TCEQ is investigating resident complaints about foul odors

By Jason Clay Jansky

Officials with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality are conducting ongoing investigations into possible nuisance odors allegedly coming from a sour oil and gas compressor station on County Road 211 near Hobson.

The TCEQ has received two complaints this year, one on September 12 and another on October 12, regarding the station.

Owned by TexStar, the station has been under opposition by several residents along County Road 211. They’re putting together a petition opposing the station and have plans to present it to Karnes County’s Commissioners Court during their October 31 meeting.

They say the smell, combined with the noise the station makes, is too much for its close proximity to where they live.

TexStar obtained a permit to operate the compressor station August 15 this year. The permit falls under the "permit by rule" category, which means TCEQ does not need to conduct any investigation prior to issuing the permit.

"If they have the proper controls in place and they can demonstrate that they will be protective of the environment, then they can apply for a permit by rule and it will be granted," TCEQ representative Andrea Morrow said. "We have conducted three investigations and have not documented any nuisance odor violation, but we’ve requested additional air sampling and continue to conduct odor investigations."

Morrow said there was no word yet on when the investigations would conclude, though.

"With nuisance odors, it’s a matter of duration and concentration. In these cases, when we’ve been out there, we haven’t noted odors that would constitute a violation," she said.

TCEQ investigators have requested additional monitoring to determine whether there’s a problem, though, and are continuing to look into the matter.

The station contains a compressor engine, storage tanks, and a glycol dehydration unit, according to the permit authorization issued by TCEQ.

The same notice explains that the station will be releasing acceptable amounts of volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide.