BSEACD Board Approves Needmore Water’s Pumping Permit

Staff Reports

On Monday, the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District board voted 5-0 to approve Needmore Water’s permit to pump for 289,000,000 gallons a year from the Trinity Aquifer in Hays County.

The board approved the permit with special conditions recommended by BSEACD staff that require Needmore to cut back pumping if drawdown reaches certain trigger levels in an index well and allows staff to require Needmore to permanently reduce pumping after notice and hearing if unreasonable impacts to other wells occur, according to Trinity Edwards Springs Protection Association.

Needmore to pay $2500 a year to help offset monitoring costs.

Monday’s hearing lasted nearly six hours with an hour of public comments and several hours of presentations by the separate parties and BSCEAD board’s deliberation in executive session.

Commenters urged the board to deny the permit during public comments.

Before the Board voted, several directors expressed their frustration with House Bill 3405 and the limitations it imposed on their ability to reduce or deny the permit unless they found that granting the permit would cause unreasonable impacts.

TESPA said they are extremely disappointed by the board’s decision.

“We feel that the Board had the discretion and the authority to deny the permit,” TESPA said.

House Bill 3405 was written by former State Representative Jason Isaac, R-Dripping Spring. The legislation expanded the jurisdiction of the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Groundwater District to include water wellfields in Hays County owned by Houston-based company Electro Purification as well as other companies and previously unregulated.