The San Antonio Water System and Mayor Ron Nirenberg have joined the fight against the construction of a wastewater plant that would dump millions of gallons of treated effluent into Helotes Creek.
The water utility has filed as an affected party against a wastewater plant that would serve a 2,900-home development on 1,160 acres northwest of San Antonio in an area known as the Guajolote Ranch. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s executive director cleared the way for the construction of the wastewater plant earlier this year, but opponents are gearing up to fight it through the state’s often-lengthy contested case hearing process.
A contested case hearing is a legal proceeding similar to a civil trial in a state district court. Hearings are conducted by the State Office of Administrative Hearings. To declare a contested case, the TCEQ’s commissioners must agree that parties opposing the plant would be directly affected by the permit decision. Those granted this status are known as affected parties.
More than 80 parties submitted letters of intent to contest the permit by Monday’s deadline, including SAWS and the City of San Antonio’s Metropolitan Health District.
In a joint filing with Metro Health, SAWS stated that “… the proposed discharge would be into a watercourse that has a direct connection to the drinking water supply relied on by SAWS to serve its customers, and the operation of the proposed wastewater plant could adversely affect the greater San Antonio region’s drinking water supply.”
On Monday, Nirenberg sent a letter to TCEQ Executive Director Kelly Keel requesting reconsideration of her preliminary decision to approve the permit because of “the proximity to the discharge area in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the City and the adverse effects arising from any potential accidental or excessive discharges pose a threat to the City.”
SAWS President and CEO Robert Puente told the San Antonio Report the utility filed for affected party status because it wishes to remain involved in the critical discussions that will follow.
“We understand that the developer is still talking to the other protestants to see what kind of concessions can be made on both sides, so we want to still be a part of that,” Puente said.
SAWS’ approved water agreement with Lennar Homes for water service to the tract included within it a stipulation that allowed the utility to reserve its right to apply for affected party status, should the developer pursue building a wastewater treatment plant, said SAWS board Chairwoman Jelynne LaBlanc Jamison.
“We leveraged our ability to negotiate other conditions so that we can protect all of those water sources,” she said. “I think we feel that they were stringent and called for. Do we think it’s enough? No, it’s never enough. We would love the ability to do more, but I think all that we have available to us we utilized, and I think we’re comfortable that we used our leverage appropriately.”
Others who have filed for affected party status include the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance, the City of Grey Forest and several local landowners who have concerns about odor, impacts on water wells and flooding.
SAWS first approved a water agreement in February 2022 that made way for the development, albeit with concessions meant to protect the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone. SAWS is legally required to provide water service within its area of operations, which the development falls within. However, the development is not within SAWS wastewater territory, meaning SAWS is not able to decide how the developer, Lennar Homes, disposes of its wastewater.
In its agreement with Lennar Homes, SAWS stated requirements for protecting the Edwards Aquifer that the developer must fulfill: setting aside half of the project’s acreage as open space, restricting the subdivision to 30% impervious cover and ensuring that any sewage plant meets all TCEQ standards for facilities discharging within 5 miles of the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone. Additionally, the developer must include increased sewage treatment requirements.
Lennar Homes did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication.
In May, the TCEQ held a public hearing to answer questions about the permit application. More than 300 people attended the meeting to voice their opposition to the construction of the wastewater plant.
According to the permit application, Lennar Homes’ wastewater plant would dump an average of 1 million gallons of treated effluent into Helotes Creek per day, but could discharge up to 4 million gallons per day by 2027 during peak times for a two-hour time limit.
The Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance hosted a public meeting with about 100 participants last week to inform Helotes-area residents how to apply for affected party status to contest the permit.
One who did so was Lynette Munson, a homeowner whose house backs up to Helotes Creek.
“The creek enters my property,” she said. “This would directly affect the water quality of our wells.”
TCEQ commissioners have not yet formally approved Guajolote’s wastewater permit. If they do so, it will be up to the commission and the State Office of Administrative Hearings to determine who has standing to move forward in contesting the permit as an affected party.
