2/27/2025
The Commissioners reviewed the permit request despite indicating that this is “a very small discharge.” This may be a small discharge compared to other discharge permits but the threat to our aquifer and the river are significant. We still stand firm – zero discharge into Beckmann Branch.
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2/05/2025
Some of you may have received a ton of paper from TCEQ this past week. You are receiving it because you made comments concerning The Village at Fredericksburg’s (used to be Grape Creek) permit to dump 20,000 gallons of Type 1 effluent into Beckmann Branch.
The Branch is actually a recharge zone for the Hensel Aquifer. The Ellenburber lies just below the Hensel. Dumping Type 1 into the Branch is not a good idea if we want to preserve and protect our aquifers. But the Village does not really care about that. They think they should be allowed to dump into the Branch regardless of what we want. Because we have asked for this permit to go before a Contested Case Hearing, a lot of paper has been generated.
Read it all. No one needs to attend the Feb 27 meeting. The Commission will not take oral argument or comments on the hearing requests. One of the Commissioners will likely walk through a prepared analysis and make a recommendation. The other two will likely agree with that analysis. They will make a motion, vote, and it will probably be over in about 5 minutes. That being said, if people want to attend, they are certainly welcome, though I think because the ED has recommended granting PRA and GEAA’s hearing requests, it is less important that people attend but Pedernales River Alliance members Will be present along with our lawyers.
It is what happens after the Feb 27 hearing when we will need your help. We know that we will need help identifying locations where there are Fatmuckets (fresh water mussel that are endangered). We will likely have to hire a biologist for this effort. We will likely have to hire others who can provide expert testimony about other issues. How can you help?
Tell your friends and neighbors about the Village and their plans to dump Effluent into your drinking water. Tell your friends that the Pedernales River Alliance is fighting back.
1/22/2025
The Pedernales River Alliance is in receipt of a letter from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) advising that the date has been set for a review and decision to send this case to an administrative hearing before a SOAH judge.
What is this all about?
Simple, We do not want anyone dumping treated wastewater into the Pedernales River or into any of its tributaries. That is exactly what Village — Fredericksburg proposes to do. They plan to dump up to 50,000 gal/day of effluent into Beckmann Branch, an unassuming dry creek just south of the River. The problem with dumping the effluent is that it will just sit in Beckmann Branch until it rains. When it rains, that residue will begin its movement toward the River. And, if we have enough rain, the Pedernales will reach down to meet the waters in Beckmann Branch. Worst case scenario, the river will be polluted. Worst-worst case scenario, the rainfall will be just enough to move the runoff and residue from months of discharges and then stop or slow down at the location of outcroppings of the Hensel Aquifer which is over the Ellenburger Aquifer, the county’s primary source of drinking water. Pollute the Hensel, then the Ellenburger will follow.
We do not want either of these scenarios. Despite repeated requests to go with a Zero Discharge permit or a TLAP (land application of the wastewater), the folks who own the village have refused to budge. They see no other option except to dump their effluent into Beckman nBranch and put the drinking water for the entire county at risk.
Because they refuse to do differently, we are taking this before a State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) judge for a hearing where the science and the impact of their proposal will be reviewed. Thoughts and Prayers, please.
This property is owned by Village at Grape Creek, LLC, and consists of two tracts of land. Property ID 185873 and Property ID 186275 lie just north of Lazo Ranch. This development has a long strip of land which extends to Hwy 290E allowing them visible highway frontage and an entrance on the highway. The number of lots in this development has been increased to 185 lots @ 1/10 of an acre each sold on the condo concept. This development’s claim to fame is that they have filed for a permit that would allow them to dump 20,000 to 50,000 gallons of treated effluent into Beckmann Branch, a dry creek that flows into the Pedernales River.
6/13/2024
A Public Meeting was held on Jun 13, 2024, where a large number of concerned citizens of Gillespie County gathered to voice comments, concerns and questions about the permit to pollute. The Developers and staff from TCEQ were present.
It was clear that no citizens present in the room were supportive of the permit. Many were angry at the thought the dumping that would be approved by the permit. Some concerns were odor, pollution of the aquifers, pollution of local wells, the density of the development, noise, flooding potential, and more. Many cited the years and generations of their families who have lived on the Pedernales River and the importance of the River to them.
As expected, there were two opportunities to speak. The first was supposed to last for 1 hour but went well over. During the first comment time, people lined up to speak. It was an informal time when they could ask questions of the Developers or TCEQ. During this Informal time, the Developers or TCEQ attempted to answer questions. During the second time, Formal Comments were recorded for the record. TCEQ or the Developer will formally respond in writing via US post to each comment/question that was submitted. Some have requested Lauren Alexander’s comments which were really concise. Read those here.
Now that the formal comment time has expired, all comments/questions that were submitted online or by fax or mail or during the Formal Comment period at this meeting, will be answered. Upon answering these questions, TCEQ will make the decision to approve or disapprove the permit. We hope that the permit will be disapproved or that the Developers will decide to drop this permit in exchange for a No Discharge Permit. Until we hear one way or another, we wait.
Thank-you for caring enough to show up and speak up.
Beckman Branch
This creek came to our attention when the Village – Fredericksburg decided it would be the perfect place to dump their wastewater. Upon investigation of this creek we found areas that were wet, with small pools of water in the midst of a drought. In June of 2023 one of our members, captured this video of Beckman Branch coming to life, water is flowing north of Hwy 290 towards the Pedernales River. This is the unnamed tributary that no one seems to think will flow “all the way” to the Pedernales River.
06/03/2024
We had a great meeting in Stonewall last night to learn about Village at Grape Creek and how to make comments about this development.
Nathan Glavy, GEAA sent this template to us to help us write out letters and comments:
Date: (Enter Submitted Date Here)
Laurie Gharis, Chief Clerk
Office of the Chief Clerk, MC 105
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
PO Box 13087
Austin, TX 78711-3087
Subject: Public Comment Submission and Hearing Request Regarding the
Application of the Village at Grape Creek LLC for TPDES Permit No.
WQ0016363001
I, (Insert Name Here), submit the following public comments regarding the Village at Grape Creek TPDES permit, No. WQ0016363001. In addition, I request a contested case hearing regarding this permit and to be named an affected party with standing (Note: If you do not wish to be an affected party and request a contested case hearing, please remove the previous sentence). My address and phone number are (insert physical address and phone number here) I am strongly opposed to the issuance of this TPDES permit for the following reasons.
(List 2, 3 or as many individualized issues with the permit. Themes include, but not limited to:
1) water quality issues for surface water/groundwater supplies (well water),
2) concerns about impacts to recreational ability,
3)impacts on financial operations on property; farming, ranching, cattle, and other business operations,
4) concerns to local area’s vegetation, animals, insects, etc., and 5) flooding concerns to name a few themes. Voicing all concerns, big or small, is crucial, even if you think it is not important or relevant)
(To view comments already submitted for some extra guidance,
1) visit https://www14.tceq.texas.gov/epic/eCID/index.cfm, 2) under step two, type WQ0016363001” in the “TCEQ ID Number” text box,
3) under step three, click the check boxes “Include Filings on this item” and “Include all correspondence from the public on this item”, and
4) hit the blue “search” button. You will be taken to a screen that displays the information available on this permit. Scroll down and click on the “Display all Comments” hyperlink to view all the comments public comments submitted.)
Thank you for the attention on this matter.
Respectfully Submitted,
(Your name here)
Special Notes:
The above template for citizens to ensure that all necessary requirements by the TCEQ are included and ensure your best opportunity to be granted a Contested Case Hearing and to be named an Affected Party. Please edit as you see fit and make it your own. All items in italics are to be removed and replaced with your own words
Submitting Public Comments:
Submit your public comments in one of three ways. Note: Please include the TCEQ Permit Number (For Villages at Grape Creek, use WQ0016363001) when submitting your comments
1) Comment Online at: https://www14.tceq.texas.gov/epic/eComment/
a. You may add an attachment or file when submitting your online comments.
b. You will receive an online confirmation when you online comments were successfully received.
2) Mail Comments to:
Office of the Chief Clerk, MC 105
TCEQ
PO Box 13087
Austin, TX 78711-3087
3) Fax Comments to: 512-239-3311
a. Note: If you fax your filing, you must mail or hand-deliver the original
document and the appropriate number of copies to the Office of the Chief Clerk within three business days.
b. The Public Meeting is scheduled for June 13th. Start work on your comments now!
Many thanks, to Nathan Glavy.
3/22/2024
The Village at Grape Creek is on the TCEQ public meeting list .
The Public Meeting is to be held:
Thursday, June 13, 2024 at 7:00 P
Inn on Barons Creek
308 South Washington Street
Fredericksburg, Texas 78624
If you have not submitted comments at TCEQ about this development, do so now. Also begin thinking about questions you would like to ask the developers or TCEQ. Sit down and write out your comments and questions. See other questions below. Practice reading them. Be prepared to ask them.
Here are some of the things that are of interest:
-
- Which subdivision rules apply to this development: 2003 or 2022? In this case, the county judge has ruled that the older rules apply.
- A FOI request was submitted to the county which was quickly fulfilled. We are grateful for their attention and time needed to fulfill our request.
- The answer to the question “RV vs Tiny Homes?” is still not clear. Some past plats showed places for RV parking and other lots for Tiny Homes. The number seem to vary depending on which plat is studied. We would like to have a current plat.
- TXDoT has approved their request for install of an entrance at Hwy 290 and if you go by the site, you can see how that is coming together.
10/03/2023
Recently, we learned of a new development. The location of this development is Jenschke Lane and 290 appox. It looks like it will have an entrance on Hwy 290 that will be west of the museum.
Current plans call for 185 lots–scratch that. It looks like they have figured out how to cram more lots into this development and the new number is closer to 240. That is the current estimate. Once we have a firm count, we will post it here. Some will be small homes, some tiny homes and some single room cabins (simulated hotel rooms/small cabins with bed and bath) for overnight stays.
Our concern at the Pedernales River Alliance is that they are requesting a permit to discharge 20,000 gallons of treated wastewater (sewage) into “an unnamed tributary” of the Pedernales River. Peak flow may be as great as 50,000 gallons/day (attachment 5 in the application.)
The application for this permit is available for review at the Library in Fredericksburg. It is at the reference desk and you have to ask to see it. The librarian has it. You can take it to a table and read it and you may copy it or any portion of it, if you choose. Or you can read it online at Village at Grape Creek Permit Application.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is the state entity that will approve/disapprove the permit.
You can make comments citing why dumping 20-50,000 gallons into a dry creek bed that will eventually flow into into the Pedernales is not a great idea. Specifically, they may be dumping into a dry creek bed but it will sit in that dry creek bed, evaporate, accumulate, and, when it rains, this concentrate will be washed into the Pedernales.
If you grew up along this creek your comments are especially valuable. Tell TCEQ what this little tributary meant to you growing up.
In addition to voicing your opinion about this development, you may also ask questions about the following topics and more:
-
- Flooding – Is the development on the flood plain?
- Flooding – Is the development on the 100 year flood plain?
- Where will runoff be directed when it rains?
- What will the impact be on adjacent wetlands (See the Fema map @ https://msc.fema.gov/
portal/search?AddressQuery=- 98.7094%2030.21314) ? - Will there be a traffic light installed on Hwy 290?
- Will the developer be required to install lighting supportive of Dark Skies?
- Will the developer be required to preserve trees already existing on the land?
- Will the developer be required to restore the understory that has been cleared from the creek banks?
- Will streets and sidewalks in the development be permeable?
- Will dumping treated sewage into the creekbed smell?
- Will it be safe for children to play in the creekbed where the treated sewage will be dumped?
- Where will water come from for this subdivision and will it affect my well?
- What will be done to ensure emergency vehicles can enter/depart the development without hindrance?