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EPA To Take Public Comments on Proposed Texas Water Permitting Program

Release Date: 6/12/1998
Contact Information: For more information contact the Office of External Affairs at (214) 665-2200.

     The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) soon will open a 45-day public comment period on the application by the State of Texas to administer the federal water permitting program,  EPA Regional Administrator Gregg Cooke announced today.

     If approved, the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC) will directly regulate point-source discharges of pollutants to the rivers, lakes and coastal waters of Texas. The federal Clean Water Act provides the opportunity for states to assume primary regulatory authority for the water permit program, known as the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) from the federal government.  

     A public meeting and public hearing will be held at the Holiday Inn-South, 3401 South IH 35 in Austin, Texas, July 27, 1998.  The public meeting will begin at 1 p.m. and will include a brief overview of the state’s proposed water program followed by questions and answers.

     The public hearing will begin at 7 p.m. and will provide an opportunity to submit written or oral comments in the official record.  

     The official notice is expected to be published in the Federal Register June 19, 1998, followed by notices in 16 Texas newspapers.

     After June 19, written comments may be sent to EPA in Dallas, Texas, following the instructions in the Federal Register Notice and newspaper notices.  Also, after June 19, comments may be submitted using Internet electronic mail at [email protected].  More information and a copy of the Federal Register notice will be available on EPA’s webpage at https://www.epa.gov/region6.