TESPA announces legal action against proposed quarry in recharge zone

The Trinity Edwards Springs Protection Association — a nonprofit to protect the Trinity and Edwards Aquifers — has sent its First Amended Notice of Intent to bring a legal action against Far South Mining, LLC, for a proposed rock quarry and rock crushing operation in Hays County.

TESPA requested FSM abandon its plans for a rock quarry on Needmore Ranch between Wimberley and San Marcos. This portion of Needmore falls within the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District and the Edwards Aquifer Authority.

The NOI, sent on Nov. 7, triggers a 60-day waiting period required by law before TESPA’s lawsuit against FSM can be filed in federal court. This waiting period will end on Jan. 6, 2023.

This notice is not the first served by TESPA against FSM; the two organizations, along with the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District, had previously reached a settlement concerning the groundwater permit for the same site. The result of this was that Needmore may only use groundwater pumped under its permit for agricultural irrigation and wildlife use.

The FSM permit request estimates the footprint of the operation to be 2,000 x 4,000 feet in size. That is a tract of land equivalent to 127 football fields.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality already approved the quarry permit for air quality. However, the 44page NOI from TESPA cites numerous potential violations of federal rules, including the Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act.

In its NOI, TESPA asks for an injunction to prohibit the quarry and rockcrushing activities because it believes FSM has failed to apply for and to obtain the permits required to comply with the Edwards Aquifer Act and regulations of the Edwards Aquifer Protection Program.

“[The] State of Texas did not give regulatory authority over quarry development to groundwater districts,” said David Marino, communications and outreach manager for BSEACD. “The State regulates quarries through the [TCEQ] under the Edwards Aquifer rules… Under these rules, quarry owners must apply to the TCEQ in order to create or expand a quarry located in the recharge or contributing zone of the Edwards Aquifer. An application for development in the recharge zone is generically referred to as an Edwards Aquifer Protection Plan and consists of several plan types including a Water Pollution Abatement Plan…. BSEACD and the [Edwards Aquifer Authority] can not require the [practices] to be implemented but can review the WPAP and provide comment.”

This latest NOI, like communiqués before it, states that the quarry and rock crushing operation will likely cause harm to endangered species such as the Comal Springs Dryopid Beetle, Goldencheeked Warbler, San Marcos Springs Salamander and the Texas Blind Salamander. According to the notice, there is also a potential for contamination of groundwater and drinking water supplies from quarry-related activities that involve blasting, operation of heavy equipment, rock crushing and an estimated 100-plus truckloads of rock per day on Hays County roads.

“Contamination of water by a limestone quarry is nothing new, but this situation is particularly dangerous because of the location, right on top of the recharge zone of the Edwards Aquifer, where the groundwater is very near the surface and very much in jeopardy,” said Jeff Mundy, attorney for TESPA. “This type of mining operation injects an explosive slurry mixture of ammonium nitrate and diesel fuel into the limestone. The residue of ammonium nitrate and diesel accumulates over time, contaminating the water supply.”