REWahoo
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give
I’ve been retired for almost five years and came to the realization I had allowed myself to become stuck in a rut. I’ve had disappointing experiences in a few volunteer gigs and and wouldn’t remotely consider trading the joy of retirement to return to w*rk, but I was definitely ready for a change. So in late December I decided it was time I broke the mold and sought some new adventures. Little did I know how much the old saw “be careful what you ask for” would come back to haunt me.
One of the areas I felt needed changing was how much time I spent on the forum, so I turned in my admin/mod keys to Andy R and Janet H effective January 1. I set a goal for myself to find new and equally worthwhile endeavors in the coming year, something that might stretch my horizons. I thought it would take weeks, maybe months, plus a number of failed attempts to find something to hold my interest. Unfortunately it took less than 12 hours.
On New Years day I received a call from a neighbor asking if I’d seen the notices posted (in the middle of the night) on the fence of the ranch that borders our Hill Country subdivision. Turns out the ranch owner is applying for a permit to open a limestone rock quarry and rock crushing operation literally in our back yards. Think dynamite blasts, constant noise of a huge rock crusher powered by a big diesel generator, massive amounts of dust, heavy truck traffic in and out of the location, 500,000+ gallons per year of water pumped from an already stressed underground aquifer. Add to this the fact the operation will turn a peaceful rural valley approximately a mile and a half long and three quarters of a mile wide into a gaping raw hole devoid of wildlife and vegetation. The valley is surrounded by three large subdivisions with 600 or more 2-20 acre lots. Roughly 200 of the lots have residences on them and perhaps 50 of those overlook the valley, some within a few hundred feet of the proposed quarry.
Before anyone thinks “What about zoning?” please recall what I’ve said about not moving to Texas. Once you are outside the city limits there are no zoning laws. The only entity in the state overseeing quarry operations is the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) a state agency which I’ve learned was apparently set up by our legislature to give the appearance of caring for the environment and provide state jobs to well-intentioned but relatively powerless employees.
To make matters worse, the company planning the quarry has a history of problems with the environment. I won’t go into all the lurid details of “Mulchie”, the 75 foot high, 200 foot wide, 800 foot long pile of trees and debris that burned for three months in a small town bordering San Antonio. I will say the resulting environmental disaster, finger-pointing, and $3 million plus costs to Texas taxpayers to deal with the problem is still tied up in lawsuits. Yet the state says the environmental record for this company is rated as 'average' and they appear to be prepared to grant the permit saying “Zumwalt meets all the requirements and our hands are tied.” To say folks with properties surrounding the proposed quarry are outraged is an understatement.
So what is my new adventure? I joined forces with our homeowners association to help lead the fight to stop the permit. We’ve held two community meetings attended by 250 people in opposition to the quarry and declared “administrative guerrilla warfare” on the permitting process. In the past two weeks I’ve become an enthusiastic environmental activist and heard myself say things I thought I’d never, ever say, such as “we’re holding a press conference”, “I’m starting a blog”, “Senator, we need your support”, yes, I’ll agree to an interview”, “this is the environmental law firm we need to retain” and “yes, I’ll help solicit funds to pay legal costs for the fight.”
Here is one news story on the issue (no, I’m not one of the folks you’ll see on camera). If we aren’t successful the initial photo of the huge rock quarry is what we expect to see when we look out our back window (sorry about the commercial): Medina Co. Residents Fight Quarry
Since Jan 1 I’ve spent almost every waking hour working on this adventure. It really isn’t something I want to do but I’m so angry that the peaceful place out in the country hundreds of us purchased will be destroyed by the work of one man who could care less about his neighbors and the environment. I’m pissed and I’m committed to fighting this guy with every legal means we can muster and string out approval of the permit for years if need be. We’re understudying the tactics used by another county group which has held off a quarry in their area for almost 10 years. Our hope is Zumwalt will run out of money and enthusiasm before we do.
“Whaddya DO all day” my @ss…
One of the areas I felt needed changing was how much time I spent on the forum, so I turned in my admin/mod keys to Andy R and Janet H effective January 1. I set a goal for myself to find new and equally worthwhile endeavors in the coming year, something that might stretch my horizons. I thought it would take weeks, maybe months, plus a number of failed attempts to find something to hold my interest. Unfortunately it took less than 12 hours.
On New Years day I received a call from a neighbor asking if I’d seen the notices posted (in the middle of the night) on the fence of the ranch that borders our Hill Country subdivision. Turns out the ranch owner is applying for a permit to open a limestone rock quarry and rock crushing operation literally in our back yards. Think dynamite blasts, constant noise of a huge rock crusher powered by a big diesel generator, massive amounts of dust, heavy truck traffic in and out of the location, 500,000+ gallons per year of water pumped from an already stressed underground aquifer. Add to this the fact the operation will turn a peaceful rural valley approximately a mile and a half long and three quarters of a mile wide into a gaping raw hole devoid of wildlife and vegetation. The valley is surrounded by three large subdivisions with 600 or more 2-20 acre lots. Roughly 200 of the lots have residences on them and perhaps 50 of those overlook the valley, some within a few hundred feet of the proposed quarry.
Before anyone thinks “What about zoning?” please recall what I’ve said about not moving to Texas. Once you are outside the city limits there are no zoning laws. The only entity in the state overseeing quarry operations is the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) a state agency which I’ve learned was apparently set up by our legislature to give the appearance of caring for the environment and provide state jobs to well-intentioned but relatively powerless employees.
To make matters worse, the company planning the quarry has a history of problems with the environment. I won’t go into all the lurid details of “Mulchie”, the 75 foot high, 200 foot wide, 800 foot long pile of trees and debris that burned for three months in a small town bordering San Antonio. I will say the resulting environmental disaster, finger-pointing, and $3 million plus costs to Texas taxpayers to deal with the problem is still tied up in lawsuits. Yet the state says the environmental record for this company is rated as 'average' and they appear to be prepared to grant the permit saying “Zumwalt meets all the requirements and our hands are tied.” To say folks with properties surrounding the proposed quarry are outraged is an understatement.
So what is my new adventure? I joined forces with our homeowners association to help lead the fight to stop the permit. We’ve held two community meetings attended by 250 people in opposition to the quarry and declared “administrative guerrilla warfare” on the permitting process. In the past two weeks I’ve become an enthusiastic environmental activist and heard myself say things I thought I’d never, ever say, such as “we’re holding a press conference”, “I’m starting a blog”, “Senator, we need your support”, yes, I’ll agree to an interview”, “this is the environmental law firm we need to retain” and “yes, I’ll help solicit funds to pay legal costs for the fight.”
Here is one news story on the issue (no, I’m not one of the folks you’ll see on camera). If we aren’t successful the initial photo of the huge rock quarry is what we expect to see when we look out our back window (sorry about the commercial): Medina Co. Residents Fight Quarry
Since Jan 1 I’ve spent almost every waking hour working on this adventure. It really isn’t something I want to do but I’m so angry that the peaceful place out in the country hundreds of us purchased will be destroyed by the work of one man who could care less about his neighbors and the environment. I’m pissed and I’m committed to fighting this guy with every legal means we can muster and string out approval of the permit for years if need be. We’re understudying the tactics used by another county group which has held off a quarry in their area for almost 10 years. Our hope is Zumwalt will run out of money and enthusiasm before we do.
“Whaddya DO all day” my @ss…
