TCEQ Says Italy Had Approval. The Council Never Knew.

On March 28, I published a detailed account of how a chemical water treatment system called BiCARBUS was installed on Italy's public water supply without city council approval. That article, Italy's Council Said No to a Water Treatment System. It Got Installed Anyway, laid out the timeline, the evidence, and the fact that I had contacted the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality about it. If you have not read Part 1, I would encourage you to start there.

Here is what has happened since.

TCEQ Opened the Complaint on Their Own

I want to clarify something about how this complaint came about. I never submitted an online complaint to TCEQ. I called the TCEQ main switchboard on March 27 to ask whether my concern was even valid. I was routed through several departments before reaching Eraj Karunanayake, the environmental investigator assigned to Ellis County.

When I described what was happening in Italy, Eraj stopped me. He was already familiar with Italy's water system because he had personally conducted a Comprehensive Compliance Investigation of the city's water infrastructure at the end of 2025. He told me the concern was valid. His exact words: "That is a valid complaint." He told me that no chemical can be connected to a public water supply without prior TCEQ approval. He said he did not believe the system could "even be built or connected" without TCEQ's knowledge. His closing statement: "Thank you for bringing this to our attention, because it shouldn't be happening."

After our phone call, Eraj followed up by email to reconfirm the details he had taken down and to accept additional documentation in my possession. I promptly forwarded documentation supporting my claims. The complaint was then formally opened by Eraj after his review of everything I provided. I simply made a phone call. TCEQ's own investigator decided this warranted investigation, verified the details, requested supporting evidence, and opened the complaint himself.

Then TCEQ Said It Was Already Approved

On April 1, I received an email from Steven Dyer, an environmental investigator with TCEQ's Region 4 office in Fort Worth. His message read:

"Upon further review, it was determined that the City of Italy was granted approval to utilize the sodium hypochlorite solution BiCARBUS by the TCEQ Water Supply Division on January 21, 2026. Therefore, the complaint does not meet the necessary criteria for conducting a complaint investigation and will be closed out."

January 21, 2026.

Let me put that date in context.

The Full Timeline

BiCARBUS did not first come before the Italy City Council in February. It first appeared on the council agenda on October 13, 2025. The agenda item read: "Discuss and consider necessary action(s) regarding water treatment with BiCARBUS LLC." The council voted 5-0 to take no action.

According to TCEQ, someone obtained approval from the TCEQ Water Supply Division on January 21, 2026. The council was never informed that this approval had been obtained. There is no mention of it in any council packet, agenda, or meeting minutes I have reviewed, and I have reviewed every council packet from October 2024 through March 2026.

On February 9, 2026, BiCARBUS came back before the council for a second time. A presentation was given. The council voted 3-2 to defer the matter. The same day, the BiCARBUS system was physically installed at the water plant.

On March 9, 2026, BiCARBUS appeared on the council agenda for a third time. Residents raised concerns. The city attorney directed the item to executive session. After closed session, the council voted unanimously to schedule a workshop for April 13 at 5:30 PM. Again, no vote was taken on the BiCARBUS agreement.

Three council meetings. Three times the council either rejected or deferred BiCARBUS. And at no point during any of these meetings did the City Administrator mention that TCEQ had already granted approval.

Why I Am Concerned About This Response

If Italy had TCEQ approval since January 21, why did nobody say so?

When I called Keith Whitfield on March 26, he refused to discuss BiCARBUS. He told me to wait for the April workshop. If the city already had TCEQ approval, the simplest response in the world would have been: "TCEQ is already aware. We have their approval." He did not say that. He said, "I'm not going to discuss it, Ron."

When TCEQ's own investigator, Eraj Karunanayake, took my call on March 27, he sounded confused and concerned. He told me the complaint was valid. He said the city could not connect a chemical without prior TCEQ approval. He opened the complaint himself. If this approval from January 21 was on file the entire time, it appears the investigator assigned to this region was not aware of it when I called.

Then, four days later, a different investigator emailed me to say the complaint was being closed because approval had been on file since January.

I want to lay out what that sequence looks like from where I sit. The City Administrator refused to tell me anything. The TCEQ investigator who had just inspected Italy's water system did not seem to know about the approval. He opened a complaint because the situation concerned him. Then a different TCEQ representative closed it, citing an approval that nobody involved appeared to know about until after the complaint was filed.

The Question TCEQ Has Not Answered

Here is what I wrote back to TCEQ on April 1 at 10:16 AM:

The connection was still done without council approval. I have this as a documented fact based on Italy city council meeting minutes. The council specifically tabled the matter. TCEQ approval does not equal council approval.

I asked TCEQ three specific questions:

What involvement does TCEQ have when someone can prove a City connected a water treatment chemical without council approval? This seems like a seriously concerning matter that demands a response from TCEQ. What are your official comments? There are two levels of approval: TCEQ and council. What do we do when one of these mechanisms are bypassed, and who is the responsible party?

These questions went to Steven Dyer, the TCEQ media team, and Eraj Karunanayake. I also copied several media associates so they would be aware of the situation.

The Media Inquiry Reclassification

Later that afternoon, at 1:40 PM, I received a response from Ricky Richter, a TCEQ Media Relations Specialist. He confirmed my questions and asked when my deadline was. He also directed me to submit future media inquiries to TCEQ's media team.

I responded at 1:51 PM. I want to be direct about what I said, because I think it matters.

I told Ricky Richter that this is not a media inquiry. I made my concerns clear to Eraj during my original call. This is a serious matter of water system accountability. I grew up in Italy. I spent over thirty years of my life there. The people on this water system are people I know. I am not contacting TCEQ as a journalist chasing a story. I am contacting them because I have a genuine concern for the community I grew up in and continue to document and advocate for.

I asked him to focus on the issue at hand rather than instruct me about how to "correctly contact" TCEQ. I asked him to reply-all so that all parties could remain updated.

As of today, April 2, I have not received a response to my questions. Tomorrow is Good Friday, so I do not expect to hear back until Monday at the earliest.

Two Levels of Approval

I want to explain why I believe this is important, and why TCEQ's response so far is not sufficient.

There are two separate approval mechanisms for connecting a chemical to a city's public water supply. The first is TCEQ's regulatory approval, which addresses whether the chemical itself is safe and whether the installation meets state standards. The second is the city council's approval, which addresses whether the city has authorized the expenditure, the contract, and the modification to its infrastructure.

TCEQ says they granted the first. The city council never granted the second. In fact, the council actively withheld the second on three separate occasions.

If TCEQ approval was obtained on January 21, that raises its own set of questions. Who applied for it? Was it Keith Whitfield? Was it Texas Rebuild? The council had not authorized anyone to pursue TCEQ approval. The matter had been on the council agenda once, in October, and the council voted unanimously to take no action. No council member authorized the City Administrator to seek regulatory approval for BiCARBUS. And yet, someone did.

The January 12, 2026 ordinance amendment eliminated the City Administrator's independent spending and contracting authority. Nine days later, TCEQ approved the use of BiCARBUS in Italy. Nineteen days after that, the system was installed at the water plant on the same day the council tabled it for the second time.

The residents of Italy who consume this water were never told that TCEQ had already approved its use. The council members who voted to defer were never told. The community members who have been suspicious about line flushing since February were never told.

Whether or not TCEQ's regulatory box was checked, the people who actually live here and drink this water did not have a say. That is the concern I have raised with TCEQ, and it is the question they have not yet answered.

What Happens Next

A workshop to discuss BiCARBUS is scheduled for April 13, 2026 at 5:30 PM at Italy City Hall, before the regular council meeting. Keith Whitfield specifically told me, on a recorded call, to attend the workshop if I wanted more information. He refused to give me anything over the phone.

I plan to attend and record that session. I will continue to update the community as I learn more.

If you are an Italy water consumer and have questions or concerns about your water, you can contact TCEQ directly at 512-239-1000 or file a complaint online at www.tceq.texas.gov. You can also reach us at [email protected].

I sent my last email to TCEQ at 1:51 PM on April 1. I am publishing what I know now so the community can stay informed while we wait for their response.