Some fear water contamination, 24-hour noise
By Jamie Nash
November 4, 2009
Travis Bishop
EAST MONTGOMERY COUNTY – Travis Bishop, who lost his reelection bid for Precinct 4 Constable last year to now Constable Rowdy Hayden, wants to use an old well off of Hayden Road in the Splendora area for commercial disposal of waste water. But Bishop may have a fight on his hands from citizens and elected officials.
On Monday night, Bishop addressed the Splendora City Council as they attempted to decide whether or not to send a letter to the Railroad Commission addressing their concerns about the well’s impact on the city’s water supply. Meanwhile, Concerned Citizens of Montgomery County were meeting with Pct. 4 Commissioner Ed Rinehart to discuss their concerns.
Mayor Dorothy Welch asked Bishop if he planned to upgrade the well to commercial use and he said the well has existed since 1956 and had several upgrades, but he wants to “increase the flow.”
Bishop told council, “You can discuss it all day long. The bottom line is the well’s been there – it’s been governed by the Railroad Commission who has trained personnel to see that there’s no threat to humans or animals or anything of that nature.”
“There’s been multiple dollars spent on that well to insure that,” he said. “It’s well beneath the hard-pan, that I call it.”
While the well was permitted at 1400 psi, Bishop said it was tested at 900 psi and will take 2 barrels per minute. He requested a permit for 5,000 barrels per day and trucks would hold 130 barrels each, he said. Although Bishop said he would do his best to minimize truck traffic on the road at night, the numbers (presented twice during the meeting) do not seem to work in favor of keeping that promise.
Using Bishop’s figures, if the barrels are emptied into the well at 2 barrels per minute, at the permit level of 5,000 barrels per day, the task would take over 40 hours per day. However, the number issue was not raised, and perhaps went unnoticed, during the fast paced meeting.
Bishop tried to reassure the council about the safety of the increased pressure on the well that was tested at 900 psi.
“You know, let’s face it, most of our high school kids can lift 1400 pounds these days in their lifting classes- it’s not much pressure when you come right to it.”
When asked about current barrel capacity, Bishop said he did not know, and that he had not used it personally. Welch said she read in some of the documentation that when the well was last used, capacity was about 10 barrels per day and asked Bishop if that was correct. He did not answer directly and appeared angered by the question.
“You know, one thing I just want to say is, you know, I’ve been affiliated with this city over 40 years, okay, I’ve helped build this city,” he said. “I’ve helped keep this city going.”
Council members told Bishop that citizens were concerned about the noise generated by the trucks on Hayden Road.
“Well, all I can tell you is those trucks won’t make no more noise than the train going through there, okay,” Bishop answered. “I sit around and listen to that train come through here it rattles you out of here, okay.” Mayor Dottie Welch said a train only travels through the city once or twice each day and with 200 trucks traveling through at 130 barrels per truck that is 40 trucks per day.
He said he chose Hayden Road because it was the “shortest road with the least residents.”
Mayor Welch asked if the density of the sand was tested.
“I don’t know if they did or not,” Bishop said.
“There’s all kinds of things you can say and there’s a lot of things you can’t say without hurting somebody’s feelings and stuff like this,” he said, “But the railroad commission has highly trained individuals that are out there weekly and monthly monitoring these wells (and) they have attorneys up there that make sure all your paperwork’s done.”
Bishop told council they should focus on the sales tax generated by the well. However, a citizen pointed out that the well is not in Splendora City limits and will provide no taxes to the city whose water supply could be affected.
Welch said the city’s current well was not in the same place when Bishop’s well was put into use.
When asked if he could guarantee the well would not affect the city’s water, Bishop responded, “Well, nobody can guarantee beyond the shadow of a doubt, that’s why you do your monitoring and testing.”
Bishop later said if a danger were posed by the well, he would not be using it.
He told council he understood they were looking out for their community’s best interest, but said they should be most concerned about “professional and responsible ownership.”
“Not everybody you like to see with a pistol, okay,” he said. “But most of the things that I’ve been involved in and I think you’ll find that out have been successful and not had a problem.”
Bishop also said he was going to drill another water well to monitor the situation, but if an extreme depth was required, he would expect the city to share in that expense.
The meeting ended with a decision to table the motion and have a special meeting on Monday at 6:30 p.m., when the council could get legal advice from their attorney in closed session and again try to make a decision.
At the Concerned Citizens Meeting, Commissioner Rinehart offered to provide residents with a bus to travel to Austin on Nov. 12 when the Railroad Commission will hear their concerns.
Rinehart later expressed his own concerns, saying “It’s a shame for all of the people who are out to make an almighty dollar and say it’s not going to hurt anyone whether they know that or not.”
The commissioner said too many people were more concerned with making money than what was best for the neighborhood and he felt there were too many unknown factors to proceed at this time. Rinehart went on to say legislators should ensure citizens receive much earlier notification in areas were businesses or individuals want permits for any activity that might affect the surrounding area or its citizens.
Jamie Nash can be reached at jnash@montgomerycountynews.net.
