Grail Systems
Angelina County Watch
A smoke alarm, not an investigation. This page pulls public records about big water and power users in Angelina County into one place, so you can see what’s coming before the deals are done.
Built and run by Fawn Elizabeth Zion, Grail Systems. Data checked ….
What’s on file right now
Every number links to the list behind it, and every item links to its public source.
Sources: ERCOT, Texas Water Development Board, EPA ECHO and public information requests, refreshed by the Aquifer Defense Grid’s nightly job.
EPA violations
Facilities the EPA lists with violations, most serious first.
Source: EPA ECHO.
State enforcement orders: City of Lufkin wastewater
- 2024-0641-MWD-E: fish kill in Mill Creek. Over Aug. 26–29, 2023, two sewage spills at the Ellen Trout lift station released about 6,100 gallons of untreated sewage and caused a fish kill; a landowner reported dead fish in Mill Creek. The City flushed the creek with about 200,000 gallons of drinking water. Penalty $75,000, fully offset by a lift-station alarm project (estimated cost $1,873,023), so $0 goes to the state’s general fund. Signed by the Mayor June 15, 2026 and for TCEQ July 25, 2026. Read the order (PDF)
- Monthly limits missed, 15 months straight. The same file’s compliance history shows the Hurricane Creek plant self-reported failing one or more permit limits every month from July 2023 through September 2024. TCEQ still rated the City “Satisfactory.” Source: TCEQ Compliance History Report in the order above, Appendix A.
- 2024-0119-MWD-E: 14 violations at Hurricane Creek. Seven sewage overflows from Aug. 2022 to Sept. 2023, broken aeration equipment, and E. coli, ammonia and solids over permit limits. Proposed penalty $193,813, with $155,051 offset and $38,762 deferred, so $0 to the state’s general fund. On TCEQ’s Oct. 21, 2026 agenda; final outcome not yet confirmed. Sources: KLTV, Oct. 23, 2026; The 936, Oct. 24, 2026.
- 2020-1536-MWD-E: an earlier sewage discharge order, effective Feb. 27, 2024. Source: TCEQ Compliance History Report, Section A.
Ask for the records yourself
The data above only shows what’s already public. The deals, the emails and the water promises come out through public information requests. Filing one is free. Fill this in and it writes the letter for you.
Good to know before you send it
- Send it to the official address. Use the agency’s public information email, online portal, mail or front desk. Some agencies won’t act on a request sent to a staff member’s own inbox.
- You don’t have to say why. The agency can’t ask what you want the records for. It can ask you to clarify or narrow the request.
- They’re on a clock. If records can’t be produced within 10 business days, the agency has to tell you in writing when they will be. If it wants to withhold something, it generally has to ask the Attorney General within 10 business days.
- Watch for a cost estimate. If charges will top $40, the agency has to send an itemized estimate first. You then have 10 business days to accept it, narrow the request or ask for a waiver, or the request counts as withdrawn.
- Keep a copy of what you sent and the date you sent it.
Sources: Texas Government Code §552.221(d), §552.222, §552.2615, §552.301. This is general information, not legal advice. The Attorney General’s Open Government Hotline answers questions for free: 512-478-6736.
Send us what you find
Got records back? Email them to contact@grailsystems.io. We check everything before it goes up. Your name goes on it only if you want it there.
Want a heads-up when something new shows up here? Email us with “Angelina alerts” in the subject and we’ll add you to the list.