TCEQ to host public hearing for W.A. Parish power plant on installing wastewater treatment equipment – Houston Public Media

Florian Martin

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is holding a public hearing for the W.A. Parish power plant in Richmond on Monday night.

NRG Energy, which owns the plant, is seeking an amendment to its air quality permit, which would give the company permission to install new equipment to treat wastewater.

The amended air quality permit would allow the company to install a process water concentrator system. Water concentrators evaporate wastewater, leaving behind solids that NRG would then take to an on-site landfill.

Representatives for NRG said the water concentrator will help the power plant comply with the EPA’s new wastewater standards, roughly four years ahead of the deadline set by the federal agency.

The power plant includes four natural gas units and four coal plant units. If approved, NRG would install two water concentrators on Unit 8, a coal unit. The company plans to install two concentrators in order to have backup equipment. The concentrators would not run 24/7, NRG representatives said.

The concentrators would treat wastewater from the unit’s scrubber, a part of the unit that removes sulfur from the gas emitted by the plant.

“It’s proven technology, and it’s technically the best available option we have at this point in time,” said Oscar Rodriguez, a senior project manager for NRG.

Each concentrator treats 35 gallons of wastewater per minute – roughly the same amount of water released by two garden hoses a minute.

According to a notice from TCEQ, the permit would allow the power plant to emit more carbon monoxide, particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, organic compounds and “hazardous air pollutants.” Rodriguez said the company did a model of the emissions produced by the two wastewater treatment units and did not find a significant change in pollution.

“It did not have significant impact levels of particles coming out based on the national ambient quality air standards,” Rodriguez said.

Still, some community members have concerns. Advocates have been pushing to close the power plant’s four coal units, citing pollution and health concerns.

Alondra Torres is a climate justice coordinator with Air Alliance Houston. She noted that the concentrators are fueled by natural gas, and expressed concerns about increased air pollution as a result.

“The water quality should not come at the cost of our air quality,” she said.

The hearing will be held at 7 p.m. at the Reading Junior High School Cafeteria in Richmond.