Liberty Hill wants TCEQ to reconsider order to lower phosphorus released in river

Liberty Hill is fighting back against an order by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to lower the amount of phosphorus the city's wastewater treatment plant discharges into the South San Gabriel River.

The city filed a motion in May for a rehearing by the agency, saying the commission ignored some of the policies of the Texas Surface Water Quality Standards. The commission only focused on the policies about maintaining the quality of the water for public health and protecting terrestrial and aquatic life, the motion said.

A resident along the river who has fought for the lower phosphorus limits, Stephanie Morris, has filed a response against the city's motion for rehearing. The TCEQ has until Monday to decide what to do or can extend its deadline for a decision for 45 more days, said Ricky Richter, an agency spokesman.

According to the city's motion, the TCEQ failed to consider the other policies in the Texas Surface Water Quality Standards about maintaining existing industries, considering economic development, encouraging development of wastewater facilities and considering all other reasonable methods. The commissioners also violated the standards by seeking to improve the water quality rather than just maintaining it, the motion said.

It said the commissioners also set a phosphorus limit that is so low it cannot be tested by accredited laboratories.

The commissioners voted during a hearing in late March to lower the phosphorus limit that the Liberty Hill Wastewater Treatment Plant discharges into the river from the current level of 0.15 milligrams per liter to 0.02 milligrams per liter.

The order came years after residents along the river launched a legal fight, saying the phosphorus dumped into the river from the plant is causing excessive algae growth. They have said the algae violated state water quality standards by preventing recreational uses of the river such as fishing and swimming.

Algae growth in the river can lead to the death of fish and other aquatic life.

The motion that Morris filed against the city's request for a rehearing said the TCEQ was not violating the Texas Surface Water Quality Standards by trying to improve the water in the river.

The city repeated a rejected legal argument that the water quality in the river should be measured based on its current conditions, the motion filed by Morris said. But degradation is measured from the highest water quality sustained since Nov. 28, 1975, which was before the city started discharging effluent, the motion said.

It also said the city of Liberty Hill did not specifically say how the TCEQ had violated some of the policies of the Texas Surface Water Quality Standards, including maintaining existing industries or considering economic development.

There are labs, the motion filed by Morris said, that the city could use to test the newer lower limit of phosphorus ordered by the TCEQ.