State opens the permit issue for public comment
Shafter
A local resort owner is contesting a renewal permit for wastewater discharge from the Shafter Silver Mine, claiming the mine applicant let its permit expire and did not meet deadlines for renewal.
The mine, not operated for some 13 years, has a new owner that’s pledged to get it up and running this year, bolstered by ongoing silver prices in the range of $90 an ounce, well above the price the owners say is needed to make a profit. Mining requires removing enormous amounts of water (dewatering), with a permit to discharge an average flow of 360,000 gallons per day, not to exceed 1,080,000 gallons per day, from the facility located on Highway 67, 40 miles south of Marfa. A summary of the application states: “Discharges from the facility are expected to contain suspended solids, oil and grease, copper, zinc, lead, mercury, cadmium, silver, total dissolved solids, and chloride. Mine dewatering water will be treated by sedimentation in onsite retention basin(s).”
John Poindexter, owner of Cibolo Creek Ranch, which sits adjacent to the mine property, sent a detailed letter to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) on March 2 saying the mine—currently owned by Black Bear Minerals, but listed in documents under a previous name, JBM Project LLC—should have, under Texas law, submitted a renewal application 180 days before its December 15 expiration but did not. Poindexter is also restoring historic structures in the townsite of Shafter to create accommodations and has a keen interest in the environmental health and safety of the town and Cibolo Creek, which runs through it.
“[This permit renewal] demonstrates a lack of environmental responsibility and lack of respect for the applicant’s neighbors, the community, affected parties, and the natural resources of the state of Texas,” the letter reads. “TCEQ should consider this permit expired and move forward with revocation of the permit …. JBM Project LLC’s property and its regulated activities have a direct impact on the health and safety of person(s) on [Cibolo Creek Ranch] property as well as the use of our property. In addition, the regulated activities by the applicant have a significant impact on the natural resources enjoyed by our organization, its employees, and visitors to our properties.”
Mine wastewater is created by mining activities above aquifers that fill shafts and caverns, and the water needs to be pumped or naturally flowed to be discharged. Black Bear Mineral’s application notes that the “discharge route is from the plant site to an unnamed tributary, thence to Arroyo del Muerto, thence to Wilson Arroyo, thence to Rio Grande Below Riverside Diversion Dam.”
TCEQ is currently accepting written public comments regarding the proposed renewal of the permit at www14.tceq.texas.gov/epic/eComment/ (permit number WQ0004297000). You can view the application and TCEQ instructions and administrative notes here.
State Sen. César J. Blanco has requested that TCEQ hold a public meeting in Presidio County. The meeting has not yet been scheduled. The public comment will remain open until after the public meeting is held.
