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Interestingly, some four miles from the spot where the meeting was taking place, heavy equipment operators at the YFZ Ranch were cutting their way through solid rock as they dug large lagoons for the ranch’s new wastewater plant. The work carried on even though the state has yet to issue a permit and construction on the project which should not begin without TCEQ approval.

	Stepehen Brown asked Schleicher County commissioners Monday to join the UCRA in opposing a wastewater permit application from the YFZ Ranch.

Brown pointed to the work at the YFZ site as yet another in a series of violations and suggested that Schleicher County had good reason to side with the UCRA as it opposes the wastewater permit. While Brown didn’t ask the commissioners for a specific dollar amount, but he did assure them that he wouldn’t be returning to ask for more. “If this thing goes farther than just an investigation, then the UCRA will foot the bill,” Brown said.

The request left the commissioners asking themselves if it was legal for the county to spend tax dollars to pressure a state agency to act against a landowner within the county. “To tell you the truth, I don’t know if it’s legal,” Judge Johnny Griffin told Brown.

Eldorado Mayor John Nikolauk was also on hand for the meeting and offered his opinion that TCEQ was simply gathering evidence and would take action soon. “I never thought I would hear myself say this, but TCEQ does a good job, as I well know from past experience,” Nikolauk said. “Believe me, we deal with them all the time at the city.”

Brown was undeterred, however, and argued that the YFZ permit application fails to provide adequate safeguards for the area’s groundwater. He that the first phase of the two-phase project will accommodate a town of 1,000 people, giving him serious concerns about groundwater contamination.

Brown went on to note that the YFZ Ranch has received numerous citations from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and that the ranch has a poor track record when it comes to compliance with environmental regulations.

“A follow up inspection last week showed that they have not complied,” Brown said.

Of particular concern to the UCRA are the portions of the YFZ permit application concerning the discharge of effluent from the proposed facility and the lack of a liner in the plant’s lagoons, Brown said.

“We don’t think that the plant they are proposing will provide sufficient treatment,” Brown stated. “We would prefer that they use the water to irrigate instead of discharging it into Milligan Draw.”

The UCRA’s interest in the YFZ Ranch relates directly to Milligan Draw, Brown said. The draw, which normally runs only during heavy rains, eventually flows into the South Concho River which in turn empties into Twin Buttes Reservoir and Lake Nasworthy. After flowing out of the lake, the river merges with the North Concho inside the San Angelo city limits, before flowing eastward and dumping into the Colorado River at O.H. Ivie Reservoir. The UCRA regulates the upper reaches of the Colorado River and its tributaries, including the Concho River.

Brown noted that the UCRA has hired attorney Ed Small of the Jackson Walker law firm. He said Mr. Small can be a “bulldog” when it comes to protecting his clients.

Judge Griffin restated his concern that it might not be appropriate for the county to get in a legal battle but Brown explained that the UCRA isn’t considering a lawsuit at this time. He said that the attorney’s legal expertise would be added to the technical skills of hydrologists currently serving on the UCRA staff.

“We’re talking about doing a study,” Brown said, “just a study and some encouragement to the TCEQ to do their job.”

Brown went on to note that he would be appearing before the San Angelo city council later in the week to ask for their support and said that he had already received commitments from landowners along the South Concho River.

“The YFZ has a history of non-compliance,” Brown told the commissioners. “They have been cited by the TCEQ several times and don’t seem to be serious about correcting their environmental problems.”

The commissioners thanked Brown for his time and agreed to ask County Attorney Raymond Loomis for his opinion about the legality of providing funds to the UCRA.

Brown’s departure didn’t end the discussion, however, and the commissioners met briefly with Myrta Overby and Martha Ellen Tucker, sisters who own a ranch that borders the YFZ’s northeast corner. They pointed to a map showing that Milligan Draw runs through their property after it leaves the YFZ and expressed their concerns that discharged wastewater would be crossing their land.

At one point County Commissioner Bill Clark suggested that neighboring landowners, and the environment in general, might be better served if the YFZ would lay a pipeline and send its wastewater to the City of Eldorado’s sewer plant. He noted, however, that the city council was pressured by local citizens not to accept wastewater from the YFZ when ranch officials approached the city last year and asked to haul their sewage to the city’s treatment plant until a new plant could be built at the ranch.

The Success subsequetnly learned that the San Angelo city council voted unanimously on Tuesday to set aside $7,500 for support of the UCRA as it opposes the YFZ wastewater petition.

Schleicher County commissioners will take up the issue again at their next meeting. They asked Monday that the item be placed on the agenda for the March 14 meeting.