City of CC Desal Plant

.The City of Corpus Christi plans to build a baywater desalination plant on La Quinta Channel in order to attract future industrial customers to the Coastal Bend region.  IOBCWA opposes the City's desalination facility on account of the devastation it would wreak on local fish and bird populations as a result of intake and discharge operations within the Channel.  The City of Corpus Christi maintains a website about the project at https://www.desal.cctexas.com/.   

STATUS

Public Meeting 11/16/21 7pm: City of Corpus Christi La Quinta Desal Intake TCEQ Permit WRPERM 13675

Please plan to speak up at this public meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021 starting at 7pm. 
Click to Join the webinar (enter  Webinar ID 930-500-283).
Alternatively electronic comments for WRPERM 13675 are due by 11/30/21 at www14.tceq.texas.gov/epic/eComment/ .

PENDING: City of Corpus Christi La Quinta Desal Discharge TCEQ Permit WQ0005290000

Relevant Links

To Make a Public Comment

To comment, go to https://www14.tceq.texas.gov/epic/eComment/ and enter permit number ("WRPERM 13675" (intake) or "WQ0005290000" (discharge)):
Step 1 - Describe your relationship to the issue:
  • Name, address, and phone number
  • How far you live and/or work from La Quinta Channel or specific desal plant location
​Step 2 - State your opposition and request (all of these):
  • I STRONGLY OPPOSE the City of Corpus Christi's placing an intake pipe for a desalination plant in La Quinta Channel
  • I request that a public meeting be held for the community to express its concerns.
  • 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 115,349.31 gallons of water from La Quinta Channel every minute. 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 La Quinta Channel where the intake pipe for the Port of Corpus Christi’s desalination facility will be located or in Ingleside Cove where 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.
  • 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 in La Quinta Channel. 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 La Quinta Channel and 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 115,349.31 gallons of water per minute 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 for future 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? Shouldn't they go where it's cooler and where there's more water?
  • Since this desal plant has been listed as a "recommended water strategy" on the Region N Water Plan for 2021, I expect that the City of Corpus Christi will try to get a low-interest loan from the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) to construct the plant. Isn't it a violation of Texas law to use public funds to support private industry? Who will have to pay back such a loan?
  • 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, a public entity, 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 to construct this plant?
  • 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 San Patricio County, tearing up communities and farm land.
  • Anything else that concerns you about this permit in your own words, since that's most effective.
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