The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on Friday approved an investigation report on Tesla’s battery-grade lithium compounds manufacturing facility near Robstown in Nueces County, finding no violation of the plant’s wastewater discharge permit.
TCEQ began its investigation after workers for Nueces County Drainage District No. 2, which presides over the ditch area, found an unfamiliar pipe stretched across the district’s easement, expelling black liquid into the ditch. The workers filed two complaints with TCEQ on Jan. 20 and Feb. 9 about the quality of the wastewater discharged from the Tesla facility.
On Feb. 12, a state investigator evaluated the ditch running alongside U.S. 77, west of Corpus Christi, and the liquid waste from the discharge pipe. The wastewater appeared clear as it flowed downstream, according to state records. Along the banks and in the ditch, there was a heavy growth of algae and vegetation…