| Information on City of Burnet's Application To Discharge | |
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| Notable Quote |
"the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which changes names every few years but not its polluter-friendly policies.."
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| PLTA on Facebook | |
Despite not having a 12-year old around to explain how it works to us, PLTA has created its own Facebook page (click on icon below). We are learning as we go, so all you Facebook users please check it out, join as "fans" and give us feedback.
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| PLTA Board |
Lonnie Moore, President
Ken Fossler, Vice President
Gloria Eckstrom, Secretary
Richard Eason, Treasurer
David Gavenda
John Strickland |
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| TCEQ Responds to Public Comments Made in Opposition to Burnet Discharge Permit | |
TCEQ'S RESPONSE DISAPPOINTS BUT DOES NOT SURPRISE
TCEQ stayed true to form in its written response to the public comments received regarding Burnet's pending permit application. That application would allow the discharge of 1.7M GPD of treated sewage effluent into Hamilton Creek, a tributary of Lake Travis with no requirement to utilize land-based application.
According to TCEQ in its response, doubling Hamilton Creek's normal flow with treated effluent will not cause significant degradation of Hamilton Creek or Lake Travis, despite testimony (and common sense) to the contrary.
TCEQ's full response can be found HERE. PLTA believes strongly in beneficial reuse of treated effluent through land-based application. Using this "reclaimed water" to irrigate golf courses, ballparks, landscapes and hay fields not only provides for much safer disposal, it diminishes the amount of potable water being drawn out of the lakes and aquifers.
Burnet has been irrigating both hay fields and the city-owned golf course with treated effluent for years. However, Burnet refuses to commit in writing - either in the permit or in a separate agreement - to continue or expand that practice.
What's next? It is likely that one or more entities will request a contested case hearing at TCEQ to challenge the executive director's decision to grant the permit.
PLTA sincerely hopes that Burnet will reconsider their refusal to formally agree to beneficial reuse of the treated effluent through irrigation. Such an agreement could help avoid the costs and delays that Burnet would endure during the contested hearing process. |
| EDCs, CECs and APIs, Oh My! | | |
IT'S NOT JUST THE TOILETS - EVEN SHOWERS PROVIDE A SOURCE OF POLLUTANTS IN WASTEWATER SYSTEMS
In Issue 7 of the PLTA eNews we introduced readers to one of our favorite magazine articles: Canary In The River from the December 2009 issue of Popular Science. That article points to our toilets as a source of EDCs (Endocrine Disrupting Compounds - including pharmaceuticals, pesticides and hormones). EDCs are one class of CEC (Constituents of Emerging Concern) that scientists now realize pass right through our sewage treatment plants as components of the "treated" sewage effluent. If that effluent is discharged into our waterways, it can definitely affect aquatic life and potentially, human health. Just one more reason that PLTA believes that beneficial reuse of effluent through land-based irrigation needs to be insisted upon. Now, an article by the American Chemical Society points to our showers and baths as a pollutant source and introduces us to another term to be concerned about - API (active pharmaceutical ingredients): "That bracing morning shower and soothing bedtime soak in the tub are potentially important but until now unrecognized sources of the hormones, antibiotics, and other pharmaceuticals that pollute the environment, scientists reported here recently at the 239th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society."
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