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February 8, 2021
Bandera Canyonlands Alliance announces a community Save Our Sabinal Information Session
By Bandera Canyonlands Alliance
The Bandera Canyonlands Alliance (BCA) is announcing a “Save Our Sabinal” community Information Session on the proposed Young Life Wastewater discharge plan for their new camp in Vanderpool. The meeting is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 27, at the Utopia Senior Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Area landowners and concerned citizens are invited to attend the event which will provide information about the controversial permit application which is drawing widespread opposition.
“This will be a come and go session for folks seeking information about the permit that has been applied for by Young Life and the damage it could cause to local waterways.” BCA President Merry Langlinais said. “We’ll have several short presentations and copies of the designated wastewater discharge route maps and other information.”
Young Life has applied for a Texas Pollutant Discharge Eliminiation System permit (TPDES) with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) which will allow the construction of a sewage treatment plant and give the camp the ability to legally release up to 60,000 gallons of wastewater into local creeks that flow to the Sabinal River.
Releasing treated wastewater, even treated to the standards proposed by Young Life, would introduce harmful nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen into the water which presently has undetectable levels of these nutrients. This could be very damaging to the river causing algae blooms to develop. This has happened to other Hill Country rivers and it made the water cloudy, unsightly, and un-swimmable. Furthermore the harmful nutrients can deplete the oxygen in the water killing fish and harming other wildlife.
“We hope area folks will make plans to attend because we want to ensure people have access to factual information about what Young Life is proposing and the impact it could have on the river and our local businesses. We’ll have volunteers present to answer questions and provide assistance to those who want to file comments with the TCEQ or write letters to decision makers,” Langlinais said.
Interest and opposition to the Young Life permit is building as more than 400 people have filed official written comments with the TCEQ asking that the current permit be denied and that Young Life change their application to prohibit any discharge to waterways. The Nueces River Authority and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department have raised serious questions about the permit application with the TCEQ. Additonally, State Represenative Andrew Murr has requested that the TCEQ schedule a public meeting in the future so that concerned citizens can ask questions and gain additional information about the Young Life plans. Addtionally, BCA has launched a Change.org petition asking Young Life to Halt these plans to pollute one of Texas’s Last Pure Rivers.
More than 3,500 people have signed the petition. The petition can be viewed at: https://www.change.org/p/ncrenshaw-sc-younglife-org-tell-young-life-to-halt-plans-to-discharge-wastewater-into-one-of-texas-last-pure-rivers
The Young Life Camp is located on the former Lonehollow property on RR 187 between Vanderpool and Utopia in western Bandera County and is now owned and operated by Young Life, a non-profit Christian corporation based in Colorado Springs, CO. The Young Life wastewater discharge permit would be the first to set a precedent along these waterways in Bandera and Uvalde counties and opponents are concerned If allowed in its present form this permit would allow Young Life to modify the permit in the future to increase the amount of discharge, and make it easier for subsequent developers to apply for discharge permits along the Sabinal River causing even more damage to the river, local busineses and property values.
About Bandera Canyonlands Alliance
The Bandera Canyonlands Alliance was chartered in 2007 as a 501(3)c non-profit organization and is a group of local landowners working to protect and preserve the natural beauty and rural way of life. The BCA works to educate and inform local residents on issues that threaten natural resources in the ecologically sensitive area near Lost Maples State Natural Area and surrounding canyons.
More information on the “Save Our Sabinal” effort is available at www.banderacanyonlands.org, Facebook: Sabinal Canyon Coalition, Instagram: SaveOurSabinal.
Area landowners and concerned citizens are invited to attend the event which will provide information about the controversial permit application which is drawing widespread opposition.
“This will be a come and go session for folks seeking information about the permit that has been applied for by Young Life and the damage it could cause to local waterways.” BCA President Merry Langlinais said. “We’ll have several short presentations and copies of the designated wastewater discharge route maps and other information.”
Young Life has applied for a Texas Pollutant Discharge Eliminiation System permit (TPDES) with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) which will allow the construction of a sewage treatment plant and give the camp the ability to legally release up to 60,000 gallons of wastewater into local creeks that flow to the Sabinal River.
Releasing treated wastewater, even treated to the standards proposed by Young Life, would introduce harmful nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen into the water which presently has undetectable levels of these nutrients. This could be very damaging to the river causing algae blooms to develop. This has happened to other Hill Country rivers and it made the water cloudy, unsightly, and un-swimmable. Furthermore the harmful nutrients can deplete the oxygen in the water killing fish and harming other wildlife.
“We hope area folks will make plans to attend because we want to ensure people have access to factual information about what Young Life is proposing and the impact it could have on the river and our local businesses. We’ll have volunteers present to answer questions and provide assistance to those who want to file comments with the TCEQ or write letters to decision makers,” Langlinais said.
Interest and opposition to the Young Life permit is building as more than 400 people have filed official written comments with the TCEQ asking that the current permit be denied and that Young Life change their application to prohibit any discharge to waterways. The Nueces River Authority and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department have raised serious questions about the permit application with the TCEQ. Additonally, State Represenative Andrew Murr has requested that the TCEQ schedule a public meeting in the future so that concerned citizens can ask questions and gain additional information about the Young Life plans. Addtionally, BCA has launched a Change.org petition asking Young Life to Halt these plans to pollute one of Texas’s Last Pure Rivers.
More than 3,500 people have signed the petition. The petition can be viewed at: https://www.change.org/p/ncrenshaw-sc-younglife-org-tell-young-life-to-halt-plans-to-discharge-wastewater-into-one-of-texas-last-pure-rivers
The Young Life Camp is located on the former Lonehollow property on RR 187 between Vanderpool and Utopia in western Bandera County and is now owned and operated by Young Life, a non-profit Christian corporation based in Colorado Springs, CO. The Young Life wastewater discharge permit would be the first to set a precedent along these waterways in Bandera and Uvalde counties and opponents are concerned If allowed in its present form this permit would allow Young Life to modify the permit in the future to increase the amount of discharge, and make it easier for subsequent developers to apply for discharge permits along the Sabinal River causing even more damage to the river, local busineses and property values.
About Bandera Canyonlands Alliance
The Bandera Canyonlands Alliance was chartered in 2007 as a 501(3)c non-profit organization and is a group of local landowners working to protect and preserve the natural beauty and rural way of life. The BCA works to educate and inform local residents on issues that threaten natural resources in the ecologically sensitive area near Lost Maples State Natural Area and surrounding canyons.
More information on the “Save Our Sabinal” effort is available at www.banderacanyonlands.org, Facebook: Sabinal Canyon Coalition, Instagram: SaveOurSabinal.