Residents south of Mansfield are trying to stop a proposed wastewater treatment plant in unincorporated Rendon that would pour treated effluent into a tiny tributary feeding Willow Branch, Walnut Creek and Joe Pool Lake. At a contested case hearing earlier this month, neighbors told an administrative judge they fear foul odors, flooding of low-lying land and contamination of private wells and wildlife habitat. What started as tense public meetings has now escalated into a formal proceeding under oath before the State Office of Administrative Hearings.
Where the Plant Would Go and What Would Flow Out
Dallas-based BL 374 LLC is seeking a Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit that would allow daily releases of up to 490,000 gallons of treated domestic wastewater at a site about 0.6 miles northeast of Bennett Lawson Road and Gibson Cemetery Road in Tarrant County. The draft permit and its technical review map a discharge route into an unnamed tributary, then into Willow Branch, Walnut Creek and Joe Pool Lake, and include an antidegradation review that preliminarily found no impairment of existing uses. These details appear in the official public notice and related filings, according to the Texas Register.
What the Contested Hearing Is All About
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality sent the case to SOAH after granting affected-person status to several nearby residents and flagging key disputed issues for hearing, including whether the draft permit adequately protects water quality, public health and neighbors from nuisance odors. "The Commission determined ... are affected persons and granted their requests for hearing," the agency’s interim order states, adding that an administrative judge will take sworn testimony and issue a proposal for decision. The formal referral gives SOAH up to 180 days to build the hearing record and deliver its recommendation to the Commission.
Neighbors Say Creek Is ‘Just an Indentation’
People living closest to the proposed discharge point told hearing officers the nearby drainage is barely a waterway and that any discharge, runoff or smells from the facility would hit them fast. "It starts off as an indentation in the ground; it's not even a creek," said Paul Smith, who lives on three acres near the route. Truman Goodman told reporters he never expected "an open pit sewage plant within a quarter mile of you." Those remarks and coverage of the contested hearing are reported by Fort Worth Report, which also notes residents were given a May 11 deadline to submit additional testimony and comments into the state record.
Developer Says ‘Clear Water,’ City Eyes Alternatives
The project team describes the facility as a conventional activated-sludge plant with treatment limits set to meet state standards, insisting the discharged effluent would be clear and compliant. "It’s treated water, it’d be clear water," Jorge Gonzalez-Rodiles of Southland Consulting told the Fort Worth Report. Mansfield officials say they are working with the company to evaluate alternatives, including a transportation agreement that would route the wastewater into the city’s own collection system, although staff caution that such a move would probably require expensive pipeline construction and tie-in work.
What Happens Next
Because the case is now at SOAH, an administrative law judge will hold an evidentiary hearing, review sworn testimony and exhibits and issue a proposal for decision that the Commission will later consider and vote on. The SOAH hearing notice shows a preliminary proceeding took place on March 17, and the public docket includes the draft permit, technical reports, maps and the executive director’s written responses, all available for public review. Regulators have also pointed out they can investigate any odor complaints that are filed, and the Commission’s marked agenda will ultimately set the timeline for a final vote on whether to approve, modify or deny the permit.
