By JOE BOCANEGRA
Special to the NEWS
Tuesday evening city officials approved action on the authorization of City Manager Manuel Lara to finalize an agreement with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for the Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSO) initiative.
The agreement came after a presentation from Victor Gutierrez Jr., a representative of Coym, Rehmet & Gutierrez Engineering, L.P., who said that the repairs would affect most of the downtown area. The presentation itself was the culmination of two years effort between the utility board and the TCEQ.
“Our goal is to get the TCEQ to approve an SSO agreement,” Gutierrez told the board, though he stressed that the agreement is still a rough draft. “The main objective is for TCEQ to do a 10-year program to correct some deficiencies,” he added. Those deficiencies are nine spots of repair that the city needs to improve upon.
Gutierrez said that most of the pipes in the aforementioned spots are filled with sludge, thus slowing the flow and causing loss of drainage. The repairs, when finalized, will help with the sewer and wastewater collection systems for a large sector of downtown Sam Houston area as well as some areas leading toward Harlingen, officials said.
The agreement will also ask for records of inspections and improvements. Those records will be used for resolving any problems the repairs might cause.
Place 4 Commissioner Celeste Z. Sanchez expressed concern during the meeting, asking if during the 10 years there would be any fines for spillage, to which Gutierrez answered in negation. When asked by Place 2 Commissioner Rene Villafranco how long the entire project will take, Gutierrez said three to four years.
Assistant City Manager Hector “Chuck” Jalomo said that the TCEQ was in favor with the plan.
To see this story in print, pick up a copy of the Aug. 28 edition of the San Benito News. Or view our E-Edition by clicking here.
Recent Comments