The Texas Environmental Commission on Friday approved an investigation into Tesla’s battery lithium compound manufacturing facility near Robstown in Nueces County, finding that the plant did not violate its wastewater discharge permit.
TCEQ began the investigation after workers with the Nueces County Drainage District 2, which manages the ditch area, discovered an unfamiliar pipe extending across the district’s easement and discharging a black liquid into the ditch. Workers filed two complaints with TCEQ on January 20 and February 9 regarding the quality of wastewater discharged from the Tesla facility.
On Feb. 12, state investigators evaluated liquid waste from a ditch and discharge pipe that runs along Route 77 west of Corpus Christi. The wastewater flowing downstream appeared clear, according to state records. The banks and ditches were overgrown with algae and plants.
Investigators then went to Tesla’s facility, met with senior environmental engineers and managers, and collected samples from pipes near the cooling tower and into the ditch after wastewater treatment. Lithium refineries are permitted to discharge cooling tower blowdown, water treatment waste, and boiler blowdown. According to TCEQ’s investigation, test results for dissolved solids, oil and grease, chlorides, sulfates, temperature, and oxygen were all within Tesla’s allowance.
Drainage District spokesman Steve Ray said the district has met with Tesla management three times regarding the situation.
“We appreciate the cooperation of Tesla, TCEQ and Nueces County and will continue to monitor wastewater to keep local drains open and safe for our employees and residents,” Ray said Wednesday.
The electric vehicle company is allowed by the TCEQ to dump an average of up to 231,000 gallons of treated wastewater into ditches a day, but the Nueces County Drainage District didn’t know about the permit until workers discovered a pipe that was discharging black liquid into the drain.
District officials first reported the presence of the black liquid while performing routine maintenance, such as removing overgrown brush and fallen winter branches.
“We told them not to do anything until they saw it,” Ray said. As first reported by local television station KRIS 6 News, Ray said the dark industrial wastewater collecting in the county’s ditches is coming from Tesla’s lithium refinery across the street.
The drainage district then set up a meeting with electric vehicle companies about wastewater, Ray said.
According to TCEQ documents, the discharge permit was issued to Tesla in January 2025. The permit did not allow Tesla to use private or public property to transport wastewater. The TCEQ permit states that it is Tesla’s responsibility to obtain any ownership rights necessary to use the emission route under the permit.
When asked if Tesla had the authority to build a pipe into the unnamed ditch, TCEQ reiterated the permit provisions. The wastewater compliance report does not include any mention of Tesla’s use of the drainage district easement. The pipe is still there, Ray said.
A TCEQ spokesperson said the agency does not communicate directly with local drainage districts as part of the permitting process.
For individual water quality permits, TCEQ requires two public notices. Similar to Tesla, applicants must publish in local newspapers. TCEQ is also making notifications available online for treated wastewater discharge applications received before June 1, 2024.
The wastewater permit also requires that no significant suspended solids or foam be discharged, and that no visible oil be discharged.
Tesla did not respond to questions from Inside Climate News Regarding wastewater treatment and the use and construction of pipes.
This electric car company is run by Elon Musk, the richest man in the world. He resides in Texas and has multiple facilities for various businesses including Tesla, SpaceX, X (formerly Twitter), and The Boring Company. Some of his companies have had TCEQ violations.
The roughly $1 billion lithium refinery in Robstown, Texas, is intended to increase the domestic supply of battery-grade lithium hydroxide, a key compound for making rechargeable batteries, including for electric vehicles, Tesla said. The company said the facility, which will begin construction in May 2023, will process lithium without using strong acids, allowing the refinery’s byproduct to be a mixture of sand and limestone.
Ray said that in discussions with the wastewater district and the company, Tesla continued to say its wastewater was clear. “It’s not clear at all,” Ray said. “It’s black.”
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Tesla’s wastewater project was set as an agenda item for the wastewater district’s Jan. 27 public meeting. In a letter obtained by KRIS 6 News, a senior manager at the Tesla factory said they do not have a representative at the Tesla factory and would like to understand any concerns.
Senior Manager Jason Bevan said in the letter that Tesla is committed to being a good neighbor in the community. The company is partnering with local environmental groups, including the Coastal Bend Bays Foundation and Texas A&M University’s Corpus Christi Heart Institute (HRI), a marine research institute that promotes long-term sustainable use and conservation of the bay, Bevan wrote.
The drainage ditch flows into Petronilla Creek and eventually into Baffin Bay. Saltwater bays are often referred to as the “jewels” of the Texas coast and have supported the area’s fishing industry for many years. But over four decades, the health of the ecosystem has deteriorated, according to an HRI publication.
The Baffin Bay watershed in South Texas is increasingly vulnerable to flooding caused by heavy rains and associated stormwater runoff, carrying pollutants that degrade water quality and threaten wildlife populations, the institute said.
Ray said ensuring the quality of the area’s waterways and environment is a priority for the drainage district. The district is considering having its own ditch water quality tested, but Ray is concerned about the sensitivity of the bay’s ecosystem. “I want to leave a clean environment for my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren,” Ray said.
Because Tesla is one of the drainage districts’ first industrial customers to do business in rural areas, the way a large corporate customer transports wastewater and notifies the district is unique, Ray said. But not seeking permission to use that easement to build pipe is not the precedent they are trying to set. “They crossed our easement without informing us,” Ray said. “We need to be informed about it, but we weren’t.”
The pipe revelations put the district in an uncomfortable position. “It’s not that we’re anti-industry. We’re very pro-industry,” Ray said. “This isn’t really directed at Tesla itself, it’s just about ensuring a clean environment for the workers and the public that we serve.”
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Arcelia Martin
Texas Renewables reporter
Arcelia Martin is an award-winning journalist with Inside Climate News. She is based in Dallas and covers renewable energy in Texas. Prior to joining ICN in 2025, Arceria served as a staff writer for the Dallas Morning News and The Tennessean. She is a native of San Diego, California and a graduate of Gonzaga University and Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
