December 2006

December 2, 2006 12:46 - POW Amends Petition

WATER NEWS FOR BLANCO COUNTY AND BEYOND #12

POW Amends Petition to the District Court

Preserve Our Water and several Blanco County landowners, water users and voters have amended and expanded the lawsuit originally filed June 16, 2006 against Blanco-Pedernales Groundwater Conservation District and Ron Fieseler, in his capacity as General Manager.

The original complaint alleged that the District violated the Texas Open Meetings Act during its March 16, 2006 hearing on the 185,000,000 gallons per year groundwater production permit sought by Rockin' J Ranch
Subdivision.

The amended complaint comes in response to denial by the District of the Request for Rehearing (ROR) filed with the District on May 16, 2006 by parties to the law suit.

The ROR asked the District to withdraw the water production permit approved on March 16, 2006 due to errors and a failure by the District to follow State law and its own Rules in important ways. On August 15, 2006 the four District board members present considered and voted on the ROR. A board member moved to grant the ROR, cancel the
permit and hold another hearing on the permit application; the initial vote was 2 in favor of granting the ROR and 2 opposed. Another vote was taken after further discussion and the board voted to deny the ROR by a 3 to 1 margin.

The law allowed a 60 day period after the administrative denial for filing with the court on the substance of the ROR. Preserve Our Water used this time to, first, seek open discussions with individual board members on topics of importance unconnected with current or potential legal action.

Only one District Board member was agreeable to such a meeting, Jimmy Klepac.

In parallel, the POW attorney sought to initiate exploration of a settlement of the matter with the District through their attorney.

As the filing deadline approached, it was clear the District was not yet prepared to enter such discussions, though their attorney indicated a belief they would ultimately do so. It became necessary for Preserve Our Water to move ahead and amend its lawsuit to include the expanded allegations.

Preserve Our Water, Inc. seeks these objectives:

First, revocation of the water production permit approved for Rockin' J Subdivision on March 16, 2006.

Second, a new hearing on the permit application conducted in full accord with State law and
District Rules.

Third, a commitment from the District to follow State law and its own Rules in all future proceedings, hearings, permitting and any other official actions it may take.

Preserve Our Water, Inc. is committed to working on the challenges we face in Blanco County to protect and preserve our water resources for existing users.

We urge the District to begin the process of building a credible database of water use, aquifer structures, and future demands and availability of water, and to use that scientific data to strengthen the District's Management Plan, which is required by law to guide all actions and decisions by the District.

We stand ready to participate in these endeavors in a constructive way.

Blanco County Commissioner's Court Grants Preliminary Rockin' J Unit #4 Plat Request

At the Commissioners Court meeting on Oct. 10, POW Board members Shirley Beck, Neil Binford and John Watson delivered statements in opposition to the granting of the Rockin' J Unit #4 plat request.

This request, if granted, will raise the number of approved lots in the development to 1400. Some of the most recently survey lots are less than 1/5th of an acre.

In addition, Watson prepared a detailed written statement and delivered it to Judge Guthrie prior to the meeting.
The statements addressed a range of topics including:

Failure of the Rockin' J to present a statement of projected total water needs for the ever expanding development as required by County subdivison rules,

Failure to adhere to county sub-division rules pertaining to water availability filings,

Inadequate proof of water availability by Rancho del Lago,

Lack of Commissioners Court awareness of development restrictions agreed to by Rancho del Lago in concluding the protest lodged with the Texas Council on Environmental Quality regarding the Rockin' J,

And the recently discovered, though long standing, issue of an unacceptable level of secondary contaminants in a water sample submitted by Rancho del Lago to the Texas Council on Environmental Quality in connection with the request for a permit to operate a public water and sewage system.

Based on these concerns, Commissioner Granberg withdrew his motion to grant Preliminary approval and moved to table the matter until the next meeting of the Commissioners Court. That motion passed.

In the days following the meeting, Commissioner Granberg contacted both Beck and Binford to discuss the Rockin' J. Those conversations revealed the Commissioner's belief that it was fine to simply accept any assertion offered by a development interest if an "engineer" presented that assertion. He also appeared to have little concern about the matter of potential contamination of the water with zinc.

Although the letter from the TCEQ had been on file for several months at the Court House and although the engineer for the Rockin' J had known of the matter prior to granting the Unit #3 plat request in May, until Mr. Watson unearthed the document last month it had never before been a matter of public discussion. This did not seem to be of concern to the commissioner, either.

Finally, Commissioner Granberg said he saw nothing in the development restrictions agreed to by Rancho del Lago in settling the TCEQ protest that pertained to County Government.

On October 24th the Commissioners took up the Preliminary Plat approval.

The only new information provided was by Commissioner Granberg was the assertion that the restrictions filed with the County Clerk did not have implications for County Government. There was no discussion of that matter in spite of the fact that the restrictions pertain to property line "set-backs" and numerous aspects of water quality.

Following Commissioner Granberg's comments, the Preliminary Plat the Commissioners voted to preliminary approval to the request.

December 12th Blanco County Commissioners Meeting

At their December 12th meeting the Commissioners will take up final approval of the Rockin' J Unit #4 plat request. Once again, POW urges citizens to attend this meeting so they can understand how their elected officials are handling this vitally important matter.

The meeting will be held in the Blanco County Courthouse in Johnson City. The meeting begins at 9:00 AM.

Hill Country Alliance

POW urges you to take special note of the item in this Hill Country Alliance newsletter dealing with a report to the legislature regarding Rainwater Harvesting. This draft report, ordered by the last legislature, is very informative and very important.

If you have interest in the future of Rainwater Harvesting in Texas, this report is a "must read".

See www.HillCountryAlliance.org for details

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December 6, 2006 23:02 - POW Update

It has been six months since Preserve Our Water was established. A heartfelt "thank
you" for being one of the many who have aided in taking decisive steps to protect
the water we all rely on; for our families as well as our businesses.

As reported in the most recent Preserve Our Water Newsletter, we have amended the original suit filed against the Blanco-Pedernales Groundwater Conservation District to include complaints originally lodged through the administrative "Request for Rehearing" (ROR). In keeping with POW's posture from the outset, this filing was a
step taken reluctantly and only after exhausting every effort available to avoid further costs of litigation, for both parties.

While the original legal action deals with the extremely important matter of openness in government and the citizen's right to access and participation, the issues raised in the amended petition strike at the substance of the manner in which the Rockin' J water production permit was processed and granted - 10 specific errors in which the District acted contrary to state law and/or the rules of the District.

Counsel for the District notified POW of the District's response. The defense now offered consists of a series of procedural motions. While all of these actions are well within their legal rights, none serve to get at the core question: did the District's Board and General Manager act in a manner consistent with state law in
granting the water production permit to Rancho del Lago for the Rockin' J development?

POW has taken on this effort to compel lawful conduct by our elected officials and to urge them to perform their duties in a manner consistent with their statutory charter:

".to provide for the conservation, preservation, protection, recharging, and prevention of waste of groundwater, ."
Texas Statutes - Chapter 36 Section 0015 "PURPOSE"

POW believes the current water users in Blanco County have first claim on water resources; whether used for household, agricultural or commercial purposes. Efforts we have undertaken, with the help of so many of you, seek to assure that granting of new water production permits does not pose a threat to the water existing users rely upon.

While these efforts, both educational and legal, have not yet resulted in the final outcome we all seek, progress has been made. Foremost of the accomplishments is the rapidly expanding group of concerned and informed citizens. There is also a growing recognition in the development community that the residents of this county will not stand by, idly, watch our resources exploited in an unwise and wasteful manner for their private financial benefit. Likewise, our elected officials across the county are now aware of the serious-minded resolve of their constituents in these matters.

POW continues to fight the permit granting the Rockin' J authority to pump 185,000,000 gallons of water a year. At the same time, we are alert to new situations that threaten the water resources of the county by closely monitoring
pending actions of both the Groundwater Conservation District and the County Commissioners. For example, we are presently investigating highly credible reports of yet another golf course in early stages of construction in the northern part of the county.

The question before us all is, "do we continue this fight?" The answer to that question is in your hands. We must call on you, once again, to cast your vote on this question with your checkbook. In order to weather the defensive motions by the District and finally bring this matter to either the negotiating table or the judge's courtroom requires another round of funding. If you feel that this fight for our water is worth continuing, we ask you to tell us so with a contribution. We are pleased to announce that the IRS has granted Preserve Our Water, Inc. the tax exempt status we sought. All contributions since April 28th will be deductible on your 2006 tax return.

Here is how funds contributed to POW over the past six months have been used:

Legal - 87%

Professional fees and expenses

Educational - 6%

County Survey (to be released soon), rainwater event, published articles, etc

Administrative - 4%

Postage, advertising, insurance

One time "Start-Up" - 3%

Filing fees (IRS and Texas Secretary of State)

POW has worked hard to be good managers of your past contributions, both in decisions about allocation of the contributed funds and in decisions made regarding legal matters. As you can see, a very small percentage of the money has gone to "overhead". POW plans to shift as much of the spending into education as possible,
once the current legal matters are disposed of.

Thank you again for your support and interest in this most vital of issues confronting all in Blanco County. We hope you will continue that support, particularly at this critical juncture in the fight.

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December 21, 2006 22:42 - Groundwater Management: September 2005

By Neill BinfordBlanco, Texas"Perhaps you didn't notice it, but the ground -- or, more accurately, the groundwater policy -- shifted beneath your feet on September 1, 2005. On this date, House Bill 1763, passed by the 79th Legislature, became effective. ... (Read Article)

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December 21, 2006 23:09 - Final Approval of Rockin' J Postponed

WATER NEWS FOR BLANCO COUNTY AND BEYOND #13

Commissioners Postpone Final Approval of Rockin' J Unit #4

Final consideration of the Rockin' J Unit #4 plat request, has been postponed to January, according to County Judge Guthrie's office. The request was originally scheduled for action at the December 12th Commissioners Court meeting.

The matter has not been set for a specific meeting date. POW will closely monitor the scheduling of this item and will issue an alert once a date is set.

Although numerous individuals have voiced opposition to granting of the request to increase the approved number of lots to approximately 1,400, Preserve Our Water has not taken a position as an organization. Once a date is set for final consideration, POW will submit a letter of formal opposition based on the developer's failure to provide a "final build-out" number for the development, as required by the county's Subdivision Regulations.

A copy of the letter of protest will be made publicly available once it is submitted to the County.

Another Golf Course?

John Watson (POW Director and Secretary) learned of new golf course under construction in a conversation with Blanco County Sheriff Elsbury. The project is located on FM 962, three miles east of US 281 at Round Mountain.
Subsequently, a POW supporter provided further confirmation based on a report by a family member of the
property's previous owner. A site visit to the project confirmed major ground preparation operations underway.

No filings have been made with Blanco County or with the Blanco-Pedernales Groundwater Conservation District. It should be noted that an established golf course in Texas, on average, consumes 72 million gallons of water per year.

Preserve Our Water is continuing to investigate these reports. Once additional details are available, we will provide an update. If anyone has additional information on this development, please contact POW as soon as possible by email or 868-9055.

And Another Residential Development?

County Commissioner Paul Granberg reported that San Antonio businessman Peter Holt has announced plans to develop approximately 8,000 acres in Blanco County.

Commissioner Granberg said the property is west of US 281, across from the existing gated community, "The Landing". POW will be investigating this report and will announce our findings following the holidays.

How Dry Is It?

It is hard to imagine that any Blanco County resident would think these are not dry times, but how dry? Here are two reliable sources for a science based answer to that question.

Ranchers and farmers, as well as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, rely on the U.S. Drought Monitor for information on drought conditions across the nation.

This monitor combines hydrological information (how much rain, drying conditions and so on) with agricultural information in more serious drought areas (hay production, condition of grazing land, etc.). The information is available on their web site: www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html .

By "clicking" on a location, a view down to the county level is provided. According to this source, Blanco County is
currently experiencing "Extreme" drought conditions, down one notch from the direst rank of "Exceptional".

The Palmer Index is a second source for drought severity information. This service is confined to conditions in Texas and is based only on hydrological measures. This link provides access to the Palmer Drought Index:
www.txwin.net/monitoring/meteorological/Drought/pdsi.htm .

According to this source, we are in somewhat better shape; the conditions in Blanco County are rated
as "Moderate Drought", two levels below the maximum rating of "Extreme".

Both indices reflect a gradual and modest improvement from the summer months when, on the U.S. Drought Monitor, Blanco County was stuck in an "Exceptional" rating for many months.

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center hosts Rainwater Collection Weekend

If you missed POW's Rainwater Harvesting seminar at Onion Creek Kitchens last month, here is another opportunity to learn more about this critical alternative to ground and surface water. The Wildflower Center will host this event on January 13th and 14th. The event is being conducted in cooperation with Richard's Rainwater of
Dripping Springs.

Please note, admission to the Center is free during January. For more information go to: www.wildflower.org/?nd=calendars .

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