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EAA votes to cut back pumping rights On December 16 the Edwards Aquifer Authority acted on their October proposal to resolve the region's pumping dilemma by voting to designate about 10% of most pumping permits as junior rights which cannot be used if Aquifer levels drop below certain triggers. The vote was close and mostly along regional lines, with Bexar county hydrogeologist George Rice joining forces with six representatives from Comal, Hays, and Medina counties in voting against the proposal. Under the plan, 43,712 acre-feet of the rights the EAA has issued in excess of the legislatively mandated cap of 450,000 acre-feet per year can be pumped only if the J-17 index well is above 665 feet. If the rights are in the Uvalde pool of the Aquifer, they can be pumped only if the Uvalde index well is above 865 feet. |
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By November 2003, it had been almost a year since Judge Biery issued his long-awaited ruling allowing the controversial development to proceed without a public vote (see previous Newsflash), but there was still no word on when construction might actually begin. On November 5, the PGA signed a letter of intent with Lumberman's Investment Corp. to build two golf courses and a training center, provided the developer can arrange financing for a hotel by the end of 2003. The letter of intent is not a final commitment to take part in the project. Meanwhile, with the national economy experiencing an upswing, the atmosphere for raising venture capital appeared to be improving. Lumberman's was working on nailing down an agreement with Marriott International to own and operate the hotel on the PGA site, which was expected to cost as much as $135 million. If successful, forecasts indicate the resort could open in spring 2006. Power line study angers Aquifer activists In November 2003 Aquifer protection activists and some northwest Bexar county residents became enraged to learn that City Public Service was examining a potential route for a massive new transmission line that would cut through Government Canyon State Natural Area. The route had not been initially proposed by CPS but they agreed to consider it after being asked to do so by other local landowners, including former U.S. Senator Phil Gramm. One of the routes that CPS had initially proposed would follow Texas 211, right past the entrance to Senator Gramm's 871 acre ranch, and Senator Gramm asked Republican lawmakers to help keep the power line from being constructed in his area. Senator Gramm insisted he had as much right as any other citizen to petition the government, and said his land was "prettier, more environmentally important and more historical" than Government Canyon. Dianne Simpson, president of the Government Canyon Natural History Association, said "This is money and politics beating down the individual." Texas Parks and Wildlife Commissioner called the idea "aesthetic rape" and vowed to fight any decision by CPS to try and use the state-owned property. Government Canyon's primary purpose is Aquifer protection. Almost 90% of the 8,200 acres is over the recharge zone. Mayor Ed Garza said he was not against the idea of studying a route through Government Canyon, but that he would vote against any proposal to actually use it. A majority of City Council also appeared to be leaning against the idea. |
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City adds 709 acres to protected lands In October the City of San Antonio completed its purchase of a 709 acre tract near Government Canyon State Natural Area. The purchase brought to 5,700 the total acreage that has been set aside for aquifer protection using funds from Proposition 3, a 1/8 cent sales tax passed by voters in May 2000. EAA proposes solution to pumping limits problem In order to resolve the pumping dilemma left unresolved by the Texas Legislature in June (see previous Newsflash), on October 14 the EAA Board proposed to create a class of interruptible water rights. Although no one had a clear idea of exactly how it would work, the idea is that water rights holders would have their rights divided into senior and junior rights. Senior rights could be reduced only by the triggering of drought rules, and junior rights could be halted if Aquifer levels dropped to certain triggers. Essentially, junior rights would be used without counting against the pumping cap as long as pressure levels in the Aquifer remained relatively high. The San Antonio Water System urged the EAA Board to adopt such a strategy, saying the option offers protection for springflows without a complete loss of substantial water rights. Other regional entities said the proposal favors San Antonio at the expense of people downstream. Bill West, general manager of the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority, said "From the downstream perspective, every time there's an issue at hand, the scale always seems to be tipped towards San Antonio." Even so, the two agencies agreed to sponsor a joint study to analyze the effect of the interim EAA plan on the Guadalupe River and water availability to Edwards permit holders. The Guadalupe Basin Coalition, of which GBRA is a member, developed a white paper on the subject of compliance with the pumping limits in Senate Bill 1477. The analysis concluded that EAA actions inconsistent with respecting the 450,000 acre-foot-per-year permitting cap would be contrary to the EAA Act and the EAA’s duties and responsibilities under the Act. You can download and read the entire white paper here. Task force recommends end to recharge zone tax breaks The practice of offering tax abatements to lure businesses to the city and county has long been a contentious issue, especially when properties are over the Aquifer. The extent to which this issue can divide the community was most recently seen in the debate over the PGA Village. In September a joint city-county task force that was charged with reviewing the policies regarding tax abatements recommended a prohibition on abatements in the recharge zone and contributing zone of the Edwards Aquifer. Mayor Ed Garza said he supported the task force's recommendations and believed it very likely the full City Council would approve the prohibition. |
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SAWS buys conservation easement on recharge zone On September 16 the Board of the San Antonio Water System voted to pay a Medina county family $230,000 not to develop land they own on the Edwards recharge zone. A "conservation easement" protects land from being developed. The land is a 287 acre ranch owned by Bill and Harold Haby in northeast Medina county, just south of Medina Lake. EAA considers developing water quality rules, adopts strategic retreat instead After a bitter debate earlier this year regarding the Edwards Aquifer Authority's powers to adopt rules designed to protect water quality, in September the Board voted down a measure to begin drafting rules and instead decided to form a stakeholder's advisory group on the issue of the EAA's role in regulating water quality. Board member George Rice felt such rules were long overdue and placed an item on EAA's agenda to direct staff to begin drafting rules covering a wide range of water quality protections including restrictions on new wells, septic tanks, impervious cover, and stormwater discharges. Just the idea of such rules drew the ire of Sen. Kenneth Armbrister, who authored the legislation that created the EAA. He reiterated his claim the EAA does not have the power to initiate water quality protections, and he warned George Rice that he could be sued both as a board member and individually. Many observers remain baffled at Armbrister's stern assertion that he never intended to assign the power to regulate water quality to the EAA. When the issue first exploded in May, the San Antonio Express-News discovered transcripts of committee meetings, floor debates, and conference committee meetings on the bill that created the EAA which clearly showed there was discussion about the new agency's water quality protection powers. The Board's current decision to delay the rule-making process was deemed to be a "strategic retreat" by Express-News columnist Bruce Davidson, who pointed out that Armbrister's current position contradicts the language of the law he wrote. San Antonio representative Robert Puente, who is currently Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, expressed concern about the delay and said he believed the rule drafting process should continue as planned. George Rice said "I see this task force as a continuation of the development community's efforts to reduce our authority." Nevertheless, a majority of EAA Board members felt that moving forward should be done cautiously, and only after a process of getting the public and the regulated community to buy into proposed rules. Doug Miller, a board member from Comal county, pointed out "My constituents are very concerned about what kind of rules might come out of here." Tree ring study suggests devastating droughts are rare In September Raymond Mauldin and Steve Tomka of the UTSA Center for Archaeological Research presented research results that suggest catastrophic droughts in the region may not be quite as common as previously believed. Weather records only extend back to about 1870, so the researchers used tree ring analysis to study the frequency and severity of droughts back to about 1700. They identified 40 droughts with an average length of 1.8 years. The analysis ended in 1979 and so did not include more recent droughts. The scientists concluded the six-year drought of record in the 1950s was "an anomaly", and that droughts are generally shorter and less severe than that catastrophic event, which wreaked widespread havoc all across the State. Water planners have long assumed they needed to plan for a repeat of the 1950s drought, but if such droughts occur very infrequently, it could mean that agencies might plan differently to keep Comal and San Marcos springs flowing. Measures might include short-term strategies like artificially supplementing spring flow or temporarily removing endangered species to a refuge. |
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Planned bus facility raises aquifer protection questions In late August plans by the Northside School District to build a new bus maintenance facility at 6323 W. Hausman Rd. raised many questions about the lack of legal protections for sensitive areas just outside the Aquifer's recharge zone, and city officials were surprised to learn they have little say in the matter. A few months previously, City Council members had banded together to keep an auto dealership from building a repair center nearby on the recharge zone itself. The NSISD bus facility is almost entirely surrounded by the recharge zone in an area known as the contributing zone within the transition zone. Runoff from the property would flow downhill to the recharge zone. Experts feared the facility could pose a risk to the aquifer, especially since it includes two 12,000 gallon underground fuel storage tanks, and the San Antonio Water System recommended that the facility not be built at the site. Opponents of the facility initially believed the City Council could stop the project because the location is inside the city limits and is not zoned for such a use, but school district officials presented court rulings showing school districts are largely exempt from municipal zoning decisions. EAA adopts tougher well drilling rules, recharge project limits On August 11 the Board of the Edwards Aquifer Authority adopted rules for well drilling that are tougher than the State's rules. The new rules require an Edwards well to be cased all the way down to the Edwards formation and for the casing to be grouted or lined in cement for its entire length. The State requires casing only for the first 10 feet of a well. The Board also decided that entities that build recharge structures to add water to the Aquifer will not be exempt from drought rules. |
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Federal grant awarded for recharge zone land purchase In July of 2003 the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service announced a decision to spend $3.5 million to assist in purchasing 855 acres on the Aquifer's recharge zone adjacent to the Government Canyon State Natural Area. When combined with earlier purchases, the new addition will mean that about 11,000 acres of contiguous land has been set aside in northwest Bexar county and protected from development. The tract was long coveted by the State and viewed as a key piece for the Natural Area because it leads into the canyon for which the Area is named. It includes four caves that contains endangered cave invertebrates and large areas of habitat for the endangered golden cheeked warbler. |
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Legislature leaves pumping dilemma unresolved On June 2 the Texas Legislature adjourned its 78th regular session without dealing with the pumping dilemma described in the February and March newsflashes. Basically, the Authority is required to reduce pumping to 450,000 acre-feet per year, but it is also required to issue minimum annual pumping rights to users who could prove their use during the prior 21 years. These rights turned out to be far in excess of 450,000 acre-feet. House Bill 3035 would have extended the deadline to meet the 450,000 acre-feet per year limit to 2008, but it died in committee when no one could figure out how to correct it by removing the language that Sen. Armbrister had included regarding the EAA's water quality powers (see below). The options for the EAA include doing nothing, issuing permits in excess of the cap and seeing if anybody sues, proportionately reducing permits without compensation, or proportionately reducing permits with compensation and raising the money by charging pumpers. Observers had noted it seems absurd to charge pumpers only to give them the money back as compensation. EAA board does have the power to raise the pumping cap, but EAA General Manager Greg Ellis said this may be problematic as well, since the Authority has not done the computations and studies that would be necessary. |
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Legislature debates EAA powers; end result is little change In 1993 the Texas legislature gave the Edwards Aquifer Authority the power to "manage, conserve, preserve, and protect" the Aquifer, and for a decade the entire region understood these powers to include regulating land use to protect water quality. The original legislation was authored by Sen. Kenneth Armbrister, who is now chairman of the Senate Natural Resources Committee. On May 15, during a heated exchange before the Committee between Sen. Armbrister and EAA chairman Michael Beldon, Sen. Armbrister insisted he never intended to give the EAA any powers to regulate water quality, and he vowed to strip the Authority of any such powers. He subsequently amended several House bills do just that. Armbrister also said he was concerned the EAA was engaged in "empire building" by adding employees to handle water quality regulations and enforcement. Meanwhile, the San Antonio Express-News conducted a review of transcripts of committee meetings, floor debate, and conference committees on the bill that created the EAA. The transcripts clearly showed there was discussion about the new agency's water quality protection powers. Even so, Sen. Armbrister insisted such powers were not included in 1993 because San Antonio, along with many developers and the Chamber of Commerce, knew the makeup of the new EAA Board would not be a majority for San Antonio, and they did not want other counties in the region telling them what to do. That may have been the case in 1993, but in response to the 2003 furor the San Antonio City Council passed a resolution saying the Legislature should let the EAA keep its water quality powers. Rep. Mike Villarreal of San Antonio succeeded in killing Armbrister's amendment to HB 2877, and Rep. Robert Puente negotiated the removal of Armbrister's amendment from HB 3005. Armbrister said "if the San Antonio House delegation wants people from Uvalde, Comal, and Hays counties controlling growth in their county, they've got it." He added "I'll just keep my water," which was interpreted as a hint that he may oppose a deal between the San Antonio Water System and the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority to divert water to San Antonio (see Guadalupe River page). |
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SAWS takes online bids for Edwards water rights On April 23 the San Antonio Water System conducted an internet-based reverse auction, seeking to acquire up to 10,000 acre-feet of permanent Edwards Aquifer pumping rights. In a reverse auction, the purchaser sets the maximum it is willing to pay and interested sellers bid the price down. SAWS set the maximum it was willing to pay per acre-foot from $1,650 to $1,750, depending on the amount being offered. Nine bids were received, and all were for the maximum. The utility received at least one bid in each of five categories and SAWS Water Acquisitions Coordinator Norene Hutchinson said "I think that the folks over here are pretty happy with the outcome." SAWS to provide water to new recharge zone development On April 15 trustees of the San Antonio Water System agreed to provide water service to almost 5,000 homes in the new Indian Springs subdivision, located over the Edwards recharge zone in north central Bexar county. To reduce the risk of pollution in the Edwards, the developers agreed to limit housing density, set aside 365 acres as greenspace to protect recharge features, and restrict the use of fertilizers and pesticides. Previously, their plan had called for construction of about 8,700 homes. The new subdivision is adjacent to the planned PGA Village. SAWS President Eugene Habiger said "Being responsible stewards of the recharge zone, I'd like the board to know that we have partnered with the developer to ensure our environmental concerns are addressed." Critical habitat designation for endangered recharge zone species cut by 90% In a reversal of a previous recommendation, on April 8 the US Fish and Wildlife Service decided it would designate slightly more than 1,000 acres as critical habitat for nine cave-dwelling species that were listed as endangered in December 2000. Previously, the agency had indicated it would designate 9,516 Bexar county acres as critical habitat. Such designations are mandated under the Endangered Species Act and are intended to conserve and manage land that is deemed essential to the survival of an endangered species. In November 2002 a federal report estimated that as much as $22.1 million could be spent over 10 years to protect the species, with most of the cost falling on private landowners. Environmentalists criticized the decision and said one result would be that Edwards aquifer water quality would suffer, because most of the caves and lands that would have been protected are on the Edwards recharge zone. For more on the endangered cave-dwelling species see the Endangered Species page. |
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EAA Board recommends legislative changes to raise pumping cap On March 11 the EAA Board voted 13-2 to address the pumping cap dilemma (see February Newsflash below) by supporting legislation to raise the total permitted volume to 550,000 acre-feet per year. EAA Chairman Michael Beldon said "I don't think anybody thinks its perfect, but I think most people here think it's fair, and I would hope the Legislature sees it as a fair solution because they've left us with this dilemma." Opponents of raising the cap started lining up. Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority Policy Director Dr. Todd Votteler said "Raising aquifer pumping limits will reduce flows from Comal and San Marcos springs, instream flows in the Guadalupe River, and freshwater flows for San Antonio Bay." Officials from downstream cities expressed similar concerns. By March 15 the proposed legislation had found several sponsors in the legislature. The Texas legislature meets for only 140 days every two years, and the 78th Legislative Session will end on June 2. In March of 2003 the Texas Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit that had been brought by Canyon Lake residents against the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority to keep the agency from diverting additional water from Canyon Lake and selling it to regional municipalities. Making greater use of Canyon Lake water is an element of the State's plan to meet the region's water needs for the next 50 years. For more see the page on Edwards Alternatives and/or Canyon Lake. |
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Solutions sought to looming pumping cap crisis On February 3 the Board of the Edwards Aquifer Authority debated how to resolve a pumping cap dilemma and ended up deciding to defer to state legislators on the issue. The problem stems from the fact that the 1993 law creating the Authority contains provisions that have proven to be mutually exclusive. The law required the Authority to issue minimum annual pumping rights to users who could prove their use during the prior 21 years, but it also set a pumping cap of 450,000 acre-feet per year. At that time, no one foresaw that claims for prior use would be far in excess of 450,000 acre-feet per year. The Authority has already issued permits for about 482,000 acre-feet, and staff has recommended issuing another 82,000 acre-feet in annual pumping rights for 184 pending permit applications. The costs of buying down the excess rights and settling lawsuits that would arise from persons who would claim a taking of personal property have been estimated at around $200 million. By mid-February, pressure was mounting on the EAA to find a solution. During a hearing, Representative Robert Puente of San Antonio asked EAA General Manager Greg Ellis to come back with some recommendations. One possibility is making proportional cuts and not paying permit holders. Some believe the language in the 1993 law could be interpreted to mean the 450,000 acre-feet could apply only to actual withdrawals, not permits. Another possibility is the legislature could give the Authority the power to issue bonds and use the revenue for purchasing rights and/or for building recharge dams that would increase the sustainable yield of the aquifer. Ellis indicated it would make more sense to use bond revenues to increase the water supply rather than buy out permits, but watchdogs of Comal and San Marcos springs want a guarantee that pumping will be cut to 350,000 acre-feet during critical dry periods to protect endangered species. Puente indicated it would be very difficult to raise the pumping cap but it's possible the deadline could be pushed back for three years, since the start-up of the EAA was delayed for three years because the US Department of Justice determined the initial legislation violated the Voting Rights Act (see the page on Laws and Regulations for background on that issue). |
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Barton Springs pool closed after toxic chemicals found In January 2003 the Barton Springs pool in Austin was closed for 90 days for environmental testing after the Austin American-Statesman reported that high levels of arsenic and seven benzene-based compounds were found in the pool and upstream on a hillside overlooking Barton Creek. The paper reported that levels of these chemicals had exceeded those found in some of the worst hazardous waste sites in the country. It was suggested that a possible source of the contamination was wastes dumped from nearby coal gasification plants that produced fuel for city lighting from the 1870s to 1928.
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