The Trinity Edwards Springs Protection Association (TESPA) announced today that it has filed suit in Travis County District Court challenging the decision by the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District (BSEACD) to issue a permit to Needmore Water, LLC to withdraw about 289 million gallons of groundwater each year in Hays County near Wimberley, Texas.
The litigation arises out of HB 3405 passed by the Texas Legislature in 2015. This bill gave jurisdiction to BSEACD over previously unregulated portions of the Trinity Aquifer in Hays County including the land now giving rise to the Needmore Water LLC permit application. The litigation is concerned with a controversial provision that “grandfathered” certain existing wells, creating a two-step process that has been interpreted by BSEACD to substantially limit their ability to regulate the groundwater withdrawn from such wells.
Read more from TESPA here.