Nueces County Drainage District No. 2 is raising concerns after discovering Tesla has been discharging wastewater into a ditch it maintains without their knowledge, according to drainage district officials.
The issue came to light when drainage district workers went out to perform routine maintenance on a ditch and discovered a pipe discharging what they described as dark water, Steve Ray, a consultant for the drainage district, told KRIS 6 News.
Tesla has permit to discharge wastewater, but drainage district says it wasn’t notified
“It was very dark and murky. I would say it was actually black,” Ray said. “We’re used to seeing good running water, and so we didn’t know exactly what it was.”
The pipe runs from Tesla’s lithium refinery in Robstown, which produces battery-grade lithium for electric vehicle batteries, according to Ray and documents obtained by KRIS 6 News. The facility, which broke ground in May 2023 and began operations in December 2024, is the first of its kind in North America…