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Lake Travis photo from protectlaketravis.org website slideshow

PLTA eNEWS

October 24, 2009  -  Issue 3           Lake Travis - it's worth protecting

In This Issue
New LCRA FAQ
Burnet Seeks To Increase Discharges
PLTA Board
Lonnie Moore, President
Ken Fossler, Vice President
Gloria Eckstrom, Secretary
Richard Eason, Treasurer
Janet Caylor
David Gavenda
John Strickland
Quoted from the
LCRA FAQ:
What is the discharge ban for the Highland Lakes?
The ban prohibits the discharge of pollutants, including treated wastewater effluent, into the Highland Lakes. In the late 1980s, the Texas Water Commission (the
predecessor of the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality, or TCEQ) adopted the rules to protect the water quality of the Highland Lakes.
These rules, known officially as the Watershed
Protection Rules, are described in Chapter 311 of the Texas Administrative Code, subchapters A, B, E and F.
How Can I Tell TCEQ That I Oppose Leander's Proposal To Remove the Highland Lakes Discharge Ban?
1) See this page on the TCEQ website for instructions on how to submit your letter of opposition - You can submit by mail, fax or online;
2) The Docket Number is 2009-1586-RUL;
3) If submitting online, write your letter of opposition in Microsoft Word or similar and follow the instructions to submit the file. It will show 'Anderson County'.  (The requested rule change is for the entire state, so "A" counties are first.)  Filing Title is Wastewater.
4) Filing deadline is October 30th, so do it now!
5) Here is a sample letter (received from Connie Ripley)
Dear Reader;
Protect Lake Travis Association has been busy since the last issue of the PLTA eNews
 
We continue to work with groups and government entities to actively oppose the attempt by Leander and Granite Shoals to lift the protective Highland Lakes Discharge Ban (see sidebar). Resolutions have now been passed by many of them and more resolutions are coming. Other entities are preparing more detailed and technical responses in opposition to the removal of these essential protections. We continue to ask all those concerned to contact their elected representatives to encourage them to voice their opposition to the TCEQ for this misguided proposal.
We also suggest you write to the TCEQ directly to voice your opposition (see sidebar).
 
In the middle of this effort, we learned that the City of Burnet has applied to TCEQ to increase the amount of treated wastewater effluent they are allowed to discharge into Hamilton Creek, a tributary of Lake Travis, by an additional 1,000,000 gallons per day.
 
We will continue working and reporting on these attacks on our lakes, but need your involvement and membership. If you care about Lake Travis and the Highland Lakes, please take action to help protect these precious resources.
 
Lonnie Moore, President
New Brochure by LCRA Explains Highland Lakes Discharge Ban
 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Explains History and Benefits
We give credit where credit is due. LCRA has prepared a new document that answers many of the questions that have been asked about why the discharge ban is so important to the Highland Lakes and Lake Travis in particular.
We did not find the document on the LCRA website yet, so we have uploaded to ours where you can read and/or download it to your computer. We strongly encourage you to take a look at it. The link is: www.protectlaketravis.org/documents/LCRA_Discharge-Ban-FAQ.pdf
City of Burnet Seeks Right To Discharge Up To 1.7M GPD
Application for Amendment of Permit Being Considered by TCEQ 
AMENDMENT PERMIT NO. WQ0010793002
The City of Burnet, P.O. Box 1369, Burnet, Texas 78611-1369, has applied to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for a major amendment to TPDES Permit No. WQ0010793002 to authorize an increase in the discharge of treated domestic wastewater from a daily average flow not to exceed 726,000 gallons per day to an annual average flow not to exceed 1,700,000 gallons per day and to remove authorization for beneficial reuse of treated wastewater via irrigation.
See the full public notice HERE
 
Note that this Hamilton Creek is in Burnet County and flows through the City of Burnet then approximately 14 miles to Lake Travis. This amount of treated wastewater effluent, no matter what treatment level is used, will undoubtedly have a significant negative impact on the water quality of this beautiful and historic creek, and ultimately on Lake Travis.
For an explanation of how Hill Country streams (and lakes) are damaged by wastewater discharges, go to the Publications section of our site and click on Threats To Water Quality from Wastewater Discharges.
PLTA continues to encourage beneficial reuse of recycled wastewater by landscape irrigation. Land based irrigation with treated effluent, done correctly, reduces the amount of irrigation water needed to be drawn from the Highland Lakes. This reuse of the water supply is the best way to have a positive effect on lake levels and is more environment-friendly than direct discharge into our streams and lakes.