The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) held a public meeting for formal comments regarding the City of Blanco’s request to renew and amend the current wastewater discharge permit on file.
The city has been issued prior permits in 1996, 1999, 2002, 2005 and 2009. The current permit was issued in April 2015. An application for a major amendment to that permit was submitted in 2016, then withdrawn in April 2023. The city subsequently filed an application for a major amendment with renewal, which requires it to construct a pipeline from the wastewater treatment facility to the river. This was filed in April 2023. The draft permit, which was under discussion at this meeting, was submitted in February of this year.
The meeting was facilitated by Daniel Schroeder of TCEQ. He was joined by John Hearn and Brad Pastor, representatives from the water quality division, and Michael Parr, of the environmental law division, to answer questions from the public. City representatives on hand included City Administrator Warren Escovy, City Attorney Tim Tuggey and Mayor Candy Cargill, plus Amy Hesseltine of the civil engineering firm Ardurra. The meeting’s format included an informal question and answer period followed by a formal comment period.
