The long, hot summer and scant rains have done their damage to the Hill Country watershed, with river flows close to record low levels. It’s a sad spectacle to observe as the 100-degree days surpass past records with no immediate end in sight. Can anything make matters worse?
Yes — greedy absentee landowners who want to dam Hill Country rivers for their personal benefit, knowing that thousands of downstream landowners and others accessing the rivers for ranching, recreation and drinking water will be harmed. And in Texas, where the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has a much deserved reputation for selective enforcement and turning a blind eye to politically connected violators, each episode of a big business or a wealthy outsider seeking to circumvent the common good is a serious concern.
Two instances stand out at the moment: Wealthy individuals from Houston and Marble Falls are attempting to dam the South Llano River and James River on their ranch properties, respectively, to the detriment of the Hill Country environment and all who live, work and play there. The north and south forks of the Llano River come together in Junction, and from there the river feeds into the Highland Lakes, the primary source of water for Austin. The City of Llano relies exclusively on the river for its drinking water.
John Maeckle, my late father-in-law, introduced me to Hill Country hunting and fishing amid the wild beauty of the Llano River more than 40 years ago, and 23 years ago my wife, Monika, and I bought land on the Llano. We have worked ever since to restore native grasses to badly overgrazed acreage and the riparian environment where family and friends tag migrating monarch butterflies, where we kayak, fish and commune with nature. We have taught many friends how to hunt and process wild game over the years, and we enjoy our friendships with people who live year-round in Mason, Junction and other nearby communities.
The Llano River has served as a lifeline for humans for thousands of years, and I believe each one of us who has the privilege of accessing it now has a responsibility to preserve it for generations to come. Not everyone agrees with me.
Social media platforms, especially members-only Facebook community pages, are humming with comments, photographs and videos, all protesting the efforts to dam rivers by the two landowners and questioning why state authorities are not acting.
Bill Neusch, the founder and owner of companies that have produced barriers to build the Texas-Mexico border wall, lives in Marble Falls. Earlier this year he bought the 404-acre La Chifladura ranch, which includes 3,650 feet of river frontage on both sides of the James River. Neighbors soon noticed convoys of cement trucks and other heavy equipment moving up and down the James River Road, not far from the unique Eckert James River Bat Cave, maintained by the Texas Nature Conservancy. By the time video and photographic evidence had been gathered, contractors had constructed a dam 5 feet high and 6 feet wide. There was no public notice posted of a dam permit application, no public hearing, and no state approvals to construct a dam on the Llano, a navigable state right-of-way.
Neusch did not return my call seeking comment.
Residents who filed complaints have been told construction has been halted and the landowner and project are now under investigation. It should take one TCEQ inspector one visit on one day to declare the dam illegal, and for an order to be issued for its removal and the owner fined. That’s the only action that will stop other thoughtless property owners who believe their wealth entitles them to float above the rules. Texas is a state where 93% of the land is in private hands, but that does not mean those who own land also own the rivers, or that they can conduct themselves in ways detrimental to the common good.
News of the seemingly illegal James River dam comes after months of public outcry about another wealthy outsider seeking to dam the South Llano River to build a lake on his Waterstone Creek Ranch in Edwards County. Greg Garland, the Houston-based Phillips 66 executive chairman and former CEO, filed a request in 2018 seeking a TCEQ permit to build a recreational lake big enough to hold 12 acre-feet of water, equivalent to nearly 4 million gallons. The following entities have filed letters of opposition to the dam: Save Lake LBJ, the Llano River Watershed Alliance, the City of Llano, City of Mason and Llano County.
A public hearing held in the small town of Rocksprings on Aug. 10 drew nearly 200 citizens from numerous Hill Country towns and people from Austin and San Antonio opposing the permit request. None of the 36 people who spoke supported the project other than Garland, who was on stage alongside TCEQ representatives. Numerous people who signed up to speak left after waiting hours for their turn.
A call to Phillips 66 seeking comment from Garland was not returned.
Why has it taken TCEQ so long to deny the permit application, and why was Garland given a seat on stage alongside state officials who are supposed to enforce the law without fear or favor? A TCEQ attorney said no decision was forthcoming after the hearing. Yet another hearing will be scheduled at a yet-to-be-announced date and place. Private dams are no longer permitted on the Llano. Why is it so hard to tell wealthy, politically connected property owners that they have to abide by the rules?
Very few U.S. cities the size of San Antonio or Austin boast the kind of nearby wildscape found in the Hill Country. Development already is seriously encroaching on the landscape as former ranches become cookie-cutter residential subdivisions and ranching communities become sought-after suburbs. Water is scarce, and the region’s growing population will only increase the pressure on supply. Preserving the land’s heritage and passing it along to future generations is at risk, and selfish individuals only accelerate its demise.
TCEQ officials can act now in the interest of all Texans they purportedly represent , rather than two landowners, and reaffirm protections of two of the state’s great wild rivers.
