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SAVE HONEY CREEK UPDATE
GEAA has been taking the lead in contesting the Texas Land Application Permit (TLAP) sought by Silesia Properties L.P. for the Honey Creek Ranch. We have been joined by Bulverde Neighborhoods for Clean Water, Texas Cave Management Association, and local landowners in our efforts to protect Honey Creek, Honey Creek Cave, and the Edwards Aquifer. The site of Honey Creek Ranch, a proposed development of 1,600 homes on 550 acres, is just upstream of the confluence of Honey Creek and the Guadalupe River in the Honey Creek State Natural Area and the Guadalupe State Park. The nearest downstream landowner, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, is barred by State law from participating. Talk about having your cake and eating it too! Couldn’t the legislature let TWPD at least defend their own property?! (Stay tuned for more on this crazy law during this Legislative Session). Our first date with the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) to contest this permit is scheduled for February 4th. Thanks to a strong endorsement made to TCEQ Commissioners in favor of the permit by State Representative Kyle Biedermann we recognize that the Commissioners could approve the permit no matter what the SOAH Judge recommends. (You can see Representative Biedermann’s testimony here.) In the past, some permits that GEAA contested had been recommended for denial by SOAH Administrative Law Judges and subsequently approved by TCEQ Commissioners - which only requires votes by two of the three Commissioners. It is heartbreaking to put so much effort into contesting permits that would harm our water
Thursday, January 21
resources only to have them granted anyway. GEAA and our partners are doing all we can to protect one of the most pristine creeks in the State. We have met with Ronnie Urbanczyk, owner of the property, and Silesia agent David Holmes to discuss measures that would not only address deficiencies in their TLAP application, but would also mitigate pollution from stormwater draining from the site into Honey Creek and our aquifer. In the past, settlement agreements negotiated by GEAA and our allies have quite successfully achieved our goals. Another option, and by far the best, would be to make a fair offer to the Urbanczyk family to purchase the property and preserve it as part of the Honey Creek State Natural Area. GEAA is committed to making sure that this Hill Country treasure does not go the way of so many others – that Honey Creek does not end up on the list of impaired water bodies. There are two things you can do to help. • Sign the petition at https:// bit.ly/360vAX7, that will be sent to Governor Greg Abbott, who appoints the TCEQ Commissioners. • Make a donation, no matter how small, to help with legal expenses and expert witnesses and consultants. You can donate on-line or mail a check to GEAA at PO Box 15618, San Antonio, Texas 78212. Be sure to indicate that the donation is to be used to Save Honey Creek. You can keep up with the latest Honey Creek news and share your views on the Save Honey Creek Facebook page. You can view testimony from the experts on GEAA’s Waste Water Page.
