Re: [Texascavers] The owner of Honey Creek Cave's public statement at Tuesday's TCEQ public hearing
The sewage project is for Silesia Properties, that is part of a cluster of over a dozen companies. I have a lot of information on them. If you are interested contact me directly. I am reluctant to post details about the people behind this project in a broad forum. I am against this sewage dump proposal obviously… ___ Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/texascavers@texascavers.com/ http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers
Re: [Texascavers] The owner of Honey Creek Cave's public statement at Tuesday's TCEQ public hearing
Amazing - Joyce's statement is a passionate, well-documented rebuke of the development plan and our regulatory failings. While it's a great read, I am saddened to the core at the same time. Texans who care already know how these hearings barely pay lip service to environmental concerns (probably because if our continuing one-party rule by politicians who are *always* in developers' pockets). The Edwards alliance states that this permit is expected to be approved. That alone is shocking to me, along with how aquifer impact isn't a winning argument in this case. If we were in a more eco-savvy state, developments might be forced to build with less density, composting toilets, xeriscaping, etc. - or not build at all. This is a big deal for cavers, with huge implications for Texas' longest cave. It would be interesting to know where this money is coming from: out-of-state carpetbaggers taking advantage of our lax regs? Whoever they are, I'll be donating to the fight against them. On Fri, Aug 23, 2019, 5:01 PM Bill Steele wrote: > Tuesday evening I attended the Texas Commission on Water Quality (TCEQ) > public hearing in Bulverde regarding a developer's application to build > four houses per acre, many hundreds of new homes, in the Honey Creek > drainage basin and be able to dump 500,000 of treated sewage into Honey > Creek, effluent which will at times of high water make its way into the > pristine environment of Texas' longest cave. Comments were made by several > Texas cavers, including Joe Ransau, Kurt Menking, Linda Palit, Sandy > Mosier, Allan Cobb, Andy Glusenkamp, and me. To me, the most moving comment > made was that by the cave's owner, and a good friend to our caving > community, Joyce Moore. Here it is in its entirety. > > Bill Steele speleoste...@aol.com > > > Honey Creek Discharge Permit Comments > > from Honey Creek Spring Ranch > > by Joyce Moore > > > > My name is Joyce Gass Moore. I am a 5th-generation Texas, and a 5th-generation > co-owner of Honey Creek Spring Ranch. Our ranch is located in far > western Comal County, and downstream of a proposed Silesia properties > development known as Honey Creek Ranch. And so I speak to you today not > only as an affected landowner, but as a very concerned citizen. > > When my son and nephew take over the management of Honey Creek Spring > Ranch, it will represent 6 generations of continuous family ownership and a > legacy of stewardship dating back to 1846 when my ancestors first set foot > on Texas soil. As German-immigrants, my family was one of only a few who > homesteaded western Comal County—3 of whom (all neighbors) applied for land > deeds on the same day in 1871. Because the waters of Honey Creek were so > important to the settlement of Comal County, our entire ranch was > recognized as a State Historic Site by the Texas Historical Commission; and > in 2018 was Listed in the National Register of Historic Places by the U.S. > Department of the Interior National Park Service. > > My ancestors knew hardship and fought to protect their land and Honey > Creek. They carved the ranch out of cedar and live oak covered hills, > suffered thru drought, disease, and bank failures, and sacrificed > everything they had to nurture, protect, and improve the land they loved. > And now—150 years later, once again we are threatened by those who seek to > cash in on the land in order to capitalize on its value. Despite what they > may tell you, these folks do not hold the best interest of the land or its > natural resources at heart. This is very evident in the description of the > development being planned. My ancestors would be so deeply disappointed in > what western Comal County has become, and in the landowners, who are > allowing this to happen. > > The Texas Hill Country is known for its aesthetic beauty—people have been > drawn to this area for generations—drawn to its crystal-clear streams and > scenic vistas. Unfortunately, all this beauty rests atop a particularly > fragile ecosystem—a calcareous limestone substrate known as *karst*. > Although not a geologist or a hydrologist, I do understand how infiltration > works—how water moves thru a karst system. Surface recharge features > (cracks, fissures, pits, sumps) are all designed to move water quickly into > subterranean acquifers (the Edwards, the Trinity, and Cow Creek are all > examples). These aquifers provide the drinking water for millions of > people. Springs flowing from these same aquifers provide critical habitat > to a unique group of plant and animal species—many of which are found only > in the most protected streams and riparian areas of Central Texas. Until > this proposed development and wastewater discharge became a possibility, > Honey Creek was one of the most protected aquatic systems in the Hill > Country. > > The number of these pristine riparian systems are shrinking rapidly—most > of it due to rampant and unregulated development over the recharge area, > and the failure of
Re: [Texascavers] The owner of Honey Creek Cave's public statement at Tuesday's TCEQ public hearing
“Gluesenkamp” Sent from my iPhone > On Aug 23, 2019, at 5:01 PM, Bill Steele wrote: > > Tuesday evening I attended the Texas Commission on Water Quality (TCEQ) > public hearing in Bulverde regarding a developer's application to build four > houses per acre, many hundreds of new homes, in the Honey Creek drainage > basin and be able to dump 500,000 of treated sewage into Honey Creek, > effluent which will at times of high water make its way into the pristine > environment of Texas' longest cave. Comments were made by several Texas > cavers, including Joe Ransau, Kurt Menking, Linda Palit, Sandy Mosier, Allan > Cobb, Andy Glusenkamp, and me. To me, the most moving comment made was that > by the cave's owner, and a good friend to our caving community, Joyce Moore. > Here it is in its entirety. > > Bill Steele speleoste...@aol.com > > > > Honey Creek Discharge Permit Comments > > from Honey Creek Spring Ranch > > by Joyce Moore > > > > My name is Joyce Gass Moore. I am a 5th-generation Texas, and a > 5th-generation co-owner of Honey Creek Spring Ranch. Our ranch is located in > far western Comal County, and downstream of a proposed Silesia properties > development known as Honey Creek Ranch. And so I speak to you today not only > as an affected landowner, but as a very concerned citizen. > > When my son and nephew take over the management of Honey Creek Spring Ranch, > it will represent 6 generations of continuous family ownership and a legacy > of stewardship dating back to 1846 when my ancestors first set foot on Texas > soil. As German-immigrants, my family was one of only a few who homesteaded > western Comal County—3 of whom (all neighbors) applied for land deeds on the > same day in 1871. Because the waters of Honey Creek were so important to the > settlement of Comal County, our entire ranch was recognized as a State > Historic Site by the Texas Historical Commission; and in 2018 was Listed in > the National Register of Historic Places by the U.S. Department of the > Interior National Park Service. > > My ancestors knew hardship and fought to protect their land and Honey Creek. > They carved the ranch out of cedar and live oak covered hills, suffered thru > drought, disease, and bank failures, and sacrificed everything they had to > nurture, protect, and improve the land they loved. And now—150 years later, > once again we are threatened by those who seek to cash in on the land in > order to capitalize on its value. Despite what they may tell you, these folks > do not hold the best interest of the land or its natural resources at heart. > This is very evident in the description of the development being planned. My > ancestors would be so deeply disappointed in what western Comal County has > become, and in the landowners, who are allowing this to happen. > > The Texas Hill Country is known for its aesthetic beauty—people have been > drawn to this area for generations—drawn to its crystal-clear streams and > scenic vistas. Unfortunately, all this beauty rests atop a particularly > fragile ecosystem—a calcareous limestone substrate known as karst. Although > not a geologist or a hydrologist, I do understand how infiltration works—how > water moves thru a karst system. Surface recharge features (cracks, fissures, > pits, sumps) are all designed to move water quickly into subterranean > acquifers (the Edwards, the Trinity, and Cow Creek are all examples). These > aquifers provide the drinking water for millions of people. Springs flowing > from these same aquifers provide critical habitat to a unique group of plant > and animal species—many of which are found only in the most protected streams > and riparian areas of Central Texas. Until this proposed development and > wastewater discharge became a possibility, Honey Creek was one of the most > protected aquatic systems in the Hill Country. > > The number of these pristine riparian systems are shrinking rapidly—most of > it due to rampant and unregulated development over the recharge area, and the > failure of an already-broken system intended to regulate the disposal of > wastewater. I think it very ironic that the name chosen for the area by my > ancestors (Honey Creek) is the same name chosen by newcomers to become their > sales pitch. It is the same aquatic system that will be destroyed if this > Honey Creek Ranch permit is approved. > > Treated effluent discharged into a tributary of Honey Creek will absolutely, > negatively impact water quality--primarily through significant increases of > Nitrogen and Phosphate levels. These nutrients will encourage the growth of > algae and will degrade the recreational and aesthetic value of Honey Creek. > Decaying mats of algae will impact Dissolved Oxygen levels and will almost > certainly have a devastating effect on aquatic life. The introduction of > Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products contained in the effluent will >
Re: [Texascavers] The owner of Honey Creek Cave's public statement at Tuesday's TCEQ public hearing
Correction: Make that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). > On Aug 23, 2019, at 5:01 PM, Bill Steele wrote: > > Tuesday evening I attended the Texas Commission on Water Quality (TCEQ) > public hearing in Bulverde regarding a developer's application to build four > houses per acre, many hundreds of new homes, in the Honey Creek drainage > basin and be able to dump 500,000 of treated sewage into Honey Creek, > effluent which will at times of high water make its way into the pristine > environment of Texas' longest cave. Comments were made by several Texas > cavers, including Joe Ransau, Kurt Menking, Linda Palit, Sandy Mosier, Allan > Cobb, Andy Glusenkamp, and me. To me, the most moving comment made was that > by the cave's owner, and a good friend to our caving community, Joyce Moore. > Here it is in its entirety. > > Bill Steele speleoste...@aol.com > > > > Honey Creek Discharge Permit Comments > > from Honey Creek Spring Ranch > > by Joyce Moore > > > > My name is Joyce Gass Moore. I am a 5th-generation Texas, and a > 5th-generation co-owner of Honey Creek Spring Ranch. Our ranch is located in > far western Comal County, and downstream of a proposed Silesia properties > development known as Honey Creek Ranch. And so I speak to you today not only > as an affected landowner, but as a very concerned citizen. > > When my son and nephew take over the management of Honey Creek Spring Ranch, > it will represent 6 generations of continuous family ownership and a legacy > of stewardship dating back to 1846 when my ancestors first set foot on Texas > soil. As German-immigrants, my family was one of only a few who homesteaded > western Comal County—3 of whom (all neighbors) applied for land deeds on the > same day in 1871. Because the waters of Honey Creek were so important to the > settlement of Comal County, our entire ranch was recognized as a State > Historic Site by the Texas Historical Commission; and in 2018 was Listed in > the National Register of Historic Places by the U.S. Department of the > Interior National Park Service. > > My ancestors knew hardship and fought to protect their land and Honey Creek. > They carved the ranch out of cedar and live oak covered hills, suffered thru > drought, disease, and bank failures, and sacrificed everything they had to > nurture, protect, and improve the land they loved. And now—150 years later, > once again we are threatened by those who seek to cash in on the land in > order to capitalize on its value. Despite what they may tell you, these folks > do not hold the best interest of the land or its natural resources at heart. > This is very evident in the description of the development being planned. My > ancestors would be so deeply disappointed in what western Comal County has > become, and in the landowners, who are allowing this to happen. > > The Texas Hill Country is known for its aesthetic beauty—people have been > drawn to this area for generations—drawn to its crystal-clear streams and > scenic vistas. Unfortunately, all this beauty rests atop a particularly > fragile ecosystem—a calcareous limestone substrate known as karst. Although > not a geologist or a hydrologist, I do understand how infiltration works—how > water moves thru a karst system. Surface recharge features (cracks, fissures, > pits, sumps) are all designed to move water quickly into subterranean > acquifers (the Edwards, the Trinity, and Cow Creek are all examples). These > aquifers provide the drinking water for millions of people. Springs flowing > from these same aquifers provide critical habitat to a unique group of plant > and animal species—many of which are found only in the most protected streams > and riparian areas of Central Texas. Until this proposed development and > wastewater discharge became a possibility, Honey Creek was one of the most > protected aquatic systems in the Hill Country. > > The number of these pristine riparian systems are shrinking rapidly—most of > it due to rampant and unregulated development over the recharge area, and the > failure of an already-broken system intended to regulate the disposal of > wastewater. I think it very ironic that the name chosen for the area by my > ancestors (Honey Creek) is the same name chosen by newcomers to become their > sales pitch. It is the same aquatic system that will be destroyed if this > Honey Creek Ranch permit is approved. > > Treated effluent discharged into a tributary of Honey Creek will absolutely, > negatively impact water quality--primarily through significant increases of > Nitrogen and Phosphate levels. These nutrients will encourage the growth of > algae and will degrade the recreational and aesthetic value of Honey Creek. > Decaying mats of algae will impact Dissolved Oxygen levels and will almost > certainly have a devastating effect on aquatic life. The introduction of > Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care
