Tesla is discharging treated wastewater from its lithium refinery into a roadside drainage ditch, a practice that is permitted by state regulators but has raised concerns among local officials who say they were not notified, Inside Climate News reported.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has authorized Tesla to release up to about 231,000 gallons of treated wastewater per day from its facility near Robstown. State investigators have found no violations of that permit.
However, the controversy centers on how the wastewater is being transported. Officials with a local drainage district say they were unaware that a pipe connected to the Tesla site had been installed and used to discharge into the ditch, which flows into Petronila Creek and eventually Baffin Bay…