Audience members filled the Middle Trinity Groundwater Conservation District meeting room, some lining the back and side wall, as a group of concerned Erath residents hoped to get answers during the regular MTGCD meeting Thursday, Dec. 7.
More than 15 of the approximately 50 in attendance spoke through the public comments portion, all on water pressure and supply issues which have started in the Selden community after an aggregate production operation (APO) (sand excavation) started in the area.
Multiple speakers reported that a large sand excavation pit operation and is letting large amounts of groundwater run down into neighboring creeks.
Robert Gustavsen, an audience member, said the operation had received eight reported violations from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, cited issues with the slope and setbacks on the excavation site and worried about an apparent lack of contingencies for contaminants like diesel seeping into the groundwater.
Gustavsen estimated that as much as a million gallons per day is flowing down Mills Creek based on the equipment used and the permit filed with TCEQ (He arrived at these figures using 3,100 gallons per minute on equipment rated for twice that and pumping at six hours per day as reported on the permit.)
Gustavsen also noted that the average well depth in the Selden area is around 80 feet but the next aquifer residents could access if that layer is depleted is 400 feet down. He got price quotes on drilling a new well to that depth and was told between $50,000 and $80,000.
“How many of us have had numerouspressureissuesevery day?,” Amy Jackson asked fellow audience members. Many hands shot up around the room as residents, several of whom said they have lived Selden in decades without water well issues before the site came in, commiserated.
Roy Moore elaborated that one of his wells has started spewing mud and that the calcium in the lines has gotten so bad he has had to scrape sediment off his windows after running sprinklers.
Severalof thespeakersasked for action from MTGCD while a few asked the board to point the residents in the right direction if they were unable to act under Chapter 36 of the state water code which determines the powers and functions of a groundwater conservation district in permitting and managing the groundwater in its area.
After receiving a little more than the allotted 30 minutes for public comments, the board went into a closed executive session with attorney Ty Embrey to determine what could be done.
The board returned to the room after approximately 20 minutes and Embrey addressed the crowd.
“I’m going to lay out the regulatory authority so y’all understandwhohasregulatory oversight over this mining operation,” Embrey began. He explained that APOs are overseen by TCEQ through multi-sector permits, which is what he said the excavation operation was violating. He reported a deadline was set for Dec. 5 for the property owner to respond to these violations, but a member of the crowd had heard the deadline was extended by a week.
He recommended resident bring concerns to TCEQ as well as local legislators Shelby Slawson and Brian Birdwell to whom TCEQ would answer.
“It’s very clear from the conversation I just had with these board members they know some of y’all; they care about what’s going on,” Embrey said. “They don’t have the authority to deal with this kind of situation. TCEQ does, and the legislature has supervision over TCEQ.”
A member of the crowd reported on a letter from TCEQ where they reportedly said for residents to go to MTGCD (which Embrey said he had read) or seek legal action. Embrey reiterated that the matter is under TCEQ regulation since the violations were against the TCEQ operating permit.
It was also reported later in the meeting that Senate Bill 967 establishing the Central Texas Groundwater Conservation District had further defined APOs as outside of the jurisdiction of every other groundwater conservation district in the state.
Section 11 of that bill states: “Unlike general law GCDs under Texas Water Code, Chapter 36, the [Central Texas Groundwater Conservation] District is specifically authorized to regulate manmade excavations which are defined as a quarry, open pit mine, or similar cut into the surface of the ground made by a person.”
Members of the audience were frustrated they weren’t getting a prompt response to their concerns due to the seemingly semantic difference between digging 80 feet for an excavation site and 80 feet for a well.
“You realize we’re talking about people’s lives?,” Gustavsen asked.
“You have to work together,” another audience member interjected about MTGCD and TCEQ communicating. “There are too many lives at stake.”
MTGCD General Manager Patrick Wagner presented a plan that played to one of MGCD’s strengths: data collecting and reporting. Wagner said the district could offer monitoring equipment and install it on wells near the excavation site with regular consistent readings so they have data to show how much the project is affecting the community. Wagner said he could provide the data as collected and residents and the district will be able to share that with legislators and TCEQ. He also said they could take quality tests.
A member of the audience stood up and praised the information gathering endeavor as “a very fair and equitable proposal to the residents of Selden,” noting that facts will be important in getting results.
At the end of the meeting, Wagner reinforced the commitment to the cause: “We have to work with residents as best we can within the legislation… We’re going to do what can do [to help].”
The board also voted for its officers during the regular meeting, unanimously approving Bosque County’s Charles Ferguson to replace Comanche’s Rodney Stephens as president and keeping Bosque’s Barbara Domel as vice president and Erath’s Fred Parker as secretary.
Education and Public Relations Coordinator Stephanie Keith reported the opening day of The Ditch Water Discovery Center outdoor learning area (next to the Stephenville office) will be in the spring with a possible grand opening in May/June to coincide with the blooming of the plant life.
The meeting began with the permit hearing in which 6 well permits were approved and a public hearing on a rules change to enact an export fee not to exceed 20 cents per 1,000 gallons for water producers exporting water out of the area. This reflects the maximum fee allowed under recent state legislation. The change was unanimously approved by the directors in the regular meeting.