Title
Receive report and consider EAA staff recommendation to authorize the General Manager to refer to General Counsel alleged violations of EAA rules and authorize General Counsel to file a civil suit, if necessary, against Bryce T. Tearney.
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STAFF RECOMMENDED MOTION:
Move the Permits/Enforcement Committee recommend the board authorize the General Manager to refer to General Counsel the alleged violations of EAA rules and authorize General Counsel to file a civil suit, if necessary, against Bryce T. Tearney.
SUMMARY:
EAA rules state that a person desiring to withdraw groundwater from the Aquifer (for non-exempt withdrawals) is required to obtain a groundwater withdrawal permit from the Authority before commencing the withdrawals (see § 711.12) and that a person may not withdraw groundwater from the Aquifer unless authorized by a groundwater withdrawal permit issued by the Authority (see § 711.224 (a)).
An Edwards Aquifer well owner making non-exempt withdrawals from the Aquifer is required to maintain a meter on their well, and should obtain, by sale or lease, sufficient groundwater rights to meet annual needs, and have these rights in place by the annual filing deadline of January 31st to reconcile pumping for the previous calendar year.
There are circumstances where well owners have metered their wells, but have not obtained any permitted rights, or failed to maintain leased rights on their wells. These situations most commonly occur when: (1) the property and well are sold to a new owner and the rights are retained by the seller; (2) when a limited production well (LPW) loses it’s LPW status due to repeated instances of over-pumping; or when a well owner no longer maintains a lease of withdrawal rights.
EAA staff has identified an Edwards Aquifer well owner who has so far failed to resolve their unpermitted withdrawals for 2023 and have been unresponsive to EAA compliance outreach efforts. The following is a more detailed explanation of these violations of EAA rules.
Bryce T. Tearney
Bryce T. Tearney is the owner of Edwards Aquifer well W107-797 located at 5409 Encino Park Road in San Antonio, Texas. The well services the Suburban School, a year-round pre-school and kindergarten, situated on 5.521 acres of land.
The well owner originally registered and operated their well as an LPW starting in 2019 however, they had their LPW status rescinded for overpumping the LPW limit in 2019, 2020 and 2021. The well owner failed to obtain a permit for 2022 after losing their LPW authorization to meet the permitting requirements but managed to resolve their unpermitted groundwater withdrawals of 4.734 acre-feet by paying the settlement offer of $1,198.65. EAA records show that the well owner pumped 3.362 acre-feet in 2023 and has not responded to any correspondences seeking a final settlement to the unpermitted groundwater withdrawals.
On April 19, 2024, EAA staff mailed a Notice of EAA General Manager Settlement Offer related to the unpermitted groundwater withdrawals and offered to resolve 2023 pumping by utilizing the overpumping settlement rate of $271.62 per acre-foot pumped. This settlement amounted to a payment of $913.19. EAA staff received no response to this notice. EAA staff mailed a second notice by Certified Mail on May 21, 2024, and a final notice on September 6, 2024, notifying them of possible discussion of this potential violation at the October 22 Permits/Enforcement Committee meeting and received no response.
On September 27, 2024, EAA staff helped facilitate the mailing of a Kemp Smith Enforcement Notification Letter (KSENL) to provide the well owner a final chance to reach a settlement or to address the Board regarding the matter, if they wish, with an October 18 deadline to respond, with no response.
Since the well owner has failed to respond to EAA staff notices to settle this matter, EAA staff is prepared to make a recommendation to the EAA Board of Directors at the November 12, 2024, meeting to refer these matters to EAA General Counsel for further enforcement action.
EAA staff will present this compliance matter at the October 22 Permits/Enforcement Committee meeting and will be prepared to answer any questions committee members may have regarding this issue.
M/WBE PARTICIPATION:
This agenda item does not involve the procurement of goods or services by the EAA and, therefore, this section is not applicable.
STRATEGIC PLAN REFERENCE:
This agenda item does not relate to a specific goal or action step within the Strategic Plan but supports the general EAA mission.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Potential costs associated with civil lawsuits against violators of these provisions.