By ARABELLA SERRATA
Special to the PRESS
The Laguna Madre Water District [LMWD] released a public notice on their application to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality [TCEQ] for a permit relating to the reverse osmosis and water treatment facility. The permit would allow the district to “authorize the discharge of reverse osmosis and decant reject water at a volume not to exceed a daily average flow of 9,000,000 gallons per day.”
LMWD District Engineer Carlos Ortiz explained that the district is trying to add a second diversion point to the existing water plant so the district can mix sea and river water. There is also an intake structure that
will assist in collecting the additional seawater, which will be sent to facilities for treatment. Ortiz predicts a five-million-gallon daily intake for the basin. The Port Isabel location has been in development for four
years. The project seeks to find alternative water sources in light of recent drought conditions in the area.
“With this project, we’ll be able to gain independence from that reservoir system and the limited flows of the river and get our source water from the sea,” said Ortiz.
In order to make these alternative sources viable, the water must go through reverse osmosis.
The public notice published in the PRESS concerns a third tap to a common discharge pipeline for reverse osmosis, specifically, the wastewater flows. According to the Puretec industrial water website, reverse
osmosis refers to removing chemicals and other contaminants from the water and making it safe for human consumption. Discharge is a critical part of the district’s desalination efforts.
The facility will be at 245 Woody Lane in Port Isabel. The discharge route will be from the plant site to the Laguna Madre. The permit application will be available for public viewing on the Laguna Madre
Water District Administration building. The TCEQ executive director has decided the application is complete and is performing a technical review. Afterward, they may make a draft permit and issue a preliminary decision, which will be mailed to those on the country-wide and application-specific mailing list. This notice will contain the deadline for public comments.
Public comments and a request for a public meeting can be made on the application.
The executive director will determine if a public meeting is appropriate based on the public’s interest or request from a local legislator. The release notes that a public meeting is not considered a case hearing.
To request a contested case hearing, one must include their name, address, phone number, applicant’s name and proposed permit number. Along with the location of the person’s property or activities related to the
proposed facility. Those who wish to request a contested case hearing must be prepared to say how the facility would impact them “in a way not common to the general public,” a list of all disputed issues on the
matter, and a statement “[I/We] request a contested case hearing.”
For those filling on behalf of a larger group or association, a representative must be chosen, and the same information must be clarified. However, they must also specify how “the interests the group seeks to protect
are relevant to the group’s purpose.” The commission will only grant the contested case hearing and the specific issues addressed in these requests if the person who filled them does not withdraw. If the hearing is
approved, the subject will be limited to questions submitted during the commenting period.
Those who apply will automatically be added to a mailing list for this specific issue. Interested parties can also request to be added to a permanent mailing list for a specific applicant, permit number, or county.
Requests should be submitted to the TCEQ office clerk at tceq.texas.gov.
All public comments and requests must be submitted in writing to the TCEQ office of the chief clerk at MC-105, P.O. box 13087, Austin, Texas 78711-3087, or online at tceq.texas.gov. For more information, call
the TCEQ public education program at 1 (800) 687-4040. For more information, contact the Laguna Madre Water District at (956) 423-7409.
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