Thursday, June 25th, 2:00 p.m., watch court argument in Dripping Springs Wastewater Permit Appeal

On Thursday, June 25th at 2:00 p.m. Travis County District Court Judge Maya Guerra Gamble will hear our appeal of TCEQ’s permit authorizing Dripping Springs to discharge over 800,000 gallons per day of treated sewage into Onion Creek.  

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the hearing will occur via video conference. The public can watch the hearing live via the Court’s YouTube channel. Please note that you will only be able to watch the hearing in real time—the Court’s broadcast will be deleted from YouTube immediately after the hearing has ended. Video or audio recording by members of the public is prohibited.

The hearing will consist of oral arguments from attorneys for SOS Alliance, the TCEQ, and the City of Dripping Springs.  The entire hearing will last 2 to 3 hours.  

Our primary argument is that the permit violates Clean Water Act standards prohibiting degradation of high quality waters like Onion Creek and all of our Hill Country streams.

Last week we filed our closing, or reply, brief.  You can read our brief here.  
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This case is important not just for Onion Creek and Barton Springs.  The court’s ruling will largely determine whether our clear Hill Country streams are, in fact, fair game for treated sewage discharges, as the TCEQ has assumed them to be in recent years.  This fact led several other organizations opposing proposed discharges to other Hill Country streams to file a “friends of the court” brief in support of our appeal.  Read that brief here.