The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on Nov. 5 granted contested-case hearing requests from two petitioners and referred a Williamson County no-discharge land-application permit to the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH).

The permit under consideration would authorize disposal of treated domestic wastewater by subsurface drip dispersal on 13.77 acres at a rate of 60,000 gallons per day; four hearing requests were filed and the commission concluded two requesters — identified in staff records as Joe Brown and Ryan Eder — met the affected-person standard.

After discussion, the commission referred the matter to SOAH on the following issues: whether the draft permit complies with applicable buffer-zone requirements (including nuisance-odor and effluent storage rules in 30 TAC chapters 309 and 222); whether the draft permit is protective of water quality and prevents effluent discharge to surface waters or adverse impacts to groundwater; whether the draft permit protects the health of requesters and their families and animal life; and whether the draft permit complies with applicable monitoring requirements. The commissioners also directed referral to the commission's alternative dispute-resolution program to run concurrently with SOAH scheduling and specified a maximum hearing duration of 180 days from preliminary hearing to issuance of a proposal for decision.

The motion to grant the two hearing requests, deny the others and refer the specified issues to SOAH passed by voice vote.