Texas regulators put the brakes on plan for controversial wastewater permit north of San Antonio

Texas environmental regulators on Wednesday handed a victory to Northwest Bexar County residents fighting a controversial wastewater permit sought by the company behind a proposed 1,100-acre housing development.

The three-member Texas Commission on Environmental Quality ruled that the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH), an independent state agency, should decide the merits of the permit.

SOAH will have up to six months to set a hearing, according to officials with the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance (GEAA), one of the roughly 80 groups and individuals contesting the permit. An administrative law judge will most likely preside over the hearing.

“Getting to a contested-case hearing is a victory unto itself," Randy Neumann of the Scenic Loop Helotes Creek Alliance, another of the groups opposing the permit, said in an emailed statement. "It's a great day."

Around 30 residents of Grey Forest and other communities near the proposed development showed up for the hearing in Austin. Most carried signs urging commissioners to not to green light the permit.

The dispute arose after Florida-based builder Lennar Corp. announced plans to construct the 2,900-home Guajolote Ranch development near Grey Forest and the intersection of Scenic Loop and Babcock roads.

As part of the project, Lennar's wastewater contractor Municipal Operations LLC asked for a permit from TCEQ to dump a daily average of 1 million gallons of wastewater into Helotes Creek. Opponents of the plan said it would jeopardize local water supplies since the creek recharges the Trinity Glen Rose Aquifer and flows into the recharge zone of the Edwards Aquifer, San Antonio's primary source of drinking water.

In addition to GEAA and Grey Forest, Mayor Ron Nirenberg, San Antonio Metro Health, the San Antonio Water System and the City of Helotes filed statements opposing the treatment plant on health and safety grounds.

While the TCEQ denied affected-party status in the case for San Antonio Water System and the cities of Helotes and Grey Forest, the panel allowed Metro Health to remain a party to the case as it goes to a hearing.

GEAA Executive Director Annalisa Peace said she welcomed the data, expertise and legal guns Metro Health is likely to bring to the court case.

"It helps enormously," she said.

Subscribe to SA Current newsletters.

Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Or sign up for our RSS Feed