BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – The long-standing battle against a controversial northwest Bexar County housing development intensified Monday after opponents of the project sued the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).
Guajolote Ranch is a proposed development by Florida-based Lennar Corporation that would create approximately 3,000 homes on 1,100 acres, located north of Grey Forest.
For months, opponents fought against the permit because the wastewater treatment facility will be built directly over the Helotes Creek watershed, which supplies San Antonio with its drinking water.
The project cleared one of several hurdles last October, after the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) approved a wastewater discharge permit for the development.
The suit, filed in a Travis County Distirct Court on Jan. 21, challenges the approved permit and seeks judicial review, according to a Monday morning news release.
Up to this point, opponents have tried several times to stall the process and call for a rehearing, even drawing on the help of some state lawmakers, but TCEQ denied it.
The 295-page filing suggests the commission’s Oct. 28 permit approval “is the product of numerous errors and must be reversed,” and alleges at least 10 errors are present.
“While the lawsuit does not halt the Guajolote Ranch project, it creates significant uncertainty around the proposed wastewater treatment plant,” said Randy Neumann, chair of the steering committee of the Scenic Loop-Helotes Creek Alliance. “Any investment in that facility could be at risk if the permit is ultimately remanded or vacated.”
One of the 10 errors cited included “issuing the permit without giving any consideration to the potential impacts of PFAS contained within the discharge, including impacts on endangered wildlife.”
“Our lawsuit is about protecting the aquifers that sustain our region and insisting that state agencies follow the law, the evidence and the science,” Neumann said.
San Antonio City Council is expected to vote on whether to approve a proposed municipal utility district (MUD) for the project on Feb. 5. However, council signaled early opposition to the project in a hearing this month.
Council’s meeting followed a previous San Antonio Planning Commission meeting where — after more than three hours of mostly opposed public comments — the commission voted down the MUD measure 5-4.
A MUD is a different type of financing and governance structure that, if approved, would shape how the project’s infrastructure is built and paid for.
A MUD is a separate political entity that can issue bonds and levy taxes to fund utility infrastructure — commonly water, wastewater and drainage — particularly in areas not served by a city’s utility system.
KSAT reached out to TCEQ over email Monday morning. This story will be updated when we receive their statement on the legal filing.
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