TCEQ to host Public Meeting January 22nd of Dos Republicas Coal Partnership’s Texas Pollutant Discharge Permit
By: Jose G. Landa, Copyright 2014, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc.
The future of Eagle Pass and Maverick County, Texas are at stake at a Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) Public Meeting today, January 22, 2015, regarding foreign-owned Dos Republicas Coal Partnership’s request to revise and expand their Eagle Pass Mine coal mining waste water permit to discharge these wastes into Elm Creek and the Rio Grande River.
TCEQ is holding a public meeting at 7 P.M. at the International Trade Center, located at 3295 Bob Rogers Drive, in Eagle Pass, Texas regarding Dos Republicas Coal Partnership’s Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (TPDES) Permit No. WQ0003511000 concerning the controversial Eagle Pass Mine, adding mining acreage, seven outfalls to discharge stormwater and mine seepage, 12 outfalls to discharge stormwater from post-mining areas, allow for water in all ponds to be used for dust suppression, one outfall 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 one outfall to discharge mine pit water from active mining areas and stormwater from inside the rail loop into Elm Creek and the Rio Grande River. The January 22nd public meeting is open to the public.
The City of Eagle Pass, Maverick County, Maverick County Hospital District, Maverick County Environmental and Public Health Association, George Baxter, and other local farmers, ranchers, and property owners have previously opposed Dos Republicas’ application to discharge Eagle Pass Mine’s coal mine wastewater and storm waters into the Elm Creek and Rio Grande River. The City of Eagle Pass, Maverick County, Maverick County Hospital District, and Maverick County Environmental and Public Health Association have already approved to participate in the January 22, 2015 TCEQ public meeting.
The TCEQ Public Notice states that Dos Republicas’ Eagle Pass Mine 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 the City of Eagle Pass in Maverick County, Texas.
TCEQ received Dos Republicas’ amendment and renewal application on September 5, 2013.
A 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, was published in the December 18, 2014, issue of the Eagle Pass Business Journal.
According to the TCEQ notice, a Tier 1 anti-degradation review has preliminarily determined that existing water quality uses will not be impaired by this permit and that 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 acquatic life use. However, the preliminary determinations can be reexamined and may be modified if new information is received.
According to the TCEQ notice, “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.”
The TCEQ Notice further states that “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 may submit public comments about this 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.”
“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….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.”
Any member of the public may request a contested case hearing and must include in their request their “name, address, phone number; applicant’s name (Dos Republicas Coal Partnership) and proposed permit number (WQ0003511000); 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 Commissioners meeting” in Austin, Texas.
The TCEQ “Commissioners 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.”
The TCEQ “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 [contested] 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.”
All persons or entities who submit public comments, a request for a contested case hearing or a reconsideration of the TCEQ Executive Director’s decision of Dos Republicas’ application, they will be added to the mailing list for this specific application to receive future public notices mailed by the TCEQ Office of the Chief Clerk.
The TCEQ public notice states that “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, Texas 78711-3087 or electronically at www.tceq.texas.gov.us/about/comments.html.”
Any person or entity needing more information about Dos Republicas’ permit application or the permitting process, may call the TCEQ Public Education Program, Toll Free, at 1-800-687-4040. Anyone needing assistance in Spanish may call 1-800-687-4040.
The TCEQ notice states that “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.”
Anyone needing further information regarding Dos Republicas’ application may contact Mr. Leland Starks of Dos Republicas Coal Partnership at (830) 421-5017.
The January 22nd TCEQ Public Meeting is to give Eagle Pass and Maverick County individuals, entities, and businesses to express their personal and/or scientific reasons concerning Dos Republicas’ request to revise and expand their coal mine water waste discharge permit into Elm Creek and the Rio Grande River, which will potentially affect the sole potable water resource of our community.
