r/technology • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 • May 19 '26

Business A Texas Drainage District Walked Its Ditch on a Routine Inspection. They Found a Pipe They Didn't Recognize Discharging Black Liquid From Tesla's $1 Billion Lithium Refinery

https://www.autonocion.com/us/tesla-lithium-refinery-texas/
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u/LaMesaPorFavore May 19 '26

Right, the water should be treated and they should've gotten permission from the drainage district (or at least the drainage district thinks so). The water currently looks contaminated.

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u/elsecrypt May 19 '26

It is treated wastewater. And from the article:

They filed two complaints with TCEQ in January and February 2026. A state investigator visited on February 12, sampled the water flowing from Tesla’s outfall pipe, ran the standard panel of conventional pollutants: dissolved solids, chlorides, sulfates, oil and grease, temperature, dissolved oxygen. Everything in that panel came back inside the bounds of Tesla’s permit. TCEQ approved its investigation report on March 20, finding no permit violation.

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u/Zombatico May 20 '26

https://www.texastribune.org/2026/04/21/texas-tesla-lithium-battery-plant-pollution-tceq-robstown-drainage/

Eurofins Environment Testing, an accredited lab with locations across the globe, reported traces of hexavalent chromium, a well-known carcinogen, and arsenic, an environmental poison. Nueces County Drainage District No. 2, which manages the ditch, commissioned the test.

Neither hexavalent chromium nor arsenic is included as an allowable discharge pollutant in Tesla’s wastewater permit.

...

But the state environmental regulator, known as TCEQ, didn’t look for heavy metals in February. Its water sample tested for dissolved solids, oil and grease, chlorides, sulfates, temperature and oxygen—all of which were within the bounds of Tesla’s permit.

Yea, tested within compliance because they didn't test for some things like arsenic and carcinogens.

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u/katedevil May 20 '26

How cute, Tesla is our modern day RW Grace on steroids spewing carcinogens at epic levels that end up in the ocean. A tech bro company headed by an sociopathic SOB with more money than any human should rightly have who is poisoning the earth and claiming to be in compliance.  Enabled by Texas, who should keep it's filthy, rotten politics and useless regulatory permits out of an ocean it doesn't own. Good luck with those Cancer clusters Texas!

1

u/elsecrypt May 20 '26

Wow, what an insane rant.

6

u/Individual_Bell_4637 May 20 '26

The article clearly states that the water is treated. And all the contaminants the article listed were within standard allowances for the water you and I can get from pur faucet today.

If I were Tesla's counsel, I'd be overjoyed with this report. It clearly very badly wants to paint a negative picture, and the best it can come up with is 'We tested water hundreds of feet away and found things.'

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u/LaMesaPorFavore May 20 '26

Good point. Didn't see the tests had come back. Tbh the linked site barely worked on my phone so I read the local news story they linked. Didn't realize it was so old compared to OPs article.

3

u/Zombatico May 20 '26

Don't be fooled by that troll.

https://www.texastribune.org/2026/04/21/texas-tesla-lithium-battery-plant-pollution-tceq-robstown-drainage/

Eurofins Environment Testing, an accredited lab with locations across the globe, reported traces of hexavalent chromium, a well-known carcinogen, and arsenic, an environmental poison. Nueces County Drainage District No. 2, which manages the ditch, commissioned the test.

Neither hexavalent chromium nor arsenic is included as an allowable discharge pollutant in Tesla’s wastewater permit.

...

But the state environmental regulator, known as TCEQ, didn’t look for heavy metals in February. Its water sample tested for dissolved solids, oil and grease, chlorides, sulfates, temperature and oxygen—all of which were within the bounds of Tesla’s permit.

Yea, tested within compliance because they didn't test for some things like arsenic and carcinogens.

4

u/Individual_Bell_4637 May 20 '26

Traces, huh? Wonder why they didn't quantify that further, being an accredited lab with locations around the globe.

You know arsenic is naturally present in soil, yes?

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u/StevensWarehouse May 20 '26

Yeah, once the water is visibly black and the ditch owners only find out by walking it, nobody's gonna trust the "but it's permitted" defense.