Clean Water Act discharge permit · NPDES TX0055484
BROWNSVILLE PUB SOUTHSIDE WWTP, Brownsville, TX: NPDES TX0055484 discharge permit, effluent exceedances, inspections, penalties
- Administratively continuedPermit status
- MajorDischarger class
- 24Pollutants under a numeric limit
- 7Pollutants with an effluent exceedance
BROWNSVILLE PUB SOUTHSIDE WWTP, held by PUBLIC UTILITIES BOARD OF THE CITY OF BROWNSVILLE TEXAS, holds NPDES permit TX0055484, which discharges to Rio Grande Tidal. EPA’s file records it issued February 10, 2021 and expiring February 10, 2024. The status and dates are as EPA’s permit file stood when Velarion loaded it (October 14, 2026); EPA’s free Detailed Facility Report on ECHO carries the permit’s current standing.
Identity
| Facility as filed | BROWNSVILLE PUB SOUTHSIDE WWTP |
|---|---|
| Permittee as filed | PUBLIC UTILITIES BOARD OF THE CITY OF BROWNSVILLE TEXAS |
| NPDES ID | TX0055484 |
| Permit status | Administratively continued (past its expiration date and still in force until reissued) |
| Permit type | Individual permit |
| Discharger class | Major discharger |
| Facility type | Publicly owned treatment works |
| Program | Publicly owned treatment works |
| Issued | February 10, 2021 |
| Expiration date | February 10, 2024 |
| Address | Brownsville, TX 78521 |
| Receiving water | RIO GRANDE TIDAL |
| Subwatershed | Outlet Rio Grande (HUC 130900020000) |
| Program components on file | POTW, Pretreatment |
| SIC | 4952 – Sewerage Systems |
Cited to the EPA ICIS-NPDES permit file (ECHO download) and EPA’s NAICS/SIC and component files, the same download.
Effluent limits and exceedances
- 55Pollutants on file
- 24Under a numeric limit
- 54With a violation of any kind
- 7With an effluent exceedance
An effluent exceedance is a discharge monitoring report value over the permit’s numeric limit (EPA’s violation code E90). A violation of any kind also counts a report not filed. Each row is EPA’s own count for that pollutant.
| Pollutant or measure | Limits | Violations, any kind | Effluent exceedances | Latest exceedance | Largest exceedance, as filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solids, total suspended | 3 | 53 | 44 | April 30, 2025 | 2,160% over the limit |
| Nitrogen, ammonia total [as N] | 3 | 29 | 17 | June 30, 2026 | 122% over the limit |
| BOD, carbonaceous [5 day, 20 C] | 3 | 25 | 13 | April 30, 2026 | 864% over the limit |
| Flow, in conduit or thru treatment plant | 4 | 24 | 8 | October 31, 2015 | 41,502% over the limit |
| Enterococci | 2 | 8 | 6 | September 30, 2024 | 878% over the limit |
| Chlorine, total residual | 2 | 9 | 1 | January 31, 2004 | 10% over the limit |
| Polychlorinated biphenyls [PCBs] | 0 | 6 | 1 | July 31, 2011 | 104% over the limit |
| Mercury, total [as Hg] | 0 | 18 | 0 | ||
| Arsenic, dry weight | 0 | 16 | 0 | ||
| Chromium, sludge, total, dry weight [as Cr] | 0 | 16 | 0 | ||
| pH | 2 | 11 | 0 | ||
| Nickel, total [as Ni] | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
| Level of pathogen requirements achieved | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||
| Description of pathogen option used | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||
| Vector attraction reduction alternative used | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||
| LOEC Lethal Survival Static Renewal 7 Day Chronic Americamysis bahia (formerly Mysidopsis bahia) | 2 | 6 | 0 | ||
| LOEC Sub-Lethal Reproduction Static Renewal 7 Day Chronic Americamysis bahia (Mysidopsis bahia) | 2 | 6 | 0 | ||
| Selenium, dry weight | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| Copper, dry weight | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| Cadmium, dry weight | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| Annual amt sludge disposed in landfill | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| Salmonella | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| Molybdenum, sludge, total, dry weight [as Mo] | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| Zinc, sludge, total, dry weight [as Zn] | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| Lead, sludge, total, dry weight [as Pb] | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| Nickel, sludge, total, dry weight [as Ni] | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| Mercury, sludge, total, dry weight [as Hg] | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| Fecal coliform | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| Toxicity characteristic leaching procedure | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| Ann. amt sludge disposed by other method | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| Annual amt of sludge incinerated | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| Annual sludge production, total | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| Annual amount of sludge land applied | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| Annual amt. sludge disposed surface unit | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| Annual amt sludge transported interstate | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| Unit w/liner/leachate collection system | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| Whole effluent toxicity - retest #2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Low Flow Pass/Fail Survival Test Static Renewal 7 Day Chronic Americamysis bahia (Mysidopsis bahia) | 2 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Low Flow Pass/Fail Survival Test Static Renewal 7 Day Chronic Menidia menidia | 2 | 4 | 0 | ||
| NOEC Lethal Static Renewal 7 Day Chronic Americamysis bahia (formerly Mysidopsis bahia) | 2 | 4 | 0 | ||
| NOEC Lethal Static Renewal 7 Day Chronic Menidia menidia | 2 | 4 | 0 | ||
| NOEC Sub-Lethal Static Renewal 7 Day Chronic Americamysis bahia (formerly Mysidopsis bahia) | 2 | 4 | 0 | ||
| NOEC Sub-Lethal Static Renewal 7 Day Chronic Menidia menidia | 2 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Pass/Fail Sub-Lethal Static Renewal 7 Day Chronic Americamysis bahia (formerly Mysidopsis bahia) | 2 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Pass/Fail Sub-Lethal Static Renewal 7 Day Chronic Menidia menidia | 2 | 4 | 0 | ||
| LOEC Lethal Survival Static Renewal 7 Day Chronic Menidia menidia | 2 | 4 | 0 | ||
| LOEC Sub-Lethal Reproduction Static Renewal 7 Day Chronic Menidia menidia | 2 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Boundary areas | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Oxygen, dissolved [DO] | 1 | 3 | 0 | ||
| Pollutant table from 503.13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| NOEC Sub-Lethal Static Renewal 7 Day Chronic Ceriodaphnia dubia | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| LC50 Pass/Fail Static 24Hr Acute Americamysis bahia (formerly Mysidopsis bahia) | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| LC50 Pass/Fail Static 24Hr Acute Menidia menidia | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Compliance w/part 258 sludge requirement | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Whole effluent toxicity - retest #1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Cited to the EPA ICIS-NPDES limits and effluent violations files (ECHO download); up to 60 rows shown, most exceedances first.
Inspections, violations and enforcement
- 4Single-event violations
| Date | What EPA recorded | Agency |
|---|---|---|
| July 23, 2024 | Permit Violations - Violation Specified in Comment | ST6 |
| September 1, 2022 | PR: Biosolids - Surface Disposal: Invalid Monitoring or Unrepresentative Sample Violation (001) | ST6 |
| September 1, 2020 | PR: Biosolids - Surface Disposal: Invalid Monitoring or Unrepresentative Sample Violation (001) | ST6 |
| January 15, 2019 | Permit Violations - Violation Specified in Comment | ST6 |
Velarion’s copy of EPA’s ICIS-NPDES files does not include the inspections, formal enforcement actions and informal enforcement actions files, so this page shows none of them. EPA’s free Detailed Facility Report on ECHO lists this permit’s inspections, enforcement actions and penalties.
Cited to the EPA ICIS-NPDES violation, inspection and enforcement files (ECHO download); up to 50 rows of each shown, newest first.
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Figures from EPA’s ICIS-NPDES download, loaded October 14, 2026.