Category: Uncategorized
If you get your water from a well that draws from the Trinity Aquifer, please read this
Petition: Designate Texas Ranch-to-Market Roads 1826, 150 and 967 “Scenic Highways”
Here’s what our petition says:
From the wildflowers that Lady Bird Johnson adored, to the dramatic rise and fall of tree-covered limestone hills in the Texas Hill Country, our country roads are a treasure. Texas Ranch to Market Roads 1826, 150 and 967 reward travelers with natural vistas, cool clear creeks, and wide open skies filled with stars, sunrises, and sunsets every day.
We the undersigned want to keep the Texas Hill Country SCENIC.
Central Texas is experiencing explosive growth. Data from The U.S. Census Bureau shows Hays County is the 4th fastest-growing county in the United States (see https://communityimpact.com/austin/san-marcos-buda-kyle/city-county/2018/03/22/hays-county-ranked-4th-fastest-growing-county-country/ ).
The increase in the number of motorists along our Ranch to Market roads has triggered a proliferation of billboards on our roads. Billboards are not mere eyesores: their lighting endangers human health and pollutes the night skies that are iconic to this region of Texas.
Further, healthy Texans are productive Texans. We need our nighttime dark. Light pollution has a direct negative bearing on human health and circadian rhythms:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2627884/Artificial lights at night don’t just affect people. Wildlife is also affected negatively, with impacts on migration and reproduction:
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full/10.1139/er-2014-0005#.XFxfwdFJnwcLast but not least, billboards may have a negative impact on property values of nearby homes and neighborhoods.
For these reasons, we ask the Texas Legislature to acknowledge the value of these roads we love by designating Texas Ranch to Market Roads 1826, 150 and 967 as “Scenic Highways” in Hays County.
We ask the 86th Legislature to help preserve the scenic beauty and character of Ranch to Market Roads 1826, 150 and 967 by supporting legislation that keeps the beauty of the Texas Hill Country intact.
The stars at night are big and bright, deep in the heart of Texas.
May they be so, forever.
If you agree, please sign our petition here:
SM Corridor News: Commissioners Approve Resolution In Support Of Legislation To Prohibit Billboards On Highways In Hays County
….
Commissioners considered and approved the adoption of a resolution in support of Rep. Erin Zwiener’s House Bill 1303, which will add several highways in Hays County to a list of roadways where billboards will be prohibited.
The bill will add FM 1826, RM 150 and RM 967 to Section 391, Subchapter 1, of the Transportation Code, which lists certain state highways in Texas in which limitations on off-premise signage exist. …
Austin American Statesman: U.S. Judge rebuffs George P. Bush endangered species de-listing effort
The Golden Cheeked Warbler continues to be a federally protected endangered species.
Here’s a map of Golden Cheeked Warbler habitat in Central Texas:
growing cities in the U.S. in golden-cheeked warbler
habitat breeding range.
Photo credit: USFWS
source:
https://www.fws.gov/ecological-services/highlights/07252016.html
Find out more about this shy migratory bird, and why it’s important:
https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp0/profile/speciesProfile?spcode=B07W
https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Balcones_Canyonlands/GCW.html
Hays County Commissioners Court hearings are live streamed here:
KXAN: Neighbors file suit against Terry Black’s BBQ wedding venue
DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas (KXAN) — The dispute continues between Hays County residents and one of the biggest names in Texas barbeque.
The Black family, behind Terry Black’s barbeque in Austin, has purchased property near Dripping Springs with the hopes of turning it into a large wedding venue. Neighbors have fought the project before, but now they have filed a lawsuit.
KVUE: Neighborhood bringing lawsuit to meeting about Austin barbecue pit masters’ wedding venue
HAYS COUNTY, Texas — One day before Mark Black of Terry’s BBQ is reportedly set to appear before the Hays County Commissioners Court to discuss a wastewater permit, a Hays County subdivision is planning to appear to bring its pending lawsuit to light.
The board of trustees with the Radiance subdivision — a community of about 100 people approximately 20 miles southwest of downtown Austin — said they filed a lawsuit on Sept. 26 with the Hays County State District Court in regard to a road called Concord Circle.
Contested Case Hearing Starts Monday, August 20, 2018: SOS Alliance Opposes City of Dripping Springs’ Wastewater Discharge to Onion Creek
Signal boost: Initial hearing is now upon us.
Members of the public are welcome to attend.
9am, Monday, August 20, 2018 in the State Office of Administrative Hearings
300 W 15th Street (the William Clements State Office Building, northwest corner of 15th and Guadalupe)
4th floor
Austin, TX 78701
There’s a bulletin board near the elevators that gives the exact a hearing room.
The backstory from https://www.sosalliance.org/latest-news/992-dripping-springs-permit-referred-to-contested-case-hearing.html
A state administrative law judge will hear arguments for and against the proposed sewage permit, and issue a recommendation to the TCEQ commissioners, who will make the decision on whether to grant the permit and if so, the permit’s terms. The hearing process is to be completed within six months of the initial hearing.
Environmental groups, well users, and downstream property owners have many concerns about the plan, including pollution of groundwater that would adversely affect drinking water, recreation, and habitat for aquatic species. Earlier this year, a dye trace study revealed that Onion Creek supplies water to domestic wells in the Dripping Springs area, and a report was recently published documenting the presence of Barton Springs Salamanders in Onion Creek.
To show your support for a ban on discharging wastewater into creeks that recharge Barton Springs, sign the petition at nodrippingsewage.org.