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The Dripping Springs City Council voted to let the temporary development moratorium in relation to wastewater availability expire on Sept. 18.
The temporary moratorium on development was enacted for both wastewater and land use purposes on Nov. 18, 2021, and it was extended in February to end in May. In May, the moratorium as it related to land use was lifted, but the council extended the moratorium as it related to the provision of wastewater through Sept. 18. Now, that part of the temporary development moratorium has been lifted as well.
Despite lifting the moratorium regarding wastewater, the city’s challenge in providing wastewater still exists. “The city is very near capacity with providing wastewater to new residents and businesses and is still in litigation regarding the expansion of the South Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant,” the city said in a statement. “Until the lawsuit is settled, applicants will continue to face challenges to their proposed projects that depend on wastewater service.”
Ultimately, the city council decided this challenge could be solved without the moratorium, thanks to guidelines and processes developed by the city during the moratorium.
“Until we have an end date in sight with the litigation, it doesn’t make sense to continue to extend the moratorium indefinitely,” Deputy City Administrator Ginger Faught said. “Once the litigation has an end date, we could still enact another moratorium in regard to the provision of wastewater while we work out the best solutions based on how the lawsuit is settled. Until then, the City is working diligently on preparing to be able to promptly bring wastewater infrastructure online once the litigation is over.”
The city said it will continue to work on solutions that work for both the city and the property owners seeking to build in Dripping Springs.
“The city’s responsibility is to protect how our community grows,” Dripping Springs Mayor Bill Foulds, Jr. said. “We enacted the temporary moratorium to ensure future development was done in a sustainable manner and beneficial to the city. The moratorium allowed us to pause and make sure we planned for addressing the growth now and in the future, and we will continue to do so now that it’s been lifted. Our goal with this, and everything we do is, to protect the treasured quality of life we have all come to know and love in Dripping Springs.”
During the moratorium, city leaders met with developers and builders who had questions or concerns and approved waivers and exceptions — primarily for ongoing projects.
The city also started the process of revisiting its Comprehensive Plan, studying land use and development in the city limits and extraterritorial jurisdiction and hiring a professional land planning firm to provide comprehensive plan and development code services.
“The 2045 Comprehensive Plan for Dripping Springs is about 40% through its development,” said Planning Director Howard Koontz on Sept. 13. “We’ve conducted one online survey and are in the final stage of a second one. We held in-person stakeholder meetings in July and just held our first public meeting earlier this week. We will hold two to three more public meetings over the next few months.” More information on the Comprehensive Plan can be found at reimaginedrippingsprings. com. Prior to the enactment of the moratorium, the city of Dripping Springs requested an amendment to its Texas Land Application Permit with the TCEQ in February of 2018, beginning a lengthy process of approval. If approved, the new permit would increase the city’s wastewater capacity by 110,000 gallons per day, bringing the daily capacity to 458,5000 gallons. The new permit would also increase the city’s land application capacity by adding irrigation areas within the Carter-Caliterra development and the Heritage Public Improvement District, according to the TCEQ.
If the permit does not pass, the city will find itself in a difficult position, having already allocated the increased capacity for projects currently in development, said Ginger Faught, the deputy city administrator for Dripping Springs.
“[The increased] capacity has already been allocated through contracts that were approved in 2016 and 2017 with projects currently being developed,” Faught explained. “If this amendment is significantly delayed and development in Dripping Springs continues at the current rate, projects will be required to implement their ‘contingency facilities’ in order to continue developing. Contingency facilities range from septic systems to TLAP package plants.”
However, not all are in favor of the requested amendment. At the public meeting held by the TCEQ on March 28, multiple residents expressed concern that proper research had not been conducted to determine the permit’s potential effect on the environment.
“We have technical concerns regarding these sites and how they are evaluated,” said John Worrall, board director of the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District. “The district requests that the draft permit contain additional provisions… to ensure that the groundwater and wells will be protected. This is the very groundwater that the citizens of Dripping Springs, and others throughout the county, rely on for drinking water.”
“We believe that the irrigation fields may create a risk for groundwater contamination and that more thorough evaluation is required,” he continued. “A geologist hasn’t been onsite. We believe the salt testing has been inadequate… the recharge feature identification is inadequate… the assessment of the groundwater levels is contradictory within the draft permit itself.”
Others showed support for the amended permit and applauded the city’s efforts.
“The city has very diligently and correctly tried for a number of years to handle the discharge of its wastewater in accordance with TCEQ guidelines,” said Charles Busbey, a resident of Dripping Springs. “It’s sad the amount of misinformation that has gone out to delay the permits required; this permit is very much needed. The city of Dripping Springs needs to quickly handle the discharge of their effluent, and I strongly urge that the TLAP permit be expeditiously considered and approved.”
Outside of the March meeting, the TCEQ received 11 comments, 12 hearing requests and 29 public meetings pertaining to Dripping Springs’ most recent permit application, according to the commission’s website.
“TCEQ staff will begin reviewing all the comments that were submitted, both in writing and during the formal comment session, and start working on their Response to Comments document,” Brad Patterson — TCEQ manager, Office of the Chief Clerk — said in March. “Once that document is prepared, it will be filed with our office and we’ll mail it off to everyone who is on the mailing list for this application, including those people who provided comments.”
“That will establish the final, 30-day deadline for folks to request a contested hearing,” he concluded. “It may take months.”
