For Immediate Release


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For  Immediate  Release     Contact:  Vanessa  Puig-­‐Williams  –  512  826-­‐1026;  [email protected];   Jim  Blackburn  –  713-­‐501-­‐9007  

  TESPA  Opposes  Barton  Springs  Groundwater  District’s   Issuance  of  Temporary  Permit  in  “Shared  Area”     On  Monday  morning,  The  Trinity  Edwards  Springs  Protection  Association  (TESPA)  submitted   objections  to  the  Barton  Springs  Edwards  Aquifer  Conservation  District  (District)  regarding  the   District’s  decision  to  issue  a  Temporary  Permit  to  Needmore  Water,  LLC  on  October  19,  2015.   TESPA  has  analyzed  the  application  and  supplemental  documentation  Needmore  provided  to   the  District  and  has  concluded  that  the  District  lacked  authority  under  HB  3405  and  the   District’s  own  rules  to  grant  the  Temporary  Permit.       HB  3405,  which  became  effective  on  June  19,  2015,  extended  the  District’s  jurisdiction  to   include  unregulated  areas  of  the  Trinity  Aquifer  in  Hays  County,  also  called  the  “shared  area”.   Prior  to  passage  of  the  law,  Needmore  Ranch,  a  5,000  acre  ranch  along  the  Blanco  River  in  Hays   County,  was  outside  the  District’s  jurisdiction  and  subject  to  certain  restrictions  that  were   removed  by  the  legislature  during  the  same  session.         According  to  Vanessa  Puig-­‐Williams,  an  attorney  for  TESPA,  “HB  3405  brought  this  ranch  into  its   jurisdiction  along  with  the  lands  which  were  home  to  the  controversial  Electro  Purification   groundwater  extraction  and  sales  proposal.    During  the  legislative  session,  another  act  removed   previous  restrictions  on  groundwater  pumping  on  the  ranch,  and  the  door  was  opened  for  this   temporary  permit  application  to  remove  hundreds  of  millions  of  gallons  of  groundwater  from   the  Trinity  Aquifer.”     On  September  19th,  Needmore  applied  to  the  District  for  a  temporary  permit  to  produce   289,000,000  gallons  of  groundwater  a  year  from  the  Trinity  Aquifer.  After  Needmore  submitted   its  application,  the  District  conducted  field  investigations  and  learned  that  the  well  is  currently   inoperable  and  and  has  been  inoperable  for  quite  some  time.  The  District  also  learned  that  the   well  had  never  been  used  for  agricultural  irrigation  as  set  out  in  the  permit  application.     However,  the  district  issued  the  permit  after  changing  the  classification  of  the  well  to   agricultural  wildlife,  even  though  the  District  also  had  discovered  that  the  well  had  only  been   used  in  the  past  to  fill  a  pond  for  recreational  use.         “The  issue  is  whether  or  not  Needmore  qualified  for  a  so-­‐called  ‘temporary  permit’,”  said  Jim   Blackburn,  another  TESPA  attorney  and  board  member.    “HB  3405  created  this  classification  in   order  to  grandfather  in  both  operating  wells  as  well  as  wells  for  which  a  sale  of  water  was  

under  contract.    The  law  is  clear.  You  had  to  be  operating  a  well  on  June  19,  2015  –  the  day  HB   3405  became  effective  –  to  apply  for  a  temporary  permit.  However,  from  information   contained  in  the  District’s  files,  it  is  apparent  that  Needmore’s  well  had  been  in  disrepair  for   some  time  and  was  not  operating  as  required  by  HB3405.”  HB  3405  provides  that  the  District   shall  issue  a  regular  permit  to  a  temporary  permit  holder  for  the  production  amount  set  forth  in   the  temporary  permit.  The  district  may  only  reduce  this  permitted  amount  based  on  a  finding   that  it  will  either  cause  a  failure  to  achieve  the  desired  future  condition  or  cause  unreasonable   impacts  to  existing  wells     According  to  Vanessa  Puig-­‐Williams,  “This  issue  is  extremely  important  because  the  Trinity   Aquifer  in  this  area  is  so  vulnerable.    We  did  not  fight  to  create  regulatory  authority  over  this   “shared  area”  only  to  allow  a  well  that  does  not  qualify  to  be  grandfathered.    The  temporary   well  can  be  converted  to  a  regular  permit  much  more  easily  than  in  the  normal  permitting   process.  At  the  least,  this  application  should  be  returned  and  Needmore  should  be  required  to   submit  an  application  for  a  new  well  subject  to  all  of  the  District’s  rules.”     TESPA’s  letter  to  the  District  also  raised  concerns  about  the  use  classification  for  the  well.    The   application  stated  that  the  well  was  used  for  agricultural  irrigation  purposes.    However,  District   files  indicate  that  in  conversations  with  a  ranch  employee,  District  employees  were  informed   that  the  well  had  never  been  used  for  irrigation  or  for  wildlife  management  purposes,  but  had   only  been  used  in  the  past  to  fill  a  pond  for  recreational  use.    In  issuing  the  temporary  permit,   the  District  changed  the  permit  classification  from  agricultural  irrigation  to  agricultural  wildlife   management.         Again,  according  to  Jim  Blackburn,  “Based  on  the  information  we  obtained  from  the  District   files,  this  temporary  permit  did  not  meet  the  District’s  rules.    Not  only  was  the  well  not   operating  but  the  well  was  clearly  not  used  for  the  purposes  stated  in  the  permit  application.     Permit  applicants  should  not  be  rewarded  for  filing  misleading  or  erroneous  applications.    The   potential  for  over  pumping  this  aquifer  is  very  real.    We  must  insist  that  the  letter  of  the  law  be   applied  to  the  facts  if  we  are  to  have  any  chance  to  protect  this  wonderful  water  resource  and   the  much  smaller  wells  of  local  property  owners.”         TESPA  has  requested  that  the  District  revoke  Needmore’s  temporary  permit  and  deny  the   regular  permit.    Added  Blackburn,  “It  is  amazing  what  we  are  encountering.  TESPA  will  do  what   it  takes  to  protect  these  groundwater  resources.    If  we  think  it  necessary,  we  will  not  hesitate  to   file  suit.”