Deadline nears to contest state decision
Texas official concludes wastewater release wouldn’t cause additional harm
A Texas environmental official has concluded that a company’s plan to release treated wastewater from petrochemical substances into Dickinson Bayou meets state regulations.
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Executive Director Richard Hyde’s decision to grant Clean Harbors San Leon Inc.’s permit request doesn’t mean the hazardous waste recycling company can start discharging the wastewater into the bayou.
Several Bay Area residents are requesting a hearing with the State Office of Administrative Hearings to argue against allowing the commission to issue the permit.
As of April 13, seven people including Kemah resident Kelley Dawson had filed requests for the meeting, called a contested case hearing, in which evidence could be presented for possible reversal of Hyde’s decision.
If the environmental commission approves a hearing, the matter would be referred to the SOAH, which is an independent agency within the state’s executive branch.
Scott Jones, advocacy director with the nonprofit environmental group Galveston Bay Foundation, said he hasn’t
gone through the TCEQ report issued this month in response to public comments on the issue, making it premature to determine if his organization would file a contested hearing request.
He represented the nonprofit organization during a public meeting hosted by the commission on Jan. 25, and challenged Clean Harbors’ need to dump treated wastewater into the bayou.
After learning of the commission’s recent determination, he said the group’s bottom line is that if Clean Harbors is permitted to discharge treated wastewater into the bayou, the state’s environmental regulatory agency must be extremely rigorous in monitoring the facility to safeguard against further contamination in a tributary already registering high levels of bacteria.
Massachusetts-based Clean Harbors, which operates the San Leon facility, has stated that the treated wastewater it plans to discharge would not cause further harm to the bayou. Clean Harbors now transports contaminated wastewater 28 miles from its San Leon recycling facility to an incinerator it operates in Deer Park.
If approved, the discharge permit would allow the company to avoid hauling the hazardous material. Instead, the contaminated liquid would be processed through a multistage filtering system before release into a bayou tributary, according to a previous statement by Phillip Retallick, senior vice president of compliance and regulatory affairs for Clean Harbors.
“The TCEQ has done a complete modeling analysis of our discharge into the bayou and determined that our water will have no adverse impact on water quality, aquatic life or biological condition of the bayou,” he said. Hearing requests must meet certain rules
Those requesting a contested case hearing must meet certain requirements.
“A person must have ‘affected party status,’ meaning they can show they have an interest greater than that of the general public, in order to be considered as a party in a contested case hearing,” said commission representative Andrea Morrow in an email.
Members of the public with a personal interest — such as relates to legal rights or economic impact — that could be affected by the permit application have until May 2 to request a contested case hearing, Marrow said.
For now, the San Leon facility can only operate according to the company’s existing permit, which allows for discharge of treated stormwater that collects chemical contaminants when it accumulates on the grounds.
Clean Harbors’ request is to amend its existing stormwater discharge permit to include treated wastewater. The permit amendment, which has gone through a review process by the TCEQ, would limit discharge of treated wastewater and treated contaminated stormwater to an average daily flow of up to 105,000 gallons.
A draft permit has been issued and could be approved soon if a contested hearing is not held.
The state environmental agency establishes water quality standards for rivers, lakes and estuaries and accomplishes pollution-control projects to protect or restore waterways.
According to the agency’s website, high concentrations of bacteria, including E. coli, measured in Dickinson Bayou and four of its tributaries might present a health risk to people who come in contact with the bayou’s water.
A number of area residents, business owners and officials with area utility and conservation groups have expressed concern that any contaminates could worsen conditions in the bayou. Residents ask about safeguards to water
During a Jan. 25 public meeting staged by the TCEQ at Johnson Community Center in La Marque, many residents wondered what would happen to the bayou if Clean Harbors’ filtering and treatment process were to fail.
On March 30, Hyde issued a 38-page response to concerns expressed by residents during the Jan. 25 meeting. The commission points out in the document that according to preliminary reviews, Clean Harbors’ discharge plan would treat and filter enough contaminants to prevent additional harm to water quality in the bayou.
In its public response, the TCEQ also stated that Clean Harbors “has no known environmental violations resulting from the wastewater discharge” and that the company ensures the waste management system will conform to state rules.
According to the TCEQ document, a permit would require Clean Harbors to take steps to reduce the chance for accidental discharge of untreated wastewater.
If any unauthorized discharge from the facility occurs, Clean Harbors could face enforcement action by the state.