The Tree Amigos: Friendly Practices to Avoid, Minimize, and Mitigate Impacts to a Forested Wetland

The city of Conroe (Conroe) is located north of Houston along the I-45 corridor. Conroe owns and operates the Southwest Wastewater Treatment Plant (SWWWTP). Upon renewal of the outfall permit, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) issued stricter discharge criteria with total dissolved solids (TDS) limits that are lower than the water treatment plant source water. This left Conroe with a few options: (1) significant and costly improvements to the SWWWTP, (2) significant changes to the city's water source, or (3) relocation of the effluent outfall. Conroe elected to construct a pipeline to relocate the effluent outfall. However, the alignment was required to pass through a forested wetland adjacent to the West Fork San Jacinto River. A team of specialized consultants acquired a Section 404 Permit from the United States Corps of Engineers (USACE) Galveston District. The project, which is now under construction, ran into several design phase permitting challenges, but its impacts were ultimately verified under three nationwide permits, and mitigation credits were purchased for the impacted wetlands.