YFZ Ranch Seeks Permit for Concrete Bulk Plant
 
The Eldorado Success
 
Representatives of the YFZ Ranch have applied with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for an air quality permit for a concrete batch plant located on ranch property some four miles north of Eldorado on Schleicher County Road 300. A public notice, published in this edition of the Success (see Page 8) states that the plant will emit particulate matter, especially aggregate, cement and road dust.

TCEQ rules allow for public comments and even a public meeting on the issue. The deadline for persons to submit comments or request a public meeting is 30 days from now, according the notice posted by ranch officials.

A TCEQ spokesman told the Success Tuesday that while public input is encouraged, strong evidence must be submitted before the agency will call a public hearing.

The application is available for viewing at the Schleicher County Courthouse, as well as the TCEQ Region 8 office in San Angelo.

The move to acquire an air quality permit is the first public display that YFZ Ranch officials are attempting to address a number of environmental concerns at the ranch, first uncovered by TCEQ investigators in April. Since that time, agency personnel have been trying to get TCEQ to comply with a number of environmental regulations.

Among those concerns still under investigation by the agency is the inability of septic tanks located at the ranch to handle the wastewater from a number of large buildings currently under construction there. TCEQ officials have identified the septic systems as "Class V Injection Wells," primarily because they are inadequate to handle the wastewater flow at the ranch. Undersized septic or wastewater systems can threaten underground drinking water as well as nearby surface water, by allow waste to migrate down to the aquifer or up to the surface where it can endanger nearby streams and rivers.

But YFZ officials appear to be addressing that issue, too. A TCEQ spokesman says that application is being made to install an adequate wastewater treatment system and that ranch personnel will seek training so that they may become licensed wastewater plant operators. Additionally, the Eldorado City Council is slated to hear a request Monday night from the YFZ Ranch asking that the city accept and dispose of some 150,000 gallons of wastewater each month.
 
MyEldorado.net
Originally published July 8, 2004
 
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