Kilgore, Texas, Approves New Industrial Water Pretreatment Program

On April 27, 2018, city officials for Kilgore, Texas, approved a new industrial water pretreatment program. The approval was seven years in the making following an errant discharge from the city’s wastewater treatment plant, leaving the city in bad graces with the state, specifically the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).

The new pretreatment program sees the city take full responsibility for its processes.

“We are the primary agency for the enforcement of pretreatment guidelines,” said city engineer Clay Evers, adding that the new ordinance currently affects seven industrial clients involved with the city. “Their activities directly impact the activities of the city of Kilgore, mainly wastewater treatment.

The arrival of the new pretreatment program was spurred on by an event in the summer of 2011 when the city’s treatment plant discharged oily wastewater with a strong odor. This led to a citation by the TCEQ for failure to enforce the industrial waste ordinance in place at the time, which subsequently led to the formation of an enforcement action against the city. This new pretreatment program is the result of this back and forth.

The program must still be subjected to TCEQ approval and will span across areas including an industrial user survey, a financial plan, managerial strategy, pollutant study and an enforcement plan, among other details.

The companies most affected by the new ordinance have been contacted by the city.

“We have reached out to these industries, and they are being prepared for the implementation of this program,” Evers said. “Those folks are already fully aware of the regulations they must comply with and these don’t put any more on them. We also need the ability to monitor new ones that come in.”