PUBLIC NOTICE: TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING FOR TPDES PERMIT FOR MUNICIPAL WASTEWATER

Publish one time in The Ellis County Press on Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024.

TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING

FOR TPDES PERMIT FOR MUNICIPAL WASTEWATER

NEW

PERMIT NO. WQ0016273001

APPLICATION. Clear Utilities, LLC, 5451 Farm-to-Market Road 1488, Magnolia, Texas 77354, has applied to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for new Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (TPDES) Permit No. WQ0016273001, to authorize the discharge of treated domestic wastewater at a daily average flow not to exceed 250,000 gallons per day.

TCEQ received this application on December 12, 2022.

The facility will be located approximately 0.95 miles southwest of the intersection of Risinger Road and Interstate Highway 45, in Ellis County, Texas 75125. 

The treated effluent will be discharged to a pond, thence to an unnamed tributary, thence to a second order unnamed tributary, thence to Brushy Creek, thence to Red Oak Creek, thence to Upper Trinity River in Segment No. 0805 of the Trinity River Basin. 

The unclassified receiving water uses are limited aquatic life use for the pond, the unnamed tributary #1 (~0.14 mi. downstream of the pond) and Brushy Creek; minimal aquatic life use for the unnamed tributary (second order); and high aquatic life use for Red Oak Creek. 

The designated uses for Segment No. 0805 are primary contact recreation and high aquatic life use. In accordance with 30 Texas Administrative Code § 307.5 and TCEQ’s Procedures to Implement the Texas Surface Water Quality Standards (June 2010), an antidegradation review of the receiving waters was performed. 

A Tier 1 antidegradation review has preliminarily determined that existing water quality uses will not be impaired by this permit action. 

Numerical and narrative criteria to protect existing uses will be maintained. A Tier 2 review has preliminarily determined that no significant degradation of water quality is expected in Red Oak Creek and Upper Trinity River, which has been identified as having high aquatic life uses. 

Existing uses will be maintained and protected. The preliminary determination can be reexamined and may be modified if new information is received. 

This link to an electronic map of the site or facility’s general location is provided as a public courtesy and is not part of the application or notice. For the exact location, refer to the application.

https://gisweb.tceq.texas.gov/LocationMapper/?marker=-96.676388,32.47416...

The TCEQ Executive Director has completed the technical review of the application and prepared a draft permit. The draft permit, if approved, would establish the conditions under which the facility must operate. 

The Executive Director has made a preliminary decision that this permit, if issued, meets all statutory and regulatory requirements.

ALTERNATIVE LANGUAGE NOTICE. Alternative language notice in Spanish is available at https://www.tceq.texas.gov/permitting/wastewater/plain-language-summarie.... El aviso de idioma alternativo en español está disponible en https://www.tceq.texas.gov/permitting/wastewater/plain-language-summarie....

PUBLIC COMMENT / PUBLIC MEETING. A public meeting will be held and will consist of two parts, an Informal Discussion Period and a Formal Comment Period. A public meeting is not a contested case hearing under the Administrative Procedure Act. During the Informal Discussion Period, the public will be encouraged to ask questions of the applicant and TCEQ

staff concerning the permit application. 

The comments and questions submitted orally during the Informal Discussion Period will not be considered before a decision is reached on the permit application and no formal response will be made. 

Responses will be provided orally during the Informal Discussion Period. 

During the Formal Comment Period on the permit application, members of the public may state their formal comments orally into the official record. A written response to all timely, relevant and material, or significant comments will be prepared by the Executive Director. All formal comments will be considered before a decision is reached on the permit application. A copy of the written response will be sent to each person who submits a formal comment or who requested to be on the mailing list for this permit application and provides a mailing address. 

Only relevant and material issues raised during the Formal Comment Period can be considered if a contested case hearing is granted on this permit application.

The Public Meeting is to be held:

Thursday, February 15, 2024 at 7:00 PM

Jack Lummus Memorial VFW Post 7106

3100 N. Interstate 45

Ennis, Texas 75119

INFORMATION. Members of the public are encouraged to submit written comments anytime during the meeting or by mail before the close of the public comment period to the Office of the Chief Clerk, TCEQ, Mail Code MC-105, P.O. Box 13087, Austin, TX 78711-3087 or electronically at www.tceq.texas.gov/goto/comment. 

If you need more information about the permit application or the permitting process, please call the TCEQ Public Education Program, Toll Free, at 1-800-687-4040. Si desea información en Español, puede llamar 1-800-687-4040. General information about the TCEQ can be found at our web site at https://www.tceq.texas.gov.

The permit application, Executive Director’s preliminary decision, and draft permit are available for viewing and copying at Ferris Public Library, 301 East 10th Street, Ferris, Texas. Further information may also be obtained from Clear Utilities, LLC at the address stated above or by calling Mrs. Lesley Reel, P.E., L Squared Engineering, at (936) 647-0420.

Persons with disabilities who need special accommodations at the meeting should call the Office of the Chief Clerk at (512) 239-3300 or 1-800-REAY-TX (TDD) at least five business days prior to the meeting.

Issuance Date: January 03, 2024