Rep. Mary Gonzalez and the Right of Capture

A reader alerted me to a story in the El Paso Times yesterday. There was a follow-up story today. In a nutshell, the people of Hays County, Texas (which has been in the news the past few days for devastating floods and loss of life) want to extend Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District to the unregulated part of Hays County. They are concerned about Houston-based Electro Purification sinking commercial wells to serve several large customers. Hays County folks want to protect their water and so HB 3405 has sailed through the Texas legislature until Gonzalez stopped it on proceedural grounds. 

Be sure to read the Texas Tribune's story: Wimberley Groundwater Protection Faces Challenge from El Paso Democrat.

Texas District 75

So why is Rep. Gonzalez so adamant about sinking HB 3405? She contends that it will set a bad precedent for rural Texans afterall her 75th District composes the eastern part of El Paso County including the farm-rich lower valley. But that just doesn't make sense. HB 3405 passed the Texas House by 126-15. You can be sure that there were a number of Representatives who voted "aye" who come from rural districts. So, again, why is Mary on a mission?

It may have something to do with farmers in the El Paso lower valley but only partially. They control the powerful and unaccountable El Paso County Water District #1. The Water District's office is in Clint, part of the 75th District. John Fleck, the best water blogger in the West, reported just today that water from Elephant Butte is again running south but that this is the third year in a row that water has not been released until May and it is almost June.

However, "Bloody" Mary Gonzalez may want to kill the bill for the sake of other interests as well. In his blog post yesterday, Max Powers points the finger at Woody Hunt who, Powers believes, has an interest in Electro Purification. The Hunts deny that. 

I'm only guessing but I think that what is behind Rep. Gonzalez's objection to HB 3405 has everything to do with the Rule/Right of Capture in the State of Texas. Think of it this way. We all live on top of a big lake. You own a little piece on one side of the lake and I own a piece on the other side. I stick a straw in the lake and begin drawing water. Right of Capture allows me to suck-up every last drop in the lake even that which is right beneath your rubber ducky. 

Certainly lower valley farmers who are drawing less and less water from the Rio Grande have to depend on wells. But so do others.

The El Paso Water Utilities also must depend more on underground water. Although their first attempt was unsuccessful, they continue to drill near Fort Hancock, Texas which is in Hudspeth County. Hudspeth County has a water conservation district. If people in Hays County can protect their water from Electro Purification, can people in Hudspeth protect their water from the EPWU?

At a recent meeting a representative of the EPWU became visibly upset when someone wanted to discuss having a water conservation district in El Paso County. The representative could give no reason opposing such a district and only said that he and the other person would have to agree to disagree. What's the fear? 

But the EPWU is not the only entity drilling in Hudspeth. Sure Hunt has water rights around Dell City; but Esperanza Water Service Co. Inc., a Jobe privately-owned company that supplies water in East El Paso County as well as in Hudspeth drills in Hudspeth County as well. Billie Jobe is the President. 

The Hueco Bolson

The real threat seems to be the precedent that a county's water conservation district can regulate how much water others can draw from its underground "lake" or even if they can draw water at all. I'm speculating that Rep. Gonzalez has heard not just from valley farmers (who may be the smallest players in this game) but from the EPWU and from Jobe and possibly Hunt. It's that big underground lake known as the Hueco Bolson that lies below most of El Paso County, about half of Hudspeth County not to mention New Mexico and Mexico. Those who have straws in the lake are thirsty.

One last question - a legal one: does Right of Capture begin when someone buys a piece of land above the "lake" - a vested right - or does it only begin when someone drills a well on their land? That's a current argument in the State of Texas. But what it means is this. EPWU, Esperanza, etc. are not so much concerned about existing wells but future wells as well.

Jobe in Violation of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act

Jobe is in violation of section 404 of the Clean Water Act in his attempt to destroy Arroyo 41A, the Mountain to River Trail. Here is a report that I received yesterday:

The EPA Region 6 Wetlands Coordinator in Dallas has been out to Arroyo 41A (planned Mountain to River Trail). Jobe violated section 404 of the Clean Water Act by not having a permit to grade the arroyo. EPA won't fine Jobe since this is his first violation. However, the Army Corps of Engineers is requiring Jobe to mitigate the damage and he will likely have to obtain a 404 permit to quarry the arroyo. The city, county and public may be able to comment on the sufficiency of the mitigation and also comment on the permit process.

According to a local Corps official, if Jobe wants to remove fill from the arroyos he can without a permit, as long as he doesn't store fill in the arroyo. Also, according to the same official, commenting on mitigation may not be an option specifically allowed by statute (although statute does not prohibit such either).

The above should also pertain to the developer of Desert Springs who intends to fill in much of 41A. The goal would be to work with the Corps so the permit mandates the least environmentally destructive alternative be selected.

Go here to be notified by email about any public notices through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Media Begins to Wake up to Jobe Quarry Threat

Jobe bulldozer cut through arroyo next to Franklin Mountains State Park

Last Thursday Hector Montes had Master Naturalist Sal Quintanilla and environmentalist Maria Trunk on his talk show on KHRO, 1150 AM. I had been invited to call in and inform the audience about the planned quarrying next to the State Park. It would seem from the follow-up calls that we got some good coverage.

Prior to the talk show, Robert Gray wrote an article for El Paso, Inc. Quarry next to the state park? No problem! Hector Castro authored an enlightening piece in El Diario de El Paso: Genera polémica cantera de gravilla.

Since Castro's article is in Spanish, Franklin Mountain Wilderness Coalition newsletter editor, Kathy McConaghie, with Castro's help translated it. Both she and Castro gave me permission to print the translation:

Gravel Quarry Generates Controversy

A deposit of gravel located on the western slope of the Franklin Mountains is the center of controversy. Several city environmental groups point out that Jobe Material’s company practice of extracting minerals from the soil can create serious environmental and health problems in addition to the deterioration of the local landscape.

The quarry operation, property of the magnate Stanley Jobe, has a 20 year lease contract on a 480 acre area that belongs to the Texas Permanent School Fund. The property is administered by the General Land Office (GLO). According to GLO press secretary Jim Suydam, the principal motive for leasing to Jobe is simply economic: the purpose of the lease was to collect funds for the School Fund.

Nevertheless, several non-governmental organizations of El Paso expressed their dissatisfaction with Jobe Materials, among them the Sierra Club, headed by Laurence Gibson, who states that the principal problem with this quarry is that Jobe Materials is working on land that is a cultural bastion of the city, besides the fact that there are no guarantees that the environment will not be affected by the excavation.

“The only one responsible is the GLO since this entity does not have any sense of belonging within our habitat and little worries about the local environment”, Gibson declared.

Other organizations such as the Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition are also opposed to the quarry and urge the local government and political leaders of the city to relocate Jobe Materials to an area where an important ecosystem will not be harmed.

“The GLO delivered an area that includes arroyo 41A, a treasure that links the Franklin Mountains to the Rio Grande which will logically be affected by the quarry. This property is part of the recreation and tourism plan of the city of El Paso, but now it is compromised for economic purposes,” said Jim Tolbert, a board member of the Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition, in a written statement.

El Diario of El Paso tried to obtain a statement from Stanley Jobe but received no response from his office up to the moment this edition closed.

Without Hope

Despite this disagreement with the location of the quarry, the possibility that it will be relocated are minimal at this time, and presently the only possible recourse is to exercise pressure on Jobe Materials to leave the area the way they found it after completing excavation.

“I am very disappointed by the location of the quarry, it is practically impossible that the area will remain intact, and little by little we are going to see pernicious consequences of this mistake. I believe that there is nothing which can be done and it is lamentable that our environment suffers because of the economic interests of a few”, stated Susie Byrd, District 2 representative of the city, in a telephone conversation.

Stanley Jobe met recently with some members of the Borderland Mountain Bike Association and offered to pay the costs to build new bike trails in the vicinity of the quarry, a move that generated disagreement among participants who think that moving the trail would turn into an ecological fault difficult to correct.

“The impact of this quarry to the environment and the landscape of El Paso is huge. Soon we will begin to see rock accumulation in the sector which will damage the image of our mountains. There is no benefit for the residents of the city. Jobe Materials is destroying the ecological system and nobody is doing anything to prevent it”, stated Dave Wilson, president of the cyclist’s association.

SAVE EL PASO'S FRANKLIN MOUNTAINS - Sign the Petition

Quarry at McKelligon Canyon formerly operated by Jobe

Here's a picture of what the land next to the Tom Mays Unit of the Franklin Mountains State Park will look like if Jobe Materials quarries on land owned by the People of the State of Texas. The picture is the Cemex Quarry at McKelligon Canyon just off of Alabama Street. It was previously owned by Jobe.

Don't let this happen again on our mountains! Sign the petition sponsored by the Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition. There is a link to that petition in the upper right hand column of this blog.

Here is how the petition reads:

"The City of El Paso's Open Space Master Plan calls for a mountain to river trail using Arroyo 41A, the last unobstructed arroyo connecting the Franklin Mountains to the Rio Grande. This arroyo can provide a unique setting for recreational activities for El Pasoans and visitors as well as maintain important wildlife habitat. Quarrying activities planned on General Land Office leased land adjacent to and including parts of Arroyo 41A threaten the integrity and viability of that trail and a portion of Franklin Mountains State Park. We the undersigned urge our political leaders to work with the quarry operator to prevent quarrying from occurring on land in or adjacent to the planned mountain to river trail and to maintain the original design of this valuable recreational and wildlife corridor."

Sign the petition because here is what we want to see:

Beautiful Arroyo 41A

We also want to see:

Javelina in the Franklin Mountains

Mule Deer in the Franklin Mountains

Why do we want to save javelina and mule deer (not to mention foxes, coyotes, horned toads, ring tail cats, bobcats, snakes and more as well as the plant life native to our Chihuahuan Desert)? A wildlife and environmental expert answered the question this way:

"We as humans are connected to the ecosystem. All parts of the ecosystem have a role to play in the bigger scheme of things. If we eliminate the natural world from our lives and try to survive on an earth dominated by buildings and concrete we simply will not be able to survive. Our connections with nature are too many and too great. And, if the world becomes unsafe for animals and plants, it will not be a safe place for people."

He suggested that we all take time to read the Living Planet Report 2008.

Please sign the petition to help save El Paso's Franklin Mountains.

Before and After: Mountains and Quarries

In previous posts, I have pointed out the obvious: our mountains are not sustainable. Once mined, they are gone. I've also pointed out that our "zeroscaping", overuse of rock in landscaping our roads and homes, and overuse of cement - all contribute to the destruction of our mountains. No doubt we need materials for our roads and homes and businesses and services. No doubt we are overdoing it. We value our beautiful mountains; but see what we have done to them and are still doing to them:

Sugarloaf on far left of picture - no quarry below it (Circa 1947)

First McMillan, then Jobe, now Cemex - Sugarloaf sadly watches in background

Jobe's Hitt Canyon Quarry below NE Franklin Mountains

Arroyo 41A with Upper Sunset Trail and Franklin Mountains State Park in background

Jobe's bulldozing east of State Park

You've seen the quarries above. Now imagine what the pristine land and arroyos west of the Franklin Mountains State Park in NW El Paso will look like before long. The bulldozing has begun already. It is happening on land owned by we the people of the State of Texas leased to Jobe by the General Land Office. Is this what we want to happen to our land?

How Could the GLO Lease Land to Jobe?

Jobe Materials tags beautiful arroyo wall. Click to enlarge.

One big question emerges with the current destruction by Jobe Materials of land owned by the people of Texas next to a State Park: How could the GLO (General Land Office) lease the land to Jobe in the first place?

As far as we now know, there was no cultural or conservation evaluation made. Also an archaeological assessment should have been conducted by the GLO prior to releasing the site for use by Jobe. The assessment would have been done by an archaeologist on the "approved" list of the Archaeology Division of the Texas Historical Commission. Was it?

A long-standing leader in regional real estate commented:

With a planned Mountains to River Corridor running from the Franklin Mountains State Park to the Rio Grande River, why is it that the GLO allowed 480 acres in the middle of the proposed Corridor to be leased to Jobe for a new gravel and rock quarry in Northwest El Paso? Jobe has already posted no trespassing signs and begun grading dirt roads into the area and across the arroyos. Was there a public posting that I missed or was the land deal merely determined between the parties without the public's knowledge? It would seem to me that, where there are environmental concerns, the Public should have full knowledge of the GLO's plans before they're initiated.

Apparently, there was no attempt to make public this transaction between the GLO and Jobe . I would expect Jobe to remain silent as to their intentions. Jobe appears to have little, if any, concern for the environmental impact a planned quarry will have on this pristine area. It is, after all, a privately held company that is looking for the greatest financial return on their investment. Jobe is destroying the only chance for a Mountains to River Corridor that would link the Franklin Mountains Park to the
Valley.

I am not against development. I am not against any company working to earn an honest dollar. I am against State Governnment Agencies working with private industry without regard for the People, the Environment, Open Space and for the Enjoyment of the Public for future generations. I want the GLO and companies like Jobe to look ahead to the consequences of their actions and work together to bring about responsible development.

I am trying to understand why the GLO allowed a 480 acre quarry to be situated in
such an environmentally delicate area so close to such a beautiful park. I am trying to understand how this could happen without any input from the general public. Isn't the General Land Office an agency of the Texas State Government, and as such, an agency of the People of Texas? Shouldn't the GLO have posted a Public Notice and asked for feedback from the People before allowing this travesty to occur?

By allowing Jobe to lease the land without public notice and feedback, the GLO must be held responsible for the destruction of an area that is a natural extension of the Franklin Mountains State Park and what could have been a beautiful trails system from the Mountains to the River.

As I write this, Jobe is bulldozing roads through the land and through the arroyos. Already, the destruction can be seen from the roads.

It is not too late to protest. It is not too late to bring to the attention of
the People just what is happening to their chances of a better life for themselves and their children, and their children's children.

Call you State Representatives. Call the Newspapers and the Television News. Make you views known. Do not let this irresponsible transaction by the State of Texas destroy your chances for a better life for you and for generations to come.

We can still stop the destruction. It's not too late.

I might add that I too have nothing against business. People need homes. Roads need to be built. Services need to be provided. Jobe Materials meets a demand. It should not meet that demand by destroying acreage that should stay in its natural state such as the land next to the State Park that should be developed into a regional park that preserves the Mountain to River Corridor.

Click image to enlarge

What also should be is this: It is time for all of us to think long and hard about how we use natural materials and how much we use as individuals, home and business owners and as a City. Our mountains and deserts are limited. They are not sustainable. Once mined, that portion is gone forever. Just drive down any City of El Paso thoroughfare or see any "zero-scaped" commercial or residential property and note the overuse of large rocks and gravel in the landscaping. It doesn't have to be that way. But as long as it is, and as long as we want to build more than we need for ourselves and for the services we require, we will be gluttons of our environment.

I have two friends who are now selling their house. It is 2639 square feet. It has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. The kitchen is huge. The living room has a cathedral ceiling. There's a pool. It is just for the two of them.

We want big box houses, rocked landscapes, roads going every which way. When a study shows that walkability will increase the value of our properties, then El Paso builders say such things are not feasible for El Paso because we don't have a thriving downtown or reliable mass transit. Huh? Neither has anything to do with building walkable communities. The fact is this: builders and developers in El Paso want all the land that they can get their hands on. The City has for too long accommodated them and taxpayers have paid for infrastructure including roads. Roads need materials from Jobe.

I too want responsible development: responsible and sustainable development.

We can still stop the destruction. It is not too late.

It is also not to late for each of us to ask how we contribute to that destruction.

"This is life. The river is life. But not the wall; the wall is death." - Judy Ackerman

Judy Ackerman was arrested yesterday for blocking the construction of the border wall behind the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park in El Paso, Texas. She was charged with misdemeanor trespassing. Her attorneys alerted by Sierra Club official, Bill Addington, acted quickly and she was released last evening.

The story quickly hit the news wires via the AP. The Newspaper Tree also caught wind of it. Unfortunately live television media was not quick enough to respond. By the time of Ackerman's arrest, the Border Patrol had set up a block at the levee gate leading to the Bosque Visitor's Center. Another gate at the trailhead was locked. The El Paso Times buried the story on the back of Section B below the fold and below the weather charts.

This may seem like a strange first entry for a blog dedicated to sustainability, native food and environmentalism. However, the will do damage to the ecosystem of the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park. The work done by Park Manager and Program Coordinator, John Sproul, and hundreds of volunteers over the years will be put at jeopardy. Native plants are being re-established and bird, animal and insect species have returned to the park. (See pictures on Flickr.) In a recent Newspaper Tree editorial, Sproul lays out the negative impact that the wall will have on the park.

There is good reason to stop the building of the fence or hope that an Obama administration will tear it down if it is successfully completed by December 31 as reported by El Paso Times.

Sproul is now on vacation until December 30th. Speculation has already begun that construction on the wall behind the park had been scheduled to correspond with his absence. That construction is currently beginning behind the park on the downstream side of the Rio Grande. The rest of the wall (completed and under construction) is upstream from the park beyond the Zaragosa bridge and behind the Rogers and Bustamante Water Treatment plants.

Late afternoon yesterday Kiewit trucks sped down the levee as they called it a day. Sub-contractors ceased pouring cement poured by Jobe - a company that is showing total lack of environmental concern in the Hueco Mountains. (Cemex wanted nothing to do with the border wall.)

After Ackerman's arrest a small group of people were detained for questioning by Texas Ranger, Aaron Grigsby, and Texas DPS Officer Brandon "Bo" Speed. The group included John Sproul, Bill Addington, Maria Trunk and even City Councilman Eddie Holguin and his mother who had brought water to the site for the protesters. The law enforcement officers were particularly grilling Maria Saldana - possibly looking to arrest her as well. In the end, they did not.

About her protest, Judy reportedly said about the park, the river and the wall: "This is life. The river is life. But not the wall; the wall is death."