Blanco wastewater discharge meeting

A public meeting will be held by the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality on the city of Blanco’s wastewater discharge permit amendment.

The purpose of the meeting is to provide the opportunity for people to comment or ask questions.

Blanco has requested an amendment to their current discharge permit, which allows them to discharge up to 225,000 gallons of treated effluent per day into tributaries of the Blanco River. The amendment requests that the city be able to discharge up to 1.6 million gallons of treated effluent per day.

The permit change also coincides with the construction of a new wastewater treatment facility and the decommissioning of the old facility and irrigation property. The new facility, if approved, will have a pond for detention, but no irrigation is mentioned new irrigation land.

Preliminary reviews by TCEQ said that “no significant degradation of water quality is expected” and also acknowledges the Blanco River “has been identified as having exceptional aquatic life uses.” It also says the preliminary determination can be reexamined and may be modified if new information is received.

The TCEQ Executive Directory has issued a preliminary decision that the permit meets all statutory and regulatory requirements.

The public meeting will be held on August 23, at 7 p.m. at the Old Blanco County Courthouse located at 300 Main Street in Blanco. Representatives from the city of Blanco and TCEQ will be available at the meeting.

Comments can be submitted at the meeting. Written comments can also be submitted via mail to PO Box 13087, Austin, TX, 78711 or electronically at www.tceq.texas.gov/about/comments.html.