3 public hearings for groundwater district Oct. 25
The Central Texas Groundwater Conservation District is holding three public hearings on Wednesday, Oct. 25, immediately following its Board of Directors meeting at 9 a.m. The meeting and hearings take place in the district’s Burnet office, 225 S. Pierce St.
A show-cause hearing is set in the ongoing issue involving Tributary Sporting Club, a recreational ranch that has gone beyond its permitted groundwater use the past two years.
The board is also holding public hearings on a proposed permit amendment for Sunset Water Utilities as well as updates to the district’s management plan. The public is welcome to attend and provide comments at all three hearings.
Tributary Sporting Club has been in on-again-off-again negotiations with the district since August, when the board asked for a show-cause hearing on the club’s violation of its permitted groundwater use. The club failed to appear for its first show-cause hearing and lawyered up to handle the matter.
The district found that the club had exceeded its annual allotted 2-acre feet of groundwater by 286 percent in 2022 and 50 percent in 2021. The district sent an “agreed upon order” to Tributary, which would require the club to prove it can comply with its permitted use or apply for more water usage before 2024.
The club also did not appear at a second show-cause hearing in September and hired a new lawyer for negotiations. The board gave the club another 30-day extension, leading to the Oct. 25 hearing.
According to district General Manager Mitchell Sodek, the club’s legal team is still in negotiations on the terms of the agreed-upon order.
The district’s board can fine the club up to $500 per day of violation if negotiations go south.
A public hearing will also be held on the district’s management plan, which will be adjusted based on new “desired future conditions” of aquifers set forth by the Texas Water Development Board.
“(Desired future conditions) are a tool that the district utilizes as a management strategy,” Sodek explained to DailyTrib.com in a phone interview. “The modeled available groundwater numbers serve as an essential ceiling to determine how much water can be pumped per year from an aquifer.”
The district will also hold a public hearing on the amendment of a permit for Sunset Water Utilities that would allow for an additional 7 acre-feet of water on top of its current permitted 13.54 acre-feet.
The Central Texas Groundwater Conservation District, which manages groundwater in Burnet County, is required to have a public hearing whenever an entity wishes to create a permitted well or amend an existing permit. A permitted well within the district is defined as a well that can be pumped above 17.36 gallons per minute.
1 thought on “3 public hearings for groundwater district Oct. 25”
Comments are closed.
Tributary Sporting Club claims it is “in a new-era realm of soil, water, and wildlife conservation.” Do guests know their “realm of water conservation” was 286% more than the legal limit? In a drought year? And they ducked two hearings with the county? And now they’re re-lawyered up? The water district is entitled to violation fees and fines. Burnet County might need every dime because TSC is not acting like a good neighbor.