The year Barton Springs was almost destroyed

The year Barton Springs was almost destroyed

It was the Indigenous tribes that first realized Barton Springs’ sacredness. The Great Spirit, they believed, cast a rainbow of prismatic light above the creek’s holy water. These days, the springs remain one of the city’s most cherished spots. And yet, it was nearly dashed away in 1990, when a land developer set out to build one of the most aggressive urban planning endeavors in Austin history. Read more from Rosie Ninesling with Austin Monthly here.

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Locals shaken by growing rock mining industry in Williamson County, push for reform

Locals shaken by growing rock mining industry in Williamson County, push for reform

Williamson County is home to the most rock mining operations in Texas, which has led community members to seek stronger regulations as the negative impacts of the industry move closer to home. The county currently has 34 such operations, according to Texas Commission on Environmental Quality data, and these operations are continuing to grow at a rapid rate across the state. Read more from Ali Linan with Community Impact here.

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TESPA Newsletter – Fall 2020

TESPA Newsletter – Fall 2020

In the many decades I have lived in Hays County, the reaction to the multiple threats we face involving our water, aquifers and natural resources is unprecedented. In the past few years, the Kinder Morgan Permian Highway Pipeline (PHP), the Electro Purification (EP), and Needmore groundwater pumping plans have generated immense concern and insecurity among the people who rely on this primary source of drinking water. TESPA is working and collaborating with area landowners, businesses, civic organizations, elected officials and…

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Utility puts off settling lawsuit amid uproar

Utility puts off settling lawsuit amid uproar

After hearing complaints from environmentalists and residents of Hamilton Pool Road at their meeting Thursday, the board of directors of the West Travis County Public Utility Agency decided to postpone a formal settlement of a lawsuit filed against the board of the utility by the developer Provence and two property owners. News of the proposed settlement was first reported in The Austin Independent. Read more from Jo Clifton with Austin Monitor here.

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Lawmaker hears from a concerned public

Lawmaker hears from a concerned public

The town hall meeting concept took on a new form and focus on October 1st when Texas state Rep. Terry Wilson hosted a Zoom video conference to take public comment on Aggregate Production Operations (APOs). As Chair of the House Interim Committee on APOs, Wilson wanted to hear from the public on this final day of a three-day event. The two previous days were taken up by speakers representing the industry and community groups. APOs can include quarries, rock crushers…

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Dripping Springs Water Supply Corporation rejects wholesale water contract from Electro Purification, but invites revised version

Dripping Springs Water Supply Corporation rejects wholesale water contract from Electro Purification, but invites revised version

The Dripping Springs Water Supply Corporation (DSWSC) called a special meeting on October 12, 2020, to consider a wholesale water contract with Electro Purification, LLC (EP). Prior to taking up the agenda item, Hays County Commissioners Lon Shell and Walt Smith, past Hays County Commissioner Will Conley, and Adam Friedman, attorney for Trinity Edwards Springs Protection Association (TESPA), offered public comments to the DSWSC Board opposing DSWSC entering into the contract. The comments apprised the DSWSC that available science demonstrates…

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Have questions about the Hays County Park Bond? Here’s what you need to know before voting

Have questions about the Hays County Park Bond? Here’s what you need to know before voting

Before heading to the polls to vote, Hays County has invited voters to learn more about Proposition A – the 2020 Parks and Open Spaces Bond – on the ballot this year. To help voters be informed, Hays County created an educational outreach effort including a website: hays2020parksbond.com… “POSAC reviewed 19 submitted projects and recommended funding of 16 over several budget cycles,” Kennedy said. “Each project on the story map indicates the types of features that would result, including public…

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Public voices concerns on final day of rock crusher town halls

Public voices concerns on final day of rock crusher town halls

Blasting, clouds of fine particulates, and over-taxed roads were all issues raised by the public Thursday, Oct. 1, during the final of three virtual town hall meetings hosted by state Rep. Terry Wilson on the subject of Aggregate Production Operations (APOs), a category that includes rock crushers, surface miners, concrete plants, and more. Wilson, the chair of the House Interim Study Committee on APOs, had in previous days invited industry professionals and community action groups to speak. Today, the public…

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Hill Country Conservancy is now accepting pre-applications for financing of stewardship projects through the Hill Country Headwaters Conservation Initiative

Hill Country Conservancy is now accepting pre-applications for financing of stewardship projects through the Hill Country Headwaters Conservation Initiative

The Hill Country Headwaters Conservation Initiative (HCHCI), a program of Hill Country Conservancy, the Texas Hill Country Conservation Network and 18 partner organizations, is now accepting pre-applications from landowners located within specified critical river basins, for stewardship projects aimed at enhancing soil cover, water quality, and native biodiversity. The Hill Country Headwaters Conservation Initiative is accepting pre-applications now through October 30, 2020. To be considered for financial assistance, landowners must take this first step in the application process by the…

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A pause for energy developers threatening Texas Big Bend Region

A pause for energy developers threatening Texas Big Bend Region

Three years ago the U.S. Department of Agriculture counted 80,000 head of cattle grazing the sea of golden grass across Brewster, Presidio, and Jeff Davis counties in dry, open and captivating West Texas. That’s more than four times the number of people living in a region as big as Maryland… It’s hard country, too. Household incomes are low. Droughts are an episodic hazard. Ranching is a tough business. The tourist trade is a six-month deal. The three counties, according to…

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