Texas Supreme Court Clarifies TCEQ Antidegradation Review Standards for Water Discharge Permits in Tier 2 Waterways

The Texas Supreme Court affirmed TCEQ's grant of a wastewater discharge permit for a creek with high aquatic life designation and endangered salamander habitat, holding that Tier 2 antidegradation review requires holistic water-quality assessment rather than parameter-specific analysis of individual constituents. The Court rejected the environmental organization's challenge that TCEQ improperly collapsed Tier 1 and Tier 2 analysis, finding substantial evidence supported the agency's determination regarding dissolved oxygen criteria.