As Granbury pauses new development, residents anticipate battle over sewage plant
Granbury is pausing all new development in its eastern section for four months after a City Council vote Monday, opening a new chapter in the city’s struggle to accommodate rapid population growth in Hood County.
The ordinance, introduced late last month amid intense debate over city plans to build a new sewage plant flowing into Rucker Creek and Lake Granbury, only applies to new development applications and could be extended if necessary.
Alex Southern, the city’s spokesperson, said Granbury officials were pleased with the unanimous passage because it will help stabilize wastewater capacity issues, “for now.” Hood County, where the city of about 10,000 people is located, has grown by 20.5% in the past decade, making it one of the fastest growing counties in the country, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures.
In the past several years, Granbury said it has reported “numerous” sanitary sewer overflows, or the accidental spilling of raw sewage into streams or city streets — a key indicator that the collection system is becoming overwhelmed. Officials say that a new wastewater facility would reduce these incidents.
“But we still have a lot of work ahead of us to make this wastewater treatment plant a reality, so that we can provide the wastewater services a growing town like Granbury so badly needs,” Southern said in an email.
Granbury is awaiting final approval on a permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to construct a new plant that would discharge up to 2 million gallons of treated wastewater per day into a tributary of Rucker Creek, which is used recreationally by Hood County residents.
The commission gave its initial approval in May, finding that the plant would cause “no significant degradation” of Rucker Creek or Lake Granbury. However, a group of property owners known as Granbury Fresh rallied more than 400 households to submit comments opposing the permit to the TCEQ, according to leader Victoria Calder.
Members of Granbury Fresh spoke in support of the moratorium at three public meetings in December, asking that the council use the extra time to consider other options, including a larger regional treatment plant that the city says would be too costly.
“Such a moratorium will slow the uncontrolled growth in our region and will provide a terrific opportunity to start evaluating and implementing smart growth strategies,” Anita Branch, a retired engineer and Granbury Fresh member, told the council on Monday.
At the request of state Rep. Mike Lang of Granbury, the TCEQ held a public meeting on the permit in September. Now, Granbury officials and concerned residents are awaiting the TCEQ’s formal response to public comments and its decision on whether to issue a final permit, a process that typically takes up to 60 days but has been delayed by the pandemic.
“Unfortunately for us all, this COVID-19 pandemic issue has put everyone in a ‘hurry up and wait’ mode as TCEQ goes through their paces with limited staff,” Southern said.
Members of Granbury Fresh are already preparing for the possibility that the TCEQ will approve the permit request. Stacy Rist, who owns a family RV business next to the proposed wastewater treatment plant site at 3121 Old Granbury Road, has sought legal counsel so that she can request a contested case hearing, which is similar to a civil trial in state district court.
Because of her close proximity to the site, Rist was one of 14 landowners who received formal notification of Granbury’s plans to build a wastewater plant next door. Bennett’s Camping Center and RV Ranch, which Rist hoped to expand to meet tourist demand, has been in a holding pattern since 2019.
“My dream would be that they have to find an alternative site and the TCEQ agrees with us and does not issue that final permit, and then we can go on about our intended plans,” Rist said. “We still have plans hanging on the wall in the office.”
Calder, along with other homeowners who live in the Mallard Pointe, Bentwater, Ashley Oaks and Highland Park subdivisions, has argued that people living along Rucker Creek should have been notified as “affected residents” and given more time to respond to the city’s plans. Those subdivisions are outside the city limits.
Over the summer and fall, Calder has consulted with environmental experts about how the wastewater effluent could affect water quality and potentially lead to algae blooms that cause massive fish kills. She is ready to bring those arguments to a contested case hearing if necessary, but hopes that Granbury officials will use the moratorium as an opportunity to change course.
“We invite you to approach with an open heart and open mind,” Calder told city council members on Monday. “This moratorium is a time to at least consider alternatives, given the winds of change, and the opportunities that this moratorium can present if it it’s used effectively, (and) to be open minded about alternative infrastructure strategies that impact all of our lives, even those outside city limits.”
This story was originally published December 15, 2020 at 4:51 PM.
