League City-area residents have until around Aug. 23 to weigh in on a proposed desalination plant in neighboring Bacliff that would produce 24.5 million gallons of drinking water per day for the greater Houston region, including Galveston County.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality issued a draft permit July 24 for the Bayshore Desalination Facility, a seawater treatment plant proposed by EPCOR NR Holdings Inc. on State Highway 146 near Bacliff. TCEQ's preliminary decision found the project meets regulatory requirements, according to the agency's public notice.
The 30-day comment window gives residents a chance to weigh in or request a contested case hearing before TCEQ makes a final decision.
What the permit allows
The wastewater discharge permit would authorize EPCOR to release up to 59.9 million gallons per day of treated brine and raw water into the Houston Lighting and Power Canal, which flows into Upper Galveston Bay. That segment of the bay carries TCEQ designations for primary contact recreation, high aquatic life use and oyster waters.
TCEQ's antidegradation review found that existing water quality uses would not be impaired and no significant degradation is expected in the canal or Upper Galveston Bay.
Neighbors divided
The project has split nearby residents, Houston Public Media reported Aug. 4.
Robin Burke, who lives near the facility site, said she worries about salinity increases in the shallow bay harming oyster beds, fish and the local fishing economy. Burke also said EPCOR failed to show up at two planned community meetings.
"I just don't see how they can put enough mix to not damage oyster beds and fish and birds and creatures in general," Burke told Houston Public Media.
Tony Poynor, a Bacliff water board member who also lives near the site, sees the plant differently. He said the region needs drinking water and that EPCOR is offering to build the infrastructure on its own dime.
EPCOR spokesperson Matthew Atwood said the company was unable to attend an April community meeting at Bayshore Town Square due to a scheduling conflict but participated in a late-March town hall at the Bacliff Volunteer Fire Department, where the project team fielded questions from nearly 100 residents.
According to EPCOR, company-commissioned studies found the excess saltwater from the treatment process has little to no effect on waters within half a mile of entering the open bay, and that discharge salinity levels fall within the optimal range for fish, oysters, crab and shrimp.
How to comment
Residents can submit comments electronically at TCEQ's eComment portal (https://www14.tceq.texas.gov/epic/eComment/) or by mail to the TCEQ Office of the Chief Clerk, MC 105, P.O. Box 13087, Austin, TX 78711-3087. TCEQ's public information line is 1-800-687-4040.
The permit application and supporting documents are available for review at the Dickinson Public Library, 4411 State Highway 3, Dickinson.
Commenters who submit during the window or request a contested case hearing will be added to TCEQ's mailing list and receive the agency's response to comments along with the final decision. A contested case hearing functions similarly to a civil trial and is available to those who file timely, specific objections.
The clock is ticking. TCEQ's final decision is expected around Aug. 25, though contested case hearing requests could extend that timeline significantly.
