Comal plan draws fire

Property owner seeks state permit to dump treated sewage into a tributary

Local environmental groups have raised concerns after a landowner filed a permit application with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to dump 600,000 gallons of treated sewage a day into a creek that feeds into Comal River.

The application — which was filed in September — is asking to build a wastewater treatment facility near New Braunfels off Texas 46. According to the permit, the facility would discharge treated sewage into the West Fork Dry Comal Creek, which moves through to the Dry Comal Creek and eventually lands in the Comal River, which is connected to the Edwards Aquifer.

On average, a typical family dwelling produces 200 to 400 gallons of wastewater a day, according to the

Environmental Protection Agency. At that rate, 600,000 gallons of treated sewage could support at most 3,000 homes.

“We’re just looking to get a public meeting so we can understand what’s going on,”

said David Drewa, director of communications for Stop 3009 Vulcan Quarry. “That’s our main goal right now.”

The property address listed in the application is 1000 Harrison Road in New Braunfels, which is south of Texas 46. Douglas T. Harrison, the landowner who submitted the application, owns two tracts of land there, one of 153 acres and another 46 acres, according to the Comal County Appraisal District.

The Dry Comal Creek flows into the Comal River right around Landa Street and Landa Park Drive in New Braunfels.

Harrison said the permit seeks to perform a feasibility study and that he has no immediate plans to develop the property.

“We’re just getting everything in order and trying to get everything lined up here for what our options are,” Harrison said. “Just in case we decide to sell someday down the road.”

In response to the permit application, the Comal County advocacy organization Stop 3009 Vulcan Quarry sent out a

letter alerting residents to the situation and asking the TCEQ for a public meeting before it rules on the application.

In Texas, public meetings for proposed wastewater projects are not required unless “there is significant interest in an application or if a legislator from the area of the proposed project requests one,” according to the TCEQ.

The environmental advocacy groups Preserve Our Hill Country Environment Foundation and the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance both wrote letters to the TCEQ requesting a public meeting. The organizations cited potential dangers to the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone, which is downstream from the proposed facility.

Annalisa Peace of the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance said that 48 water wells were found to be within a 1.5-mile distance and 21 wells found to be within a

mile from the proposed facility, which the organization said could be hazardous for those landowners.

State Rep. Carrie Isaac’s office also asked for a public meeting on the proposed wastewater treatment plant.

Elena Bruess writes for the Express-news through Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. Reportforamerica.org. elena.bruess@expressnews.net

Photos by Jerry Lara/staff photographer People kayak in the Comal River on Wednesday. Environmental groups want a public hearing before the TCEQ acts on the permit.

Douglas Harrison, who owns the property, says this is a first step to see if a wastewater treatment plant would be feasible.

Jerry Lara/staff photographer Property owner Douglas Harrison says that if approved, the wastewater treatment plant off Texas 46 would discharge into West Fork Dry Comal Creek, which feeds into Comal River.