Thursday, April 25, 2024
Opponents of the city of Granbury’s location for a second wastewater treatment plant have filed an appeal in response to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s decision to issue the permit.
The Motion for Rehearing, or MFR, was filed on Friday, Nov. 18.
The city of Granbury filed a response to the appeal on Friday, Dec. 2.
If the rehearing is denied, the parties could continue fighting the city through a lawsuit.
The MFR was submitted by “protestants” Granbury Fresh, Victoria Calder, Stacy and James Rist and Bennett’s Camping Center & RV Ranch.
They, and others who opposed the Old Granbury Road location after the city announced it in 2019, have cited detrimental effects to public health, recreation, nearby businesses, property values and the environment.
The plant will discharge up to two million gallons of treated domestic wastewater per day into a tributary of Rucker Creek, which feeds into Lake Granbury.
Two administrative law judges with the State Office of Administrative Hearings presided over a contested case hearing in the spring and recommended that TCEQ grant the permit.
TCEQ’s three commissioners voted unanimously to do so on Oct. 5.
The order granting the permit was signed Oct. 27.
The 21-page appeal filed by the protestants states that the permit “falls short of compliance with TCEQ rules” and that the decision to issue it “is the result of several errors.”
The city’s 40-page response notes that the protestants “have already presented a rebuttal case” and that “there is no justification for a continuance, and a continuance would unjustly prejudice the city.”
The response states that “time is of the essence for the City of Granbury. The city is currently under a citywide development ban because of the lack of needed wastewater treatment capacity. This ban has been in place for well over a year and is straining the Granbury community.”
The delay in building the wastewater treatment plant has cost the city about $17 million in legal bills and increased construction costs.
TCEQ’s website shows a “pending” status for the city’s permit because of the time period allowed for an MFR to be filed.
In a Dec. 2 email to the Hood County News, TCEQ media relations specialist Gary Rasp stated, “The next step is for TCEQ to consider the MFR. The motion may overrule by operation of law or the matter may be scheduled on a TCEQ Commissioners Agenda for further consideration. This next step is pending.”
Links to the MFR and the city's response are posted near the top of this article.
