HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 10140 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 10140
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council May 8, 2018
0JAEV
° Page 1 of 2
SUBJECT: TIMELINE FOR MARY'S CREEK WATER RECLAMATION FACILITY
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The City of Fort Worth is committed to meeting the needs of our customers by ensuring we have the
infrastructure in place to provide reliable water and wastewater service now and into the future. Due to the
projected population growth and capacity limits of the current collection system to the Village Creek Water
Reclamation Facility,the City is planning to construct a new water reclamation facility to meet the needs of
the growing western part of Fort Worth.
A new water reclamation facility (WRF)located in west Fort Worth has been considered for more than two
decades. In 2008 through 2010, a facility feasibility and site selection study was performed, which included
input from a community advisory committee. More than 200 people attended two open house events to
provide feedback. The site selection process was detailed in City Council Informal Report No. 9206, dated
March 2, 2010. That site selection process culminated in the 2011 purchase of a 100-acre site along the
north bank of Mary's Creek with frontage along Chapin Road(M&C L-1522, 7/26/2011).
The current implementation schedule targets having the facility operational by 2026. The next step is to
obtain a Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit(TPDES) for the proposed facility. On
January 31, 2017 (M&C C-28096), City Council approved an agreement with an engineering firm to help
prepare the paperwork necessary to submit a TPDES permit application to the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for review. Fort Worth's permit application requests an interim discharge
limit of 10 million gallons per day (MGD),with a final discharge limit of 15 MGD. The permit application
was made on March 23, 2018.
Once TCEQ receives the permit, an administrative and technical review is performed. The administrative
review consists of TCEQ staff verifying that the permit application includes all appropriate information.
After the permit application has been deemed administratively complete, the City will be required to
publish a Notice of Receipt of Application and Intent to Obtain Permit. This notice will provide the
location(s)where the permit application is available to the public for both viewing and copying.
The technical review consists of the detailed assessment and validation by TCEQ staff of the engineering
and water quality data and design criteria incorporated into the permit application. TCEQ may ask the City
for additional information during this review process. After the permit application has been declared
technically complete, TCEQ staff will proceed with preparing a draft permit, technical summary or fact
sheet for the application, and public notice. Fort Worth is given the opportunity to review and provide
comments on the draft permit. In addition, certain permits are sent to EPA for their review and approval
after comments from the applicant are resolved. The draft permit is then filed with the TCEQ Office of the
Chief Clerk, and instructions on the second public notice are mailed to the city. The Notice of Application
and Preliminary Decision is the second notice that will be required to be published by the City as part of the
permit application process. This notice will include general details on the permit application,receiving
stream and proposed facility location, where the permit application, TCEQ preliminary decision paperwork,
and draft permit are available to be viewed and copied, information on how to provide TCEQ with
comments on the draft permit, and information on how to request a public meeting or contested hearing.
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS
INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 10140
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council May 8, 2018
0JAEV
° Page 2 of 2
SUBJECT: TIMELINE FOR MARY'S CREEK WATER RECLAMATION FACILITY
1673
Comments on the application and draft permit are considered by the TCEQ and if requested, the TCEQ
may hold a public meeting. The TCEQ staff will prepare a Response to Comments that addresses all of the
public comments received during the comment period on the application and draft permit. The application
may also be referred for a public hearing, if requested by affected parties. The TCEQ may issue the draft
permit or revise the draft permit based on public comments or recommendations from the public hearing.
The estimated time to obtain a final permit varies, generally ranging from 18 months to three years. The
TPDES permit will specify the water quality standards for the discharge from the WRF, which will impact
the design. The design phase will begin as soon as the TCEQ issues the final permit,with construction to
follow. Design and construction are expected to take five years.
Over the last few months,Fort Worth has met with several stakeholders, including the City of Benbrook,
Benbrook Water Authority, Tarrant County,the Tarrant Regional Water District, as well as impacted
property owners. In addition, a three-hour open house event was held on Saturday,April 14 at the
Westside Water Treatment Plant, which is in close proximity to the Mary's Creek WRF site. The open
house included six poster stations with information regarding various aspects of the permitting phase and
proposed project. Representatives from the City and the consultant were available to answer questions. The
City also has reached out to neighborhood organizations in the area and offered to speak about the WRF
permit at their meetings. Mary's Creek runs through the City of Benbrook,thus also generating interest in
that community.
Should you have any questions regarding this project,please contact Chris Harder, Interim Water Director,
at 817-392-5020.
David Cooke
City Manager
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS