Complications with the permit process for a proposed wastewater treatment plant site in south Conroe have led city officials to consider abandoning the location for the $54 million facility.

The planned wastewater treatment plant site is adjacent to Grand Central Park, a mixed-use community under development along South Loop 336 West and I-45. Both the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, however, posed concerns about the potential effects the plant could have on the area.

The city purchased the site, which is a portion of the former Camp Strake, from the Boy Scouts of America in 2013.

If the issues with TCEQ and the Corps cannot be resolved, the city would need to find a new site for the wastewater treatment plant, Conroe Infrastructure Services Director Scott Taylor said. The existing facility has reached 75 percent of its capacity, and under TCEQ rules a municipality must begin planning an expansion or construction of a new facility at that point.

“Staff is currently looking at two [undisclosed] alternative sites and determining if these sites can meet requirements [from both agencies],” Taylor said. “We are moving quickly with our evaluation of alternatives and want to get the project back on schedule.”

Concerns about the site arose when the TCEQ told the city it would only grant a permit allowing 8.5 million gallons of discharge per day, which is significantly less than 12 million gallons per day the city requested. Taylor said the TCEQ did not grant a permit for 12 million gallons per day because of concerns the discharge could reduce oxygen levels in the West Fork of the San Jacinto River and adversely affect aquatic life.

Without the additional capacity, the city would be forced to build a third wastewater treatment plant to accommodate projected population growth in the Conroe area, City Administrator Paul Virgadamo said. 

The Corps was also reluctant to grant permits for the treatment plant. The Corps cited the potential for a lawsuit as a concern because Montgomery County Municipal Management District No. 1 is also trying to obtain a permit on the same tract of land.

“The Corps would not consider our permit request separately, but would combine it with [management district’s] application,” Taylor said. “They were concerned this would appear to be piecemealing the entire track of land and that could lead to a potential lawsuit”