Updates

  • TCEQ granted the City of Corpus Christi a water rights permit for this facility. They still need to get approved for intake & outtake flow permits.
  • The Hillcrest Resident’s Association & the Citizens Alliance for Fairness & Progress is filing a Title VI complaint against the city for Environmental Racism with this project. Here is Earthjustice’s report on the issue. Chase Rogers dove deeper on what is really happening in Hillcrest. Read more at www.desaldisaster.com

Relevant Links/Documents

Intake Permit #WRPERM 13676

Discharge Permit #WQ0005289000

  • Public Notice
  • Draft Permit – pending decision by TCEQ
  • Application – submitted 1/22/20
  • Review Submitted Comments for TCEQ ID# “WQ0005289000” (be sure to check “include all Correspondence”)

Map

File Public Comments Online

Go To https://www14.tceq.texas.gov/epic/eComment/ and enter permit # “WRPERM 13676“

What to Put in a Public Comment

Step 1 – Describe your relationship to the issue:

  • Name, address, and phone number
  • How far you live and/or work from specific desal plant location on Inner Harbor
    (Latitude 27.812342° N, Longitude 97.414444° W)
  • If you are a member of the Hillcrest Residents Association or other local organizations

​Step 2 – State your opposition and request (all of these):

  • I STRONGLY OPPOSE the Port of Corpus Christi’s placing an intake pipe for a desalination plant in the Inner Harbor on Tule Lake
  • I request a two-week extension of the deadline for comments on account of the recent freeze and loss of electricity in Texas.
  • I request that a Contested Case Hearing be held

​Step 3 – In your own words, state your reasons for opposing, such as (whichever apply):

  • According to the permit, the City of Corpus Christi would be allowed to suck 83 million gallons of water from the Inner Harbor every day. Sucking in that amount of water that fast will require an enormous amount of suction power and I am concerned about aquatic life being trapped or killed in the process. This intake pipe is a death sentence!
  • I and my family members (describe their relationship, such as grandchildren) love to fish/boat/swim/etc. in Corpus Christi Bay and the Inner Harbor is part of that water system where the intake pipe for the Port of Corpus Christi’s desalination facility will be located and the discharge will flow to. I am concerned that given the number of small larvae which will be sucked up, turned to sludge, and deposited into landfills, fishing will be badly impaired in the region.
  • The location of this plant is close to neighborhoods that have historically had more than their fair share of polluting facilities. This is an example of environmental racism.
  • When the City of Corpus Christi applied to the Texas Water Development Board for a loan, the city said this plant was for industrial purposes, not residential water. If it is for industrial purposes, why aren’t industries paying to construct this plant?
  • If it is going to be mixed in with other water used for residents, I’m concerned about the taking in water that is downstream of refinery row and the chemicals that might remain after the desalination process. We have had boil water notices due to chemical contamination in the past, could this desalination plant lead to more?
  • There is already a privately-owned but not yet operating desalination plant upstream of this proposed facility that has been permitted by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). When CC Polymers starts discharging its briny wastewater, I am concerned that the City’s proposed facility will be sucking in very salty water and that this will affect the operation of the plant. Did the City or TCEQ factor in the impact of the CC Polymer discharge in this draft permit. If not, that is clearly a deficiency.
  • In addition, to this proposed desalination plant and the already permitted CC Polymers plant, there are three other proposed desalination plants that are proposed to release millions of gallons of briny discharge into the Corpus Christi Bay system. I am concerned about the dramatic increase in salinity of our Bay system, and how that build-up would affect sea life, bird life and those of us who value these natural resources and those of us who depend on a healthy environment for our livelihoods.
  • I am concerned about the amount of salty brine that will be discharged from the desal plant, plus its mixing in with other waste water from the industries located on and discharging into the Inner Harbor. This can’t be good for the fish – or for people! If the fish die, then the birds we love to watch will also die or leave the area.
  • I am concerned about possible health effects on me or my family from the chemicals used in the desalination process, including pre-treatment.
  • I fish for business and I am concerned about loss of income that will happen when aquatic life in Corpus Christi Bay is harmed/destroyed by this desal plant.
  • Many of us suffered through the historic winter storm in February 2021 and were without power for several days in freezing temperatures due to the amount of demand placed on the electrical grid in Texas. The operating pumps required to suck 83 million gallons of water per day will take an enormous amount of power, placing even more strain on the grid. I am opposed to issuing a permit which would demand excessive amounts of energy to supply water only for industrial use.
  • Most of the desalinated water will be used by industry for cooling purposes. Aren’t there federal regulations that apply to industrial cooling water intake structures?
  • Since Corpus Christi Bay connects to the Gulf of Mexico, doesn’t diverting water from Corpus Christi Bay to support private industry without federal oversight amount to stealing from the Waters of the United States (WOTUS)?
  • Since Texas is already drought-prone and gets very hot, why is the City of Corpus Christi enticing such thirsty high-energy-requiring industries to come here in the first place?
  • All of our area scientists, including from Texas Parks & Wildlife, the General Land Office, the UT Marine Science Institute, and the Harte Research Institute, have said, in published reports, that seawater desalination intake and discharge should only occur in designated areas offshore in the Gulf. There’s even an expedited permitting process for this. Why is the City of Corpus Christi insisting on putting intake and discharge inside Corpus Christi Bay in the first place. Aren’t they listening? Why aren’t they showing the way by pursuing the expedited permit process that will keep our Bay safer?
  • Why is the City applying for this permit? Shouldn’t it be the private industries that plan to use the desalinated water?
  • Why aren’t industries paying for pipelines to bring in water from offshore and pump the brine back offshore? After all, they pay for other pipelines that cross the region, tearing up communities and farm land.
  • Anything else that concerns you about this permit in your own words, since that’s most effective.