Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Notice of Public Meeting to be Held in Eagle Pass Tx. on January 22, 2015
TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Protecting Texas by Reducing and Preventing Pollution
NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING
AND
NOTICE OF APPLICATION AND PRELIMINARY DECISION
FOR WATER QUALITY TPDES PERMIT AMENDMENT WITH RENEWAL
FOR INDUSTRIAL WASTEWATER
PERMIT NO. WQ0003511000
APPLICATION AND PRELIMINARY DECISION. Dos Republicas Coal Partnership, 5150 North Loop 1604 West, San Antonio, Texas 78249, which operates the Eagle Pass Mine, a sub-bituminous coal mine, has applied to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for a major amendment with renewal to Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (TPDES) Permit No. WQ0003511000 to add active mining acreage; add Outfalls 014M-020M to discharge stormwater and mine seepage from active mining areas; add Outfalls 001R, 003R, 004R, 006R-008R, and 014R-020R to discharge stormwater from post-mining areas; remove Outfalls 002, 005, and 009-013; allow for water in all ponds to be used for dust suppression; add Outfall 021 to discharge stormwater runoff from fueling areas, fuel storage areas, vehicle and equipment maintenance areas, truck washing stations, and coal handling and storage areas; and add Outfall 022M to discharge mine pit water from active mining areas and stormwater from inside the rail loop. The existing permit authorizes the discharge of mine seepage from active mining areas and stormwater at an intermittent and variable flow via Outfalls 001-013. The TCEQ received this application on September 5, 2013.
The facility is located on the northeast side of State Highway 1588, three miles northeast of the intersection of State Highway 1588 and U.S. Highway 277, and approximately five miles northeast of the City of Eagle Pass in Maverick County, Texas 77852. The effluent will be discharged via Outfalls 001M/R, 004M/R, 007M/R, 008M/R, 017M/R, 018M/R, 021, and 022M to unnamed tributaries, thence to Elm Creek, thence to Rio Grande Below Amistad Reservoir in Segment No. 2304 of the Rio Grande Basin; via Outfalls 003M/R, 006M/R, 014M/R, and 019M/R to unnamed ditches, thence to Elm Creek, thence to Rio Grande Below Amistad Reservoir in Segment No. 2304 of the Rio Grande Basin; via Outfalls 015M/R to an unnamed ditch, thence to an unnamed tributary, thence to Hediondo Creek, thence to Elm Creek, thence to Rio Grande Below Amistad Reservoir in Segment No. 2304 of the Rio Grande Basin; and via Outfalls 016M/R and 020M/R to Elm Creek, thence to Rio Grande Below Amistad Reservoir in Segment No. 2304 of the Rio Grande Basin. The designated uses for Segment No. 2304 are high aquatic life use, primary contact recreation, and public water supply.
In accordance with 30 Texas Administrative Code §307.5 and the TCEQ implementation procedures (June 2010) for the Texas Surface Water Quality Standards, an antidegradation review of the receiving waters was performed. A Tier 1 antidegradation review has preliminarily determined that existing water quality uses will not be impaired by this permit action. Numerical and narrative criteria to protect existing uses will be maintained. A Tier 2 review has preliminarily determined that no significant degradation of water quality is expected in Elm Creek, which has been identified as having high aquatic life use. Existing uses will be maintained and protected. The preliminary determination can be reexamined and may be modified if new information is received.
The TCEQ Executive Director has completed the technical review of the application and prepared a draft permit. The draft permit, if approved, would establish the conditions under which the facility must operate. The Executive Director has made a preliminary decision that this permit, if issued, meets all statutory and regulatory requirements. The permit application, Executive Director’s preliminary decision, and draft permit are available for viewing and copying at the Maverick County Courthouse, 500 Quarry Street, Suite 2, Eagle Pass, Texas. This link to an electronic map of the site or facility’s general location is provided as a public courtesy and not part of the application or notice. For the exact location, refer to the application.
http://www.tceq.texas.gov/assets/public/hb610/index.html?lat=28.818055&lng=-100.458611&zoom=13&type=r
PUBLIC COMMENT/PUBLIC MEETING. You may submit public comments about this application. The TCEQ will hold a public meeting on this application because the Executive Director of the TCEQ has determined that there is a significant degree of public interest in the application. The purpose of the public meeting is to provide the opportunity to submit comments or to ask questions about the application.
The public meeting will consist of two parts, an Informal Discussion Period and a Formal Comment Period. A public meeting is not a contested case hearing under the Administrative Procedure Act. During the Informal Discussion Period, the public is encouraged to ask questions of the applicant and TCEQ staff concerning the application and the Executive Director’s preliminary decision, but these informal comments made during the informal period will not be considered by the Commissioners before reaching a decision on the permit, and no formal response will be made. During the Formal Comment Period, members of the public may state their formal comments into the official record. A written response to all timely, relevant and material, or significant formal comments will be prepared by the Executive Director and considered by the Commissioners before they reach a decision on the permit. A copy of the response will be sent to each person who submits a formal comment or who requests to be on the mailing list for this application and provides a mailing address. Only relevant and material issues raised during the formal comment period can be considered if a contested case hearing is granted.
The Public Meeting will be held:
Thursday, January 22, 2015, at 7:00 PM
International Trade Center
3295 Bob Rogers Drive
Eagle Pass, Texas 78852
OPPORTUNITY FOR A CONTESTED CASE HEARING. After the deadline for submitted public comments, the Executive Director will consider all timely comments and prepare a response to all relevant and material, or significant public comments. Unless the application is directly referred for a contested case hearing, the response to comments will be mailed to everyone who submitted public comments and to those persons who are on the mailing list for this application. If comments are received, the mailing list will also provide instructions for requesting a contested case hearing or reconsideration of the Executive Director’s decision. A contested case hearing is a legal proceeding similar to a civil trial in a state district court.
TO REQUEST A CONTESTED CASE HEARING, YOU MUST INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING ITEMS IN YOUR REQUEST: your name; address; phone number; applicant’s name and proposed permit number; the location and distance of your property/activities relative to the facility; a specific description of how you would be adversely affected by the facility in a way not common to the general public; and the statement “I/we request a contested case hearing.” If the request for contested case hearing is filed on behalf of a group or association, the request must designate the group’s representative for receiving future correspondence; identify an individual member of the group who would be adversely affected by the proposed facility or activity; provide the information discussed above regarding the affected member’s location and distance from the facility or activity; explain how and why the member would be affected; and explain how the interests the group seeks to protect are relevant to the group’s purpose.
Following the close of all applicable comment and request periods, the Executive Director will forward the application and any requests for reconsideration or for a contested case hearing to the TCEQ Commissioners for their consideration at a scheduled Commission meeting.
The Commission will only grant a contested case hearing on disputed issues of fact that are relevant and material to the Commission’s decision on the application. Further, the Commission will only grant a hearing on issues that were raised in timely filed comments that were not subsequently withdrawn.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ACTION. The Executive Director may issue final approval of the application unless a timely contested case hearing request or request for reconsideration is filed. If a timely hearing request or request for reconsideration is filed, the Executive Director will not issue final approval of the permit and will forward the application and request to the TCEQ Commissioners for their consideration at a scheduled Commission meeting.
MAILING LIST. If you submit public comments, a request for a contested case hearing or a reconsideration of the Executive Director’s decision, you will be added to the mailing list for this specific application to receive future public notices mailed by the Office of the Chief Clerk. In addition, you may request to be placed on (1) the permanent mailing list for a specific applicant name and permit number; and/or (2) the mailing list for a specific county. If you wish to be placed on the permanent and/or the county mailing list, clearly specify which list(s) and send your request to TCEQ Office of the Chief Clerk at the address below.
AGENCY CONTACTS AND INFORMATION. Citizens are encouraged to submit written comments anytime during the meeting or by mail before the meeting to the Office of the Chief Clerk, TCEQ, Mail Code MC-105, P.O. Box 13087, Austin, TX 78711-3087 or electronically at www.tceq.texas.gov.us/about/comments.html. If you need more information about this permit application or the permitting process, please call the TCEQ Public Education Program, Toll Free, at 1-800-687-4040. Si desea información en Español, puede llamar 1-800-687-4040. General information about the TCEQ can be found at our website at www.tceq.texas.gov. All written public comments must be received by the Office of the Chief Clerk at the noted address within 30 days from the date of newspaper publication of this notice or by the date of the public meeting, whichever is later.
Further information may also be obtained from Dos Republicas Coal Partnership at the address state above or by calling Mr. Leland Starks at (830) 421-5017.
Persons with disabilities who need special accommodations at the meeting should call the Office of the Chief Clerk at (512) 239-3300 or 1-800-RELAY-TX (TDD) at least one week prior to the meeting.
Issued: December 8, 2014
