1 2 3 4 5 Wastewater Facility Plan for Center Point, Texas 6 Environmental Information Document 7 Public Meeting 8 Monday, June 17, 2013 9 6:00 p.m. 10 River Bluff 11 103 Skyline Drive 12 Center Point, Texas 13 14 15 16 17 PRESENT: TOM MOSER, Commissioner Pct. 2 JONATHAN LETZ, Commissioner Pct. 3 18 KELLER DROZDICK, Tetra Tech Engineering DAVID MARTIN, Tetra Tech Environmental 19 NICOLA RANSOME, Tetra Tech Environmental 20 21 AUDIENCE: Cheri Bolden (Those who spoke) Jerry Trice 22 Suzanne Trice Bo Leonard 23 Julie Leonard Bobby Parks 24 Keith Marquart Tish Hulett 25 Sherry Wardlaw 6-17-13 public 2 1 On Monday, June 17, 2013, at 6:00 p.m., a public 2 hearing regarding the proposed wastewater facility plan for 3 Center Point, Kerr County, Texas, was held at River Bluff, 4 103 Skyline Drive, Center Point, Texas, and the following 5 proceedings were had: 6 P R O C E E D I N G S 7 COMMISSIONER MOSER: Why don't we get started? 8 It's 6 o'clock, and we'll stay on time. I don't see anybody 9 else rolling in, but they may, and if they do, that's good. 10 Two -- two objectives, today. First and foremost is to have 11 a public hearing, which is required, and the Tetra Tech folks 12 are going to conduct that. And the public hearing will be 13 official, because we have the court reporter here, and we 14 will take comments from anybody verbally, and written 15 comments can be provided over there. And let me get out of 16 the way and introduce everybody here. First of all, Jonathan 17 Letz. He's -- and I think probably most people know him -- 18 Commissioner, Precinct 3. And Jonathan is at the other end 19 of this thing, but Jonathan's been involved in it for a long 20 time. It's his effort that this -- that has gotten this as 21 far as it has, he and Bill Williams. So -- but we're going 22 to keep the momentum going on this, and so far, we are on 23 schedule. And Keller Drozdick is the project engineer for 24 Tetra Tech. And David Martin, the environmental folks. 25 And -- 6-17-13 public 3 1 MS. RANSOME: Environmental. 2 COMMISSIONER MOSER: Environmental also. And so 3 we'll go through the schedule; we'll talk about the entire 4 project, where we are, what the intent is, why it's here, the 5 role with the Texas Water Development Board, what the County 6 is doing. This is kind of unique, 'cause this will be a 7 County-owned project. It'll be funded by Texas Water 8 Development Board and the County, and then in cooperation 9 with Kendall County receiving the wastewater -- waste -- the 10 sewer, okay, down there for them to process it. So, 11 Jonathan, do you have anything you want to say? 12 COMMISSIONER LETZ: Not really. I think this -- we 13 started -- someone asked me a minute ago how long this has 14 been going. I think 2005, about. Is that when it started, 15 Keller? 16 MR. DROZDICK: Yeah. 17 COMMISSIONER LETZ: So, we started this initial 18 project. Bill Williams was -- kind of kicked it off more 19 than anyone else. 2005, I guess. This project's been around 20 a long time; a lot of vision, a lot of effort to get here, 21 and we've come a long ways. I think, you know, we're at that 22 point now of our final -- we can kind of see the end in 23 sight. Several years -- obviously, there's still probably 24 four or five years to get everything actually completed. 25 Maybe sooner than that, but I've learned that these projects 6-17-13 public 4 1 take a long, long time to get going. We're just real excited 2 about it. I think it's a big plus for the water quality of 3 the Guadalupe River. That's the reason for this. It's been 4 a very highly rated project in the state. In fact, it was 5 the number-one rated project in the state at one point; now 6 it's the number-two rated project in the state to get this 7 done, from a clean water standpoint. That's the driving 8 force. We are -- on a side note, not related to this 9 project, but the County's still working primarily with 10 U.G.R.A. on a water project that will help this area on water 11 as well. But this one is wastewater. And probably turn it 12 over to Tetra Tech. I mean, this is -- 13 COMMISSIONER MOSER: Okay. 14 COMMISSIONER LETZ: The purpose of this, as much as 15 anything, is a formal process, which they're going to 16 explain, that we have to go through because it's federal 17 funds involved in the project. 18 COMMISSIONER MOSER: And just -- if anybody has any 19 questions at any time during the presentation, we'll treat it 20 -- do it that way, so we won't wait to answer questions. 21 MR. MARTIN: And one thing I would like to add is 22 if you didn't sign in when you came in, please make sure you 23 sign in so -- so we can have a complete record of everybody 24 that's attended this meeting. 25 MR. DROZDICK: I'm up? Okay. Again, I'm Keller 6-17-13 public 5 1 Drozdick with Tetra Tech. I've been doing the engineering 2 work on the project so far. Y'all probably saw me at the 3 previous couple of meetings, if you were there. We've 4 already had the call to order and the introductions and the 5 announcements. I'm going to give you guys a brief 6 description of the proposed project as far as what the design 7 looks like right now. It's a little bit different than last 8 time you saw it, if you were at the last couple of meetings. 9 My part's kind of short, frankly. It's mostly a meeting to 10 get public input as far as the project overall, and 11 specifically the environmental side. So, a lot of this is 12 going to be David's presentation, but I'll give you guys the 13 up-front orientation. Okay. Jonathan already talked about 14 the issues in the area, water quality problems in the 15 Guadalupe River. There have been issues with noncompliant 16 septic systems that lead to health issues. That's the 17 driver, and that's the reason behind the project. 18 I think it was first conceived back in the late 19 '90's, and there was a lot of thinking about it and planning 20 it. It started to get more formal in about '05, '07. I 21 started to get involved about '08. We started to go out for 22 funding applications. As of right now, we're operating kind 23 of under the guidelines of the funds we're using. The people 24 who pay the bills make the rules. So, we're in what's called 25 a planning stage. We're trying to check out everything, make 6-17-13 public 6 1 sure it's a good idea, do kind of the high-level stuff. We 2 had our original funding application in November of 2011. 3 The agreement was September of last year, and we're in that 4 planning phase now. You can see it goes to November of this 5 year, and we've been staying on track with that to get that 6 done by November. We're going to actually be submitting all 7 of our documentation in July, and we just expect it'll take 8 until November for the State to approve and sign off on it. 9 Once they approve and sign off on all of our 10 planning documents, we'll get to go to the design phase where 11 we actually make all the construction plans, specifications 12 and all that, do all the detail work. That will take about a 13 year. Pretty much, it will take until 2014 to do all -- put 14 all that together. Then that will be followed by the 15 construction phase. So, what we're going to try to do is get 16 an early start on the construction planning, and start that 17 process actually probably in January of this coming year, is 18 really when it starts, but it really picks up in about August 19 of 2014 so that we have construction funds ready to go when 20 we're done with the design; we don't have to keep waiting on 21 funding any more. Yes? 22 MR. TRICE: You have to wait till the design phase 23 is over to start the construction? 24 MR. DROZDICK: We do have to wait for the design 25 phase to be completed until we start construction, but we 6-17-13 public 7 1 don't have to wait to go out for the construction funding. 2 MR. TRICE: Okay. 3 MR. DROZDICK: So that's what we're going to try to 4 do, is get the funding lined up in parallel, so it's ready to 5 go. Okay, next slide. This is a general map that shows you 6 kind of an overview of the project area. The green lines 7 hereabouts are the same green lines you see on the maps in 8 the back. And the idea here, just to show you, we start at 9 the county line. We're going through Center Point, and this 10 is basically the outline of all the properties that will have 11 access to service, as well as the service lines. You're not 12 going to be able to see it up here; that's why I brought the 13 big posters in the back. The red line, just for reference, 14 is what we're kind of considering an ultimate service area. 15 As you start putting in sewer lines, these things are going 16 to be there for 50 years or more. You have to kind of look 17 at it and say, "Where might future development be? Where 18 might that occur?" So, for sort of longer-term planning, 19 we're considering, you know, a much larger area, just to give 20 you an idea. Okay. 21 So, this is where we are right now. It's a little 22 bit different than last time. It's similar. There is a 23 total of almost 1,300 parcels in that current service area; 24 not the big red one, the current service area. You got about 25 1,300 parcels total. Of those, about 876 are actual sewer 6-17-13 public 8 1 user parcels; commercial, residential, schools. The other 2 parcels are either vacant or they're currently agricultural 3 parcels, and that's all based on the county tax records. 4 Estimated population at the beginning of the project, which 5 we're calling 2015, the estimated start of construction, is 6 going to be 2,300 people, which is about a quarter million 7 gallons a day. That's what we estimate the wastewater flow 8 would be if all those parcels tie in at the beginning. Since 9 we last talked to you guys, we were able to get some numbers 10 crunched. We came up with estimated monthly bills for 11 service of about $40 to $60. That's still an estimate, 12 because a lot of numbers -- a lot of factors go into that 13 number, depending on how many people connect, what -- what 14 the ultimate cost really is, so that will get refined over 15 time, but that's the general window we're looking at. 16 One of the questions from the last meeting was what 17 is it going to cost to tie into the system? In general, the 18 cost of the connection is going to start at about $1,500 and 19 go up from there. I can't give you a hard number because of 20 all these factors that go into it. If you live close to the 21 sewer line and it's easy to dig and there's no problems, it's 22 cheap. If your house is far from the sewer line, there's a 23 bunch of rock, you have a problem getting rid of your old 24 septic system, all those factors can raise the cost. 25 Generally, we're talking about a $1,500 estimated cost to tie 6-17-13 public 9 1 in. Now, that's the cost. Whether or not you actually pay 2 that is a different story. We're trying to pursue some 3 supplemental funding that would actually pay for connection 4 costs, at least for some people. So, that's what it would 5 cost, but whether or not you pay it is a different question. 6 Overall, right now we're estimating construction costs will 7 be $18 million, and that's funding we don't have right now, 8 so that's the stuff we're going to try to secure. And that 9 covers everything in the construction phase. That covers the 10 cost of the construction; that covers the cost of the 11 inspection, everything. 12 COMMISSIONER LETZ: Keller? 13 MR. DROZDICK: Yes? 14 COMMISSIONER LETZ: We don't have the funding; it's 15 not committed, but the Water Development Board has -- they 16 kind of have us -- they know that it's coming, so it's kind 17 of penciled in as a -- it's kind of on their radar. So, it's 18 not like we don't know where the money's coming from. You 19 know, they have -- that money's kind of -- it's not set aside 20 exactly, but it's kind of set aside. 21 MR. DROZDICK: He mentioned that we were ranked one 22 and two in the state. Basically, they kind of hold that 23 ranking for about three years, so when we come back for 24 construction funding, we can carry -- we can continue our -- 25 we think, our score that got us the one and two ranking and 6-17-13 public 10 1 put that forward as part of our construction application, so 2 we're very, very likely to get construction funds. Nobody's 3 willing to commit to that, but we're about as likely as you 4 can get at this point. And what that's getting you is, in 5 addition to almost 900 sewer connections, is it's buying 6 175,000 feet of sewer pipe. So, when you look at the green 7 squiggles over there on the maps, that's what these equate 8 to, about 33 miles worth of sewer pipe. And at the bottom 9 there, there's seven lift stations because of all the 10 wonderful hills you guys have. You can't just flow 11 everything downhill, so we need to have seven lift stations 12 or pumps to pump stuff over ridges or past rivers or whatever 13 it may be at different places. And that's it. Next one? 14 MS. BOLDEN: They'll run with electricity? 15 MR. DROZDICK: Yes, ma'am. All the pumps will be 16 run off electricity in local areas. To give you an example, 17 we looked at one kind of near the -- the park by the dam, 18 right down here. That's a low spot, so we kind of have to 19 catch stuff there and then pump it out of that low spot. And 20 all these would have -- would have power hooked to them. 21 MS. BOLDEN: Are you local? Do you know about how 22 this ground shifts? 23 COMMISSIONER MOSER: Repeat the questions for 24 everybody. 25 MS. BOLDEN: I'm sorry. I asked -- 6-17-13 public 11 1 COMMISSIONER MOSER: No, he can repeat them. 2 MR. DROZDICK: She asked if I'm local, if I know 3 about how the ground shifts. Right? I'm from San Antonio. 4 MS. BOLDEN: That's close enough. 5 MR. DROZDICK: We have similar ground. And it's 6 kind of a double-edged sword with that, where, yes, you have 7 some problems with ground shifting and expansive clays and 8 that kind of stuff. Where you don't have that problem, you 9 have solid rock, which is just as expensive to construct in, 10 so it's kind of a trade-off there. Usually, a lot of the 11 other -- the ground movement on this kind of a project we can 12 deal with, because when we're putting the pipe in there, 13 you're digging about a 2-foot-wide trench, putting a lot of 14 well-defined backfill gravel around the pipe. That will -- 15 that helps it resist some of that motion, and you're securing 16 it pretty well, so you don't have as many problems with -- 17 with that kind of shifting and breaks as you do with smaller 18 lines that are not as deep and not as well -- well-installed, 19 not installed to the same standard. 20 MS. BOLDEN: That's considered in the cost? 21 MR. DROZDICK: Yes. Yes, ma'am. Yeah, we actually 22 costed in there an estimate of rock excavation that's 23 significantly cheaper -- I'm sorry, significantly more 24 expensive. That's included in the estimate as well. Okay. 25 MS. TRICE: There's seven lift stations? 6-17-13 public 12 1 MR. DROZDICK: Yes, ma'am, right now. 2 COMMISSIONER MOSER: Repeat the question for 3 everybody. 4 MR. DROZDICK: She asked how many lift stations 5 there were, and right now there are seven. Most of them are 6 very small, actually. There's three, basically, small 7 neighborhoods that were just kind of downhill from everybody 8 else, so we had to put very small lift stations in those just 9 to get it out of there. No, four of them are like that. The 10 three larger ones kind of collect sub -- portions of Center 11 Point or other areas, and can pump it on to the rest of the 12 system. So right now, we're looking at seven. Some of that 13 depends on exactly how the -- how the lay of the land is, the 14 elevations, the topography. We eliminated some. We used to 15 have -- 'cause we're trying to go across the creeks without 16 using them. The creeks, as you guys know, especially Bluff 17 Creek and Wilson Creek, are really, really deep, and they're 18 still a challenge for us. We haven't finalized the design 19 there. It's one of these we have to do in the detailed 20 design phase to really know how we're costing those. Right 21 now, we're trying to avoid lift stations. But -- 22 COMMISSIONER MOSER: Keller, why don't you 23 mention -- or maybe in the previous slide, show the two areas 24 that we're adding since we had the last meeting here. 25 MR. DROZDICK: Sure. The two major areas that were 6-17-13 public 13 1 added, one was right up in here, J.J. Lane and Stoneleigh, 2 which you can see on the map in more detail. These 3 originally were not -- had been cut from the project as of 4 our last meeting, but we were able to add those back in. By 5 way of some alternative alignments, we were able to route it 6 along Highway 27, so J.J. Lane and Stoneleigh are back in, at 7 least in part. And then -- 8 COMMISSIONER MOSER: Yeah. 9 MR. DROZDICK: What's the road name? 10 COMMISSIONER MOSER: Skyline. 11 MR. DROZDICK: Thank you. Out Skyline to Camp 12 C.A.M.P. and past there, we've included as well, to help 13 serve that whole stretch out to the mobile home park at the 14 end. So, these were major additions we made during this 15 planning phase. 16 MS. BOLDEN: How big is a lift station? I mean, 17 like, in this room, would there be two lift stations? 18 MR. DROZDICK: You know, you're talking about 4 to 19 6 foot in diameter. 20 MS. BOLDEN: Okay. 21 MR. DROZDICK: Generally. 22 MS. BOLDEN: So they're -- 23 MR. DROZDICK: Some of them may actually be smaller 24 than that, but no bigger than 6 foot in diameter. They 25 usually don't stick up from the ground; they're really pretty 6-17-13 public 14 1 flush on the ground, so they're not terribly intrusive 2 visually. They're just kind of laying there. 3 MR. LEONARD: Where are they going to be located? 4 MR. DROZDICK: I thought you might ask me that. 5 One is near the park, here. And we talked to the park 6 committee about how to -- how to site that in the best way 7 with their master plan for the park. One is on Stoneleigh -- 8 actually, right here, Stoneleigh -- J.J. Lane, actually. 9 Well, it's right through here. And one is right over there, 10 the -- what is it, Riverview and Verde Creek Subdivisions. 11 Just -- they're really -- those are going to be really, 12 really small, just for those dozen homes or so, but there's 13 no other way to get it out of there, so that's four of them. 14 We've got one right in here, one of the small subdivisions on 15 the south side of the highway near the -- 16 COMMISSIONER LETZ: Going out Skyline? 17 MR. DROZDICK: Yeah, and there's one actually in 18 this mobile home park way out Skyline to get that one done. 19 COMMISSIONER LETZ: Is the other one right over 20 here? 21 MR. DROZDICK: Oh, yes, there's one back off of -- 22 COMMISSIONER LETZ: Swayze. 23 MR. DROZDICK: Swayze, yes. One right off Swayze, 24 toward kind of the north side of Center Point. It really 25 kind of goes downhill there; that's a good place to put a 6-17-13 public 15 1 lift station, pump it all back up. 2 MR. LEONARD: Where on the north side of Center 3 Point? 4 MR. DROZDICK: It's right at -- it's near the -- 5 it's planned right now for the intersection of Swayze and 6 Church, I believe it is. If you're on 1350 kind of heading 7 north, eventually you run out of road, and that -- that's 8 pretty much right where it is. I forget whose property that 9 is right now. 10 MS. LEONARD: Did you say Riverview and Verde 11 Creek, one of them? 12 MR. DROZDICK: Yes, each of those. 13 MS. LEONARD: What part runs along Verde Creek? 14 Like, north of Verde Creek, is that where Riverview runs? 15 MR. DROZDICK: I can't remember which is which. 16 One of them is just right down here. 17 MS. LEONARD: Where is -- let me -- where is Elm 18 Pass Road? 19 MR. DROZDICK: Elm Pass would be right up -- right 20 through here. 21 MS. LEONARD: Okay. 22 MR. DROZDICK: Before heading in Elm Pass, near 23 Verde Creek itself, just kind of one subdivision goes off 24 this way, and then that road that comes over and loops down. 25 You can look at the maps afterwards; you'll be able to see 6-17-13 public 16 1 it. 2 COMMISSIONER MOSER: Yeah, I think you have the 3 lift station shown. 4 MR. DROZDICK: They're actually orange dots on 5 those maps, so if you want to see exactly where we're 6 currently planning lift stations and all the alignments, 7 where we're putting pipes, where we're putting lift stations, 8 those are our best design guesses at this point in the 9 planning phase. When we go to detailed design, we've got to 10 nail all those down, so they may shift a little bit, 11 depending on negotiations with property owners, easement 12 acquisition, that kind of thing. Those are our current best 13 guesses. 14 MS. BOLDEN: When you had the previous slide up, 15 there was a cost of existing septic. What -- why does that 16 make any difference? Location, accessibility, condition of 17 existing septic. 18 MR. DROZDICK: Oh, part of tying you into the sewer 19 system is going to be decommissioning your current septic 20 system, because they want to make sure it's all 21 decommissioned and out of service before you tie into the new 22 one. So, it's a swap. So it depends kind of how that -- 23 that current septic -- what condition it's in, what its 24 construction is and so forth. It's conceivable that may 25 change the cost a little bit of your connection. I don't 6-17-13 public 17 1 think that's a major factor, because the whole purpose of 2 this is to basically kind of fill it and collapse it, so 3 chances are if it's in bad shape, it will be easier for them 4 to fill and collapse it. 5 COMMISSIONER MOSER: Let me add one thing, too, on 6 that. The good thing about this is, the County is just in 7 the final phase of completing a project like this over in 8 Kerrville South, where I think there's -- what, 300? 9 MR. DROZDICK: Yes. 10 COMMISSIONER MOSER: Basically, 300 connections 11 there. So -- so this is, you know, the second song -- second 12 verse of the same song. So, we've plowed a lot of ground 13 over there, learned a lot, and it's worked extremely well. 14 That -- that creek, Town Meeting Creek, used to be the most 15 polluted stream in the state of Texas. I believe it was 16 alleged to have been. Now it's cleaned up. So -- 17 MR. DROZDICK: Same kind of project on a much 18 bigger scale over here. 19 MR. PARKS: That 2,300 estimated population, where 20 is that? 21 MR. DROZDICK: That's across that whole service 22 area, Center Point. Greater Center Point, if you will. 23 MR. PARKS: And then all the way along the highway 24 to Comfort? 25 MR. DROZDICK: To the county line, so that's the 6-17-13 public 18 1 entire area. 2 MR. PARKS: Thank you. 3 MR. DROZDICK: Sure. Yes? 4 MS. TRICE: We're going to connect to Comfort? 5 MR. DROZDICK: Yes. 6 MS. TRICE: And it's going to come through Kendall 7 County on into Kerr County? 8 MR. DROZDICK: Yes. 9 MS. TRICE: Have they made any attempts to connect 10 to -- to our line out of Comfort? 11 COMMISSIONER MOSER: What did she say? 12 MS. TRICE: Do you know if that's in the plan? 13 MR. DROZDICK: She's asking about what happened as 14 far as Comfort, the Kendall County W.C.I.D. 15 COMMISSIONER LETZ: I'll take that one. We've 16 talked with Kendall County W.C.I.D. at length about this. 17 We're working through the process right now of working out 18 the interlocal agreement. They are very much in favor of it. 19 Their board has voted to proceed, and we don't have a 20 contract agreement yet, but they're in favor the project. 21 Kerr County's obviously in favor of it. They have the 22 current capacity in their plan to take this wastewater, and 23 that's why they're anxious to do this project, 'cause it 24 will -- you know, they've got a lot of excess capacity right 25 now. So -- 6-17-13 public 19 1 MS. TRICE: What are their rules? 2 COMMISSIONER LETZ: Well, the rules are going to be 3 the same. Their rules are basically the same as state rules 4 on how -- on how they run their -- their plan. You know, 5 we're talking with them, and in all likelihood, Kendall 6 County W.C.I.D. will do the maintenance and operation of the 7 system for Kerr County. We don't think it's going to make 8 sense to set up another entity to do that, so that's kind of 9 the direction we're going. But they're very much on board 10 with this, and we're working with them every step of the way 11 on the alignment. Keller worked with them as to where we're 12 going to tie into the lines in Comfort, and how we get the 13 wastewater from Kerr County to their sewer plant. 14 MR. TRICE: What's W.C.I.D.? 15 THE REPORTER: Speak up, please. 16 COMMISSIONER LETZ: He asked -- the question was, 17 what is W.C.I.D.? It's Kendall County Water Improvement 18 District. 19 MR. MARQUART: Control and Improvement District. 20 COMMISSIONER LETZ: Control and Improvement 21 District. In Comfort, there's a -- that entity has the 22 drinking water and the wastewater for that Comfort community. 23 MR. DROZDICK: And that was one of the big 24 priorities behind the project, was that Kerr County didn't 25 want to own and operate a sewer system. They were not 6-17-13 public 20 1 interested in getting into that business; they didn't have 2 the expertise or experience in doing that. And the 3 Kendall -- the Comfort folks had the experience, and they had 4 a plant sitting there that was half used, so it was a really 5 good match of taking this to the nearby plant that had the 6 capacity, that had the capability. So -- 7 COMMISSIONER LETZ: It's a whole lot more 8 cost-effective doing it this way than for the County to build 9 another sewer treatment plant, which this project would never 10 have gotten off the ground if that was the option. What we 11 looked at was the options of going to -- pumping the sewage 12 to Kerrville and them treat it, or mostly gravity flow to 13 Comfort, and them treat it. Those were the two licensed 14 facilities in the area. 15 MS. LEONARD: Will the residents be required to 16 hook up, and -- and people that -- I mean, there are a lot of 17 people that might not be able to afford some of this. Will 18 there be some kind of financial help for some of the homes to 19 be able to hook up? 20 MR. DROZDICK: That is -- excuse me. That is what 21 we're looking into, is getting that financial help in place. 22 We used that in the Kerrville South project that he 23 mentioned, where they paid for the cost of the tie-in, the 24 cost of septic mitigation, and all these costs were paid for 25 through grants. The current grant we have for the design, 6-17-13 public 21 1 and hopefully for construction, the way that grant funding is 2 structured, it can only go up to the property line; it can't 3 improve private property, quote, unquote. This other grant 4 that we're planning on pursuing -- we're starting to pursue, 5 actually, does exactly that. It -- it fills in that gap 6 between the house itself and then the public right-of-way. 7 COMMISSIONER MOSER: The -- and I don't remember 8 exactly what it is, but I think most of the connections on 9 private property in Kerrville South were paid for by a 10 different grant, so I don't think that there was very many 11 individuals that paid anything there. And it has to do with 12 being within 150 miles of the Mexican border; it's called a 13 colonias grant. And I -- I don't know if James can add to 14 it. The Auditor's office is here with us today, too. So 15 that hopefully, you know, if there's a lot of people that 16 can't afford it -- but that's a separate grant we'll apply 17 for so that they can get the service hooked up and, you know, 18 not cost them anything. 19 MR. DROZDICK: Yes? 20 MR. LEONARD: Will there be a sewer treatment plant 21 somewhere? 22 THE REPORTER: Sorry, I didn't hear that. 23 MR. DROZDICK: His question is, will there be a 24 sewer treatment plant somewhere. Not a new one. We're just 25 using the existing one in Comfort. 6-17-13 public 22 1 COMMISSIONER MOSER: That's what Jonathan was 2 saying. The one in Comfort is at about 20 percent capacity 3 now, so they -- so they've got the expertise and all to 4 operate something like this, and they -- they really need -- 5 or would like to have the additional business. So -- and, 6 you know, there's something else, too, that's realistic. 7 There's a quarter of a million gallons of water a day flowing 8 down there, so that's -- that's a product that's going to be 9 sold. 10 MS. LEONARD: Will there be any charge for reusing 11 some -- like the groundwater, or like they do in Kerrville? 12 COMMISSIONER MOSER: Well, yeah, I'm sure so. They 13 would love to sell their effluent water, I'm sure. 14 COMMISSIONER LETZ: That's all part of the 15 negotiations with the W.C.I.D. 16 COMMISSIONER MOSER: Right. 17 COMMISSIONER LETZ: A lot of this water is already 18 committed, but it's certainly -- 19 COMMISSIONER MOSER: I think in Kerrville, they, 20 quote, claim that all their effluent is spoken for, so there 21 are people on the waiting list in Kerrville to say, you know, 22 "We'd like to buy this effluent water from you," but they 23 claim they don't have any more right now. So, it's being 24 negotiated with some other people. So, it's a good -- and 25 like Jonathan said, that will be part of the negotiations 6-17-13 public 23 1 with -- with Kendall County. 2 MS. BOLDEN: But the individual homeowner won't be 3 able to use their graywater or brown water for anything? 4 COMMISSIONER MOSER: No. 5 MR. DROZDICK: Not once it's routed into the sewer, 6 no. 7 MS. BOLDEN: There goes those trees. 8 COMMISSIONER MOSER: Yeah. Go ahead, Keller. 9 MR. DROZDICK: Any other questions? 10 COMMISSIONER LETZ: Just to answer that lady's 11 question on the graywater, I don't know that graywater is 12 going to be any different. If your plumbing -- if your 13 washing machine water is currently being used, that's going 14 to still be able, okay, to be used, 'cause your sewage line 15 that's going into your septic tank will be diverted into the 16 sewer line. Graywater, I don't think it will be affected by 17 this. 18 MR. MARTIN: Right. Just like in San Antonio, we 19 have a new water district in San Antonio where residents can 20 use the water from their dishwashers or their washing 21 machines, and -- and pump it out to their yard for 22 irrigation. So -- 23 MS. BOLDEN: Well, I'm a representative of the 24 Baptist Church, and we have 1,250 gallons that we baptize 25 people with, so we water the trees with it -- 6-17-13 public 24 1 COMMISSIONER MOSER: Sure. 2 MS. BOLDEN: -- when we're finished. I don't want 3 that going to Comfort septic system. 4 MR. MARTIN: Yeah, right. 5 MS. BOLDEN: We need that for those trees. 6 COMMISSIONER MOSER: It's your water. 7 MS. BOLDEN: Okay. 8 MR. DROZDICK: I should have been clearer. 9 Basically, it depends on your plumbing. If your washing 10 machine and everything goes into the sewer -- into your 11 septic system, then it's, you know, going to go to Comfort. 12 If it doesn't, then it won't, unless you pipe it there. So, 13 any other questions about that? Okay. 14 MS. HULETT: I had an issue about the graywater. 15 There are rules in Chapter 285 about how you neatly dispose 16 of graywater. 17 MR. DROZDICK: Yes. 18 MS. HULETT: So I just thought I would mention 19 there are certain requirements that you have to meet in order 20 to do that. 21 MR. DROZDICK: Yeah. I won't go into detail, 22 'cause that's really outside our scope, but yes, the 23 graywater can be reused, but that is subject to state 24 requirements and health codes and so forth about graywater. 25 So, if you are not -- if it is not going into to your septic, 6-17-13 public 25 1 and therefore into treatment, then you've got to comply with 2 those applicable regs. Okay, all yours. 3 MR. MARTIN: So, one of the purposes of this 4 hearing today is to discuss the potential impact that this 5 project might have on the environment, and -- and the 6 alternatives that we looked at for this project. So, here's 7 some of the regulatory requirements that require us to do an 8 environmental study for projects like this. Because we are 9 using federal funds for this project, a policy called the 10 National Environmental Policy Act kicks in, and NEPA requires 11 us to look at the impact that a project that is utilizing 12 federal funds is going to have on the environment. And then 13 we also have the Council on Environmental Quality, which 14 drives the NEPA process. We have the Clean Air Act, Clean 15 Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act that drives these 16 kind of studies. Next slide. 17 So -- so, this particular project, different 18 agencies have a different way of complying with NEPA. The 19 way that Texas Water Development Board complies with NEPA is 20 by the Environmental Information Document process, okay? So, 21 there's different levels of NEPA that are required. First of 22 all, you have to identify a proposed action, and then you 23 have to determine whether or not that action can be 24 categorically excluded. There are certain actions under NEPA 25 that can be categorically excluded from the environmental 6-17-13 public 26 1 analysis. Say you're just remodeling an office space or 2 something like that. That would fall under a categorical 3 exclusion. And then there's certain actions that require an 4 environmental assessment, or in this case, an E.I.D. And 5 these are usually actions that could potentially have 6 environmental impact, but typically come up with a finding of 7 no significant impact. In other words, impacts are -- are 8 mitigated enough throughout the process to where there's no 9 significant impact. And then, if you think that there's 10 going to be environmental impacts, or if you know sometime 11 during this process, you determine that there could be 12 environmental impacts that are significant, then that would 13 kick in what we call an Environmental Impact Statement, and 14 then we would be required to do an Environmental Impact 15 Statement. Next slide. 16 So, here's where we are in the process. We are 17 developing the Environmental Information Document. We -- and 18 then back there on the board afterwards, when we adjourn from 19 this part of the meeting, you can -- we'll be back there 20 answering some questions about where we are in the process as 21 well. So, right now, our draft environmental document has 22 come up with a finding of no significant impact, so we're in 23 the process of continuing to take comments from the public. 24 If somebody reads the document and sees something in there 25 that they say, "Hey, you know, there -- there's a problem 6-17-13 public 27 1 here," then that's what this process is for, for you guys to 2 be able to provide comments, to tell us where we're wrong in 3 the process, to give you a chance to say, "Hey, you're going 4 to be impacting a certain species," or, "You're going to be 5 impacting the water this way," or whatever. So, next slide. 6 So, basically, an E.I.D. is driven by Texas -- 31 7 Texas Administrative Code, which is the Texas Water 8 Development Board's process for complying with NEPA. And, 9 again, this E.I.D. is entitled to a hearing, and it can be 10 subject to court actions as well. So, what I'm going to do 11 here is talk about the purpose and need of the project, the 12 description of the proposed actions and the alternatives, and 13 the affected environment and secondary impacts, and the way 14 we conducted public and our agency involvement and 15 coordination. So, like Keller said, the purpose of this 16 project is to alleviate the existing septic systems by tying 17 residents into Center Point's -- of Center Point and 18 communities, and have the sewer run down to Comfort, Texas. 19 And so the need of the project is -- is to eliminate the 20 reliance on inadequate septic systems that are currently part 21 of Center Point community. So -- and then I think we've 22 already talked about why this project is -- is required. Do 23 you want to go to the next slide? 24 Okay. So, again, to reiterate what Keller 25 mentioned, that we're going to be installing 175,000 linear 6-17-13 public 28 1 feet of pipeline, seven lift stations or gravity 2 interoceptors, approximately -- I don't know if Keller said 3 that, but approximately 876 parcels will be receiving service 4 from this project. Kerr County would own and operate the -- 5 the facilities, and all would converge to Comfort, Texas. 6 So, all the lines would converge to Comfort, basically. Next 7 slide. So, these are just a list of no-action alternatives 8 that we looked at during the process. NEPA requires you to 9 look at alternatives, and one of the alternatives is you have 10 to look at the no-action alternatives. The no-action 11 alternative is that you can always decide not to do the 12 project, okay? So -- so, some of the repercussions of the 13 no-action alternatives are a continued use of the existing 14 inadequate systems, noncompliance with continuing health 15 regulation compliance standards, it wouldn't directly correct 16 the systems that are not functioning, and it would just be 17 the status-quo, so you would just continue to exist the way 18 you are with -- with the existing septic systems. And, next 19 slide. 20 So, here's a couple of the alternatives that were 21 eliminated. Septic tanks, installing new or improving 22 existing septic tanks. These would not -- this solution will 23 not address the fact that soils -- soils are poor in this 24 area for septic systems. It's going to cause significant 25 disruption in the property by requiring quite a bit of 6-17-13 public 29 1 construction, and the funds would -- for correcting the 2 wastewater inadequacy would be spent entirely on improvements 3 on private lots. Next. And then these are two more 4 alternatives that were eliminated from study. Collection 5 systems, a local treatment plant. I think we discussed that 6 a moment ago about how expensive that would be, and that 7 that's not really a viable alternative. We already have 8 Comfort down the street that has a system that is in place 9 that can take on this additional discharge. And then 10 collection systems, transfer to Kerrville. City of 11 Kerrville's not interested in doing something like that at 12 this point. So, next? 13 So, during the process, we looked at a number of 14 different environmental impacts that could potentially occur. 15 We looked at air quality, noise, land use, the geology of the 16 area, hydrogeologic elements, biological, cultural resources, 17 economic conditions, public health, and environmental 18 justice. So, those -- these are all the different categories 19 that we evaluated for an environmental impact. Next. So -- 20 so here, basically, we came up with no significant impact on 21 air quality. There will be short-term emissions during 22 construction, but once the construction's done, the air 23 quality issue will go away. If dust becomes a problem during 24 the construction, you know, the construction crews will take 25 the appropriate actions by using site watering and the 6-17-13 public 30 1 application of a chemical soil tackifier. Noise. Of course, 2 there's going to be minor short-term impact on noise during 3 the construction, but after that, that will -- that will go 4 away. The residents will be notified of the schedule of the 5 construction periods. Contractors will coordinate with the 6 schools and churches to let everybody know when they'll be 7 working and when they won't be working. And, of course, it's 8 typically Monday through Friday, 8:00 to 5 o'clock, typical 9 working hours for construction. Next. 10 Land use. There's going to be short-term minor 11 visual impact during construction, but once the 12 construction's done, you won't even notice the lines there 13 any more. Geologic elements, short-term -- short-term 14 adverse impacts. A minimum amount of trees will be 15 eliminated. We've looked at all the different types of 16 trees. We're going to -- on all of the trees that are 17 over -- are over a particular size, we are doing everything 18 we can to not remove larger trees, and -- and try to keep 19 everything as intact as possible during the project. So, 20 hydrological elements, no real impact associated with that. 21 Biological impact, there's going to be short-term impact -- 22 impact to local species and stuff, but once the 23 construction's done, the birds will come back and -- and 24 nesting again. There's no -- we're not going to be impacting 25 any endangered species or anything like that, because most of 6-17-13 public 31 1 the project is -- is within existing right-of-ways and 2 existing easements, so there's not -- we're not cutting 3 through pristine forest or anything like that. 4 Cultural resources. We've done intensive 5 archeological surveys. We've done over 70 shovel tests, over 6 40 backhoe trenches up and down the project area to make sure 7 that we're not impacting any known archeological resources or 8 cultural resource sites. So, all of that -- those studies 9 have been done. Next. Economics, municipal service, public 10 health, environmental justice. Those all -- we've looked at 11 all these different environmental factors, and determined 12 that there's going to be no adverse impact to these -- or 13 significant impact to these different resources. Next. So, 14 right now, prior to the draft, what -- we sent out notices to 15 the Texas Water Development Board, and we sent out to all the 16 federal agencies; the EPA, the Texas Commission on 17 Environmental Quality, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. All 18 those different agencies got copies of this report. So, all 19 these agencies are able to comment, and if they see something 20 that -- that they think we're not doing right, they have -- 21 they can contact us and let us know, or -- or tell us if we 22 -- if they think that we didn't look at a particular issue 23 concerning the environment. 24 So, we've held several public meetings, and then 25 tonight is actually the formal hearing for the draft 6-17-13 public 32 1 environmental impact document. And after tonight, we'll 2 allow 30 more days -- or, actually, the 30-day process 3 started, but after tonight, we're going to allow an 4 additional week for the process for people to include 5 comments. And tonight, you can talk to the court reporter, 6 or talk directly to -- to the public, and -- or to the 7 participants here if you have any -- if you want to go 8 directly on the record for a particular comment. 9 So, we published a notice, what we call an N.O.A., 10 or Notice of Availability, in the Kerrville Daily Times 30 11 days prior to this meeting tonight, and so the public review 12 period will end on 17 June, but we're going to -- we've added 13 an additional week. And when you go back there, you'll see 14 the additional week that we've added in the process for 15 comments beyond the 17th. So, we have hard copies of the 16 E.I.D. on file at the Comfort Public Library and the -- and 17 at the Kerr County's Clerk's office. We have two copies back 18 there in case anybody wants to look at it before they leave 19 tonight. And I've got a couple of C.D.'s of the 20 Environmental Impact Information Document as well in case 21 somebody wants -- really wants to take it home and read the 22 whole thing. Really good bedtime reading material. 23 COMMISSIONER MOSER: This is -- that's the 24 document. So, two copies back there, one at the library in 25 Comfort. Where was the other one? 6-17-13 public 33 1 MR. MARTIN: And one's over at the -- at the Kerr 2 County Clerk's office. 3 COMMISSIONER MOSER: Okay. So -- 4 MR. MARTIN: So, what we do is, as we get comments 5 in from the public, we look at them, and any of the 6 substantial comments that -- that come in, they'll be 7 addressed in the final E.I.D. So, basically, what we do is 8 we categorize the comments. If there's a group of comments 9 on noise or on visual effects, or on any of the different 10 environmental resource areas, we kind of group them together 11 and we address those comments, and this will be -- those will 12 be all addressed in the final E.I.D. So, at this point, we 13 will have what is the official question and answer period. I 14 know we kind of had -- we did it informally and allowed 15 questions and answers throughout the process, but officially, 16 if you have any questions or comments that you want to make 17 to the public right now, then you can do that. And also, if 18 you want to make comments before you leave, definitely go 19 over to the comment table and make comments. Or if you just 20 you don't feel comfortable speaking in front of a group, you 21 can come up to the court reporter, and she will take your 22 comment privately. So, anybody -- I'm going to open it up 23 for questions and answers right now, in case anybody has any 24 more questions. 25 MS. LEONARD: My sister has a very, very large oak 6-17-13 public 34 1 tree that she's scared it's going to impact. Is there any 2 way that you can avoid destroying a 100-year-old oak tree 3 while you're putting in the system? "Cause that is a huge 4 concern of hers. 5 MR. MARTIN: I can tell you right now that any oak 6 tree within the area that's being -- where construction's 7 going to occur will not be compromised. What we do, like 8 over at Cypress Creek, where the cypress trees are, what we 9 do is we go underneath the trees, and they won't be harmed. 10 MS. LEONARD: She'll be happy to hear that. 11 MR. MARTIN: Any more questions, to anybody? 12 Keller -- Keller's available for questions as well. Yes? 13 MS. WARDLAW: Sherry Wardlaw, and I'm the -- I live 14 in that big house right over there, and own this facility. 15 And I'm lucky; I have a working septic system, but recently 16 we did have to have it pumped out, and we may again, and it's 17 expensive. So, I just kind of think -- I know this is going 18 to cost everybody money, but when you weigh having to keep 19 having your system pumped out to having one that really 20 works, I think everybody should be on board with this. I 21 think it'll save you money in the long run. 22 MR. MARTIN: Thank you. 23 MR. TRICE: I have one. 24 MR. MARTIN: Yes, sir? 25 MR. TRICE: This might not be the place to ask. Is 6-17-13 public 35 1 this going to increase property values, so they can tax us 2 more? 3 MR. MARTIN: Is this going to -- the question was, 4 is this going to increase property values, and will this 5 subsequently increase the taxes? 6 MR. TRICE: 'Cause you pay for everything. 7 COMMISSIONER MOSER: I don't know. It's just -- 8 inherently, it has to increase property values. If you have 9 a service that doesn't exist now, and on something that's as 10 critical as that -- you know, water's probably the most 11 important. Getting rid of sewage and having electricity and 12 all the other necessary services are critical to any kind of 13 property values, as far as utilization or even future 14 development. So, I'd stick my neck out and say yes. 15 MR. TRICE: So we get to pay for it forever. 16 COMMISSIONER MOSER: Well, it's going to increase 17 property values. Now, how much and over what period of time, 18 it'll probably be a long -- long duration. I mean, we're 19 four or five years away from getting this thing in place, but 20 I think there's probably -- you know, if this kind of thing 21 continues, property values would go down. So -- and property 22 values all along the river would go down if pollution 23 continues enough. So, I'd stick my neck out and say yeah, 24 properties values will increase. 25 COMMISSIONER LETZ: I think -- I mean, I agree with 6-17-13 public 36 1 what Tom said, but just this going in by itself will not 2 increase property values. What will happen is that it will 3 increase the marketability of the property, so there will be 4 a greater demand to bring to property, and over time, as, you 5 know, people are willing to pay more to get a house here, the 6 values may go up. But the fact that, all of a sudden, you 7 have a -- a sewer line going by, that by itself -- 8 COMMISSIONER MOSER: Right. 9 COMMISSIONER LETZ: -- is not going to raise your 10 value. 11 COMMISSIONER MOSER: Right. 12 COMMISSIONER LETZ: It's still going to be done by 13 market analysis by the Appraisal District, and they're going 14 to look at comparable sales in the area. As those sales go 15 up or down, they're going to adjust the values accordingly. 16 MR. MARTIN: Any more questions? 17 COMMISSIONER MOSER: Well, then the final thing is 18 to adjourn, then, right? 19 MR. MARTIN: Yep. Like I said, we're going to hang 20 around a little bit in case anybody has any more questions 21 they want to ask. So, otherwise, the meeting is adjourned. 22 COMMISSIONER MOSER: Let me say one thing to Tetra 23 Tech. I've read the document. I read it quickly. It is -- 24 it's extremely detailed, it's very professional, it's very 25 well done. They have the analysis of every one of these -- I 6-17-13 public 37 1 don't know how many sites you inspected visually, and then 2 the small shovel digs and everything. But everything is in 3 here, from -- from start to finish. Photographs, the whole 4 objective of the thing, all the regulations, everything. So, 5 I'd encourage you, if you want more detail, it's here. So, 6 this meeting is -- the public session is now over at 6:55. 7 (Public hearing adjourned at 6:55 p.m.) 8 - - - - - - - - - - - 9 10 STATE OF TEXAS | 11 COUNTY OF KERR | 12 The above and foregoing is a true and complete 13 transcription of my stenotype notes taken in my capacity as 14 official reporter for the Commissioners Court of Kerr County, 15 Texas, at the time and place heretofore set forth. 16 DATED at Kerrville, Texas, this 19th day of June, 2013. 17 18 JANNETT PIEPER, Kerr County Clerk 19 BY: _________________________________ Kathy Banik, Deputy County Clerk 20 Certified Shorthand Reporter 21 22 23 24 25 6-17-13 public