condition that the TCEQ will address technical remediation; council emphasized MSDs don't remediate contamination and the vote was 8–1 with Councilmember Williams opposed.
The Garland City Council approved a Municipal Setting Designation (MSD) application tied to property at 1010 East Walnut Street, allowing development while restricting groundwater use around historic contamination. The vote passed 8–1, with Councilmember Williams recorded in opposition.
Josh Hopper, the project's geologist, told council that the site historically used trichloroethylene (TCE) during the 1990s and that contamination discovered during due diligence in 2022 likely migrated roughly 100 feet south of the property line. "We do believe it has migrated to the south, probably about a 100 feet off off the property line," Hopper said. City Attorney reminded council that an MSD is not a remediation tool but a mechanism that can protect public health while the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) conducts technical review and any remediation.
Councilmembers asked whether the adjacent church property had been notified; Hopper said notification was provided last year and that the owner's consultant indicated they planned to apply to TCEQ's Innocent Owner / Operator program but he could not confirm the outcome. The city attorney outlined the next steps: the council resolution and ordinance go with the MSD application to TCEQ, which will perform administrative and technical review. Councilmember Dutton moved to approve; the motion passed with one dissent. The MSD allows the owner to proceed under a land‑use framework that restricts groundwater extraction in the defined area while the regulatory agency evaluates environmental conditions.
