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2020
Volume 33, Issue 43
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September 17, 2020 | 50 Cents
(ABOVE LEFT) Property owner Stephanie Morris took this photo downstream from the Liberty Hill wastewater stream in December 2019 to show the amount of algae she and other residents claim is choking the South San Gabriel River. (ABOVE RIGHT) Algae blooms about a quarter mile downstream from the Liberty Hill wastewater plant outfall in August. (Courtesy Photos)
City may face federal lawsuit over wastewater treatment plant
By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor It has been a nearly threeyear standoff between property owners downriver from the Liberty Hill wastewater treatment plant and the City, but the stakes may soon be raised with a potential federal lawsuit on the way. The City Council spent nearly an hour in executive session Monday discussing the notice of intent to file suit, but did not speak on it in open session. At the conclusion of the meeting, Mayor Rick Hall said the City would not be making any comment. If filed, the lawsuit would be brought in federal court by Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA), representing resident Stephanie Morris who owns property along the South San Gabriel River downstream from the plant. The item for executive session on the Monday agenda
was the notice of intent chemicals making -- a requirement for their way into the “You have to take a certain number of samples per week those planning to sue in and a certain number per month, and so when you calculate river as the culprit. federal court. The City has also what’s called the daily average – which is really the monthly stood behind its “When you file a Clean Water Act lawsuit you average of all the samples in the month – you should only be stance that it is ophave to give the entity erating according to averaging together the numbers you have. Basically, what 60 days notice and so its permit from the (the City) did for several months is they put zeros in all the we’ve just given them Texas Commission notice of our intent to on Environmental days they didn’t take a sample and then averaged in all of sue them,” said AtQuality. those zeros, which as you can imagine really skews the torney Amy Johnson. Not only is there average quite low. The average is much much lower than “Conceivably it could concern among resbe settled in 60 days any of the measurements that were actually taken and that’s idents about the curbut it’s a federal law rent situation, but what happens if you average in 20 to 25 zeros along and you’re required unthere is worry that with the actual measurements.” der federal law to give the current plant Loraine Hoane, Attorney expansion plan will them notice. Right now Texas RioGrande Legal Aid create even bigger the clock is ticking.” She added that there is issues if the permit tions, but the future problems downstream from the plant, the possibility a settlerenewal is granted ment could be reached prior to they are going to continue to but do not typically appear and the City continues to operthe 60 days passing, but such a cause,” Johnson said. “It’s not upstream, leading residents to ate as it is now while increassettlement, according to what like they did a bad thing and argue that the plant’s effluent ing the amount of effluent put is being sought, will demand it’s over. What Mrs. Morris is causing the algae. into the river. The City has argued in the past considerable change in how wants is for it to stop.” “The City approach seems to The primary issue is regu- that the effluent is not causing be to go full-steam ahead on the plant is operated. “The biggest issue in the suit lar algae blooms that choke the algae – often pointing to growing and expanding and is not just their past viola- the South San Gabriel River development runoff or lawn putting more effluent out into
COUNTY CONSTABLE - PCT. 2
Hobbs sets sights on third term
By ANTHONY FLORES Staff Writer Williamson County Attorney Dee Hobbs, the Republican incumbent, is facing off against Democrat and veteran attorney Stan Springerley. Hobbs has been a citizen of Williamson County his entire life, attending school in Hutto. The University of Texas graduate began his career in the County Attorney’s office in 2001. He says a common mistake many citizens make is confusing the County Attorney’s office with the District Attorney’s office. “When I talk to citizens, police academies or different groups nobody knows what ©2020 The Liberty Hill Independent
DEE HOBBS the office does, and that’s okay because Texas is fiercely independent and has over 250 counties,” said Hobbs. “There are over 250 versions of what the office can be. That’s where you have to start when you talk to folks. A lot of people don’t know what we do. As we’ve grown, there are lots of different things that we do.” The County Attorney’s office handles a wide range of things, including both adult
See HOBBS, Page 8
Springerley aims for balance, transparency
By ANTHONY FLORES Staff Writer Democratic candidate for Williamson County Attorney Stan Springerley is looking to unseat incumbent Dee Hobbs and flip the first countywide position in 27 years. A lifelong resident of Texas, Springerley has more than 30 years of experience working in the legal field, as a paralegal and practicing attorney. Springerley was chosen by and serves the Williamson County Commissioners Court as their legal representative. “I started doing low-level stuff, starting with simple assault complaints, thefts under $20,” said Springerley. “It’s the stuff police didn’t even want to deal with, and wouldn’t even send it to the county attorney. They’d send it to the
STAN SPRINGERLEY city attorney to go to municipal court. I drafted those complaints when I was 18 years old.” While earning his political science degree and preparing for the jump to law school, Springerley supported his endeavors by working three jobs. “I studied political science as one of the recommendations to prepare me for law school,” he said. “So, I went
See SPRINGERLEY, Page 8
that river,” Johnson said. “And not at the levels that are protective of it.” The City has, in the past, touted the strictness of its permit and the new technology being used in the plant, but Johnson argues both the permit renewal and its strictness are issues. “There are two different actions going on right now,” she said. “One is the City is trying to renew its permit at TCEQ, and in that case what we are saying to the state is the permit is not strict enough. In front of the federal court what we are saying is the City is violating the permit as it is. The City has violated the permit that is not strict enough.” According to the lawyers from TRLA, the Clean Water Act allowed the state to take over regulation of state water quality if the state took certain measures, including
See LAWSUIT, Page 4
Council approves budget, tax rate
By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor The City Council unanimously approved the fiscal 2020-21 budget and tax rate Monday -- lowering the tax rate while increasing the General Fund budget by 33 percent. There were two people who spoke on the budget during the public hearing, both questioning the budget increase. “I have no problem with the tax rate, I do with the budget,” said Liberty Hill business owner Bob Balzen. “I probably pay more property taxes than most of the people in this room, but I can’t vote. I think the budget increase is way too much. Adding a bunch of positions, I don’t think they’re necessary. I don’t know what positions they are, but if we didn’t have them before how were we getting everything done? Seems to me everything has been getting done as far as I know. I would vote against increasing
the budget this much. I’m for small government and I think big government gets to be bad government.” Also speaking was former Liberty Hill Planning Director Sally McFeron, who identified herself as being with the Better Together Project, a recently formed political action committee in Liberty Hill. “This is no doubt a very robust budget for the City of Liberty Hill,” she said. “It is a tremendous increase in terms of salaried positions.” She went on to ask the Council if the fiscal and budgetary policy adopted in 2018 was followed, specifically in regard to the use of non-recurring revenue. Previous councils and City administration emphasized not using non-recurring revenues such as fees to fund new positions or recurring operational costs.
See COUNCIL, Page 5