Energy Resources Archives - Reduce Flooding

Sand mines aren’t the only source of sediment on the West Fork, but humans can and must control them. Upstream from Kingwood, on the East and West Forks of the San Jacinto, we have approximately 20 square miles of mines.

Contributing to Erosion and Sedimentation

Several key facts about them:

Virtually all are at least partially in the floodway (meaning they’re in the main current of the river during floods).

A small portion of the sand mines upstream from Kingwood on the east and west forks of the San Jacinto. Red Cross-hatched areas represent the floodway. Sand mines are the bright areas in the bottom layer. Aqua represents 100-year flood plain, brown the 500-year.

Texas has no laws requiring a minimum setback from the river. As a consequence the river runs right through them during floods, often breaching dikes.

Memorial Day Flood in 2015 ruptured the dikes on these sand mines on both sides of the West Fork. Floods don’t have to be this major to rupture dikes. I’m aware of four ruptures last year during the July 4 and December 7 floods.

The process of “river” or “pit capture” creates erosion both upstream and down, as this video demonstrates.

River migration over time can erode dikes in a process that increases the likelihood of pit capture.

Texas has no laws that require mines to reclaim the land when mining stops. Mines must file a reclamation plan before they begin mining, but nothing forces them to execute the plan when they are done.
Sand mines on the west fork have denuded a swath of forest that averages a mile wide, increasing the river’s potential for erosion during floods by approximately 33X.

HB 509 and HB 2871 Can Help

Two bills being heard tomorrow by the Texas House Energy Affairs committee could help address all of these issues.

HB509 allows Texas Railroad Commission to regulate aggregate production operations (APOs) with the TCEQ. Before mining can start, it requires: a hydrologic impact study, public notice, public hearings, and provides fines up to $10,000 and 1-year in jail for false statements.

The hydrologic impact study must take into account the cumulative impact of all mines in an area. This is critical for an area such as the West Fork, which is heavily over-mined.

HB 2871 requires sand mines and other aggregate production operations to acquire a reclamation permit and to file a performance bond ensuring reclamation. Significantly, they would have to do both of these things before they could acquire a production permit. It also attaches civil and criminal penalties for non-compliance.

Both Bills Deserve Our Support

They can help make a difference and could help reduce sedimentation due to human sources.

Consider them together with other bills in the House Environmental Regulation Committee (House Bills 907, 908, 909 and 1671) that would create a series of best practices for sand mines, stiffen penalties for violations, and create a water quality control district between Lake Conroe and Lake Houston.

Your First Chance As an Individual to Make A Difference

HB 509 and HB 2871 will be the first bills actually considered since Harvey that could reduce the amount of sediment clogging the San Jacinto and Lake Houston.

Dredging that sediment could potentially cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Obviously, that’s not something the City, County, State and FEMA can fund regularly. So we must takes steps to stop dangerous sand mining practices now.

Ultimately we must require sand mines to move out of the floodway. And we must attach penalties if their dikes breach during floods. That will force miners to establish greater setbacks that reduce the likelihood of pit capture.

Please Help NOW! Here’s How

So please take fifteen minutes and email the members of the House Energy Affairs Committee before they convene tomorrow. Make your voice heard. Reduce the sediment coming downstream that backs up the river and ditches, contributing to flooding. Email address and a sample letter are below.

Chris Paddie, Chairman (Marshall/Northeast Texas)
chris.paddie@house.texas.gov
(512) 463-0556

Abel Herrero, Vice Chairman (Corpus Christi area)
abel.herrero@house.texas.gov
(512) 463-0462

Rafael Anchia (NW Dallas)
rafael.anchia@house.texas.gov
(512) 463-0746

Ernest Bailes (Huntsville, Liberty)
ernest.bailes@house.texas.gov
(512) 463-0570

Tom Craddick (Midland area)
tom.craddick@house.texas.gov
(512) 463-0500

Drew Darby (San Angelo area)
drew.darby@house.texas.gov
(512) 463-0331

Charlie Geren (NW Fort Worth)
charlie.geren@house.texas.gov
(512) 463-0610

Roland Gutierrez (SE San Antonio, Live Oak, Universal City, Converse)
roland.gutierrez@house.texas.gov
(512) 463-0452

Cody Harris (Hillsboro, Corsicana, Palestine)
cody.harris@house.texas.gov
(512) 463-0730

Mary Ann Perez (Pasadena, Baytown)
maryann.perez@house.texas.gov
(512) 463-0460

Jon Rosenthal (Far NW Houston)
jon.rosenthal@house.texas.gov
(512) 463-0722

Here is a sample letter of support for HB 509 and HB 2871. Don’t forget to update it with your own contact information.

Spread the Word

If you have friends or relatives living in any districts below, reach out to them: their voices as constituents may be even more powerful. Please call or write and encourage friends and relatives to do the same.

Hill Country representatives authored both bills, and considerable support exists for them outside this area. Hill Country concerns differ slightly from ours because different types of APOs operate there – rock quarries. But the rules that help Hill Country people will help us.

Posted by Bob Rehak on April 7, 2019

586 Days since Hurricane Harvey

People in the Hill Country are up in arms about aggregate production operations (APOs). The Lake Houston Area is not alone. State Representative Kyle Biedermann of Fredericksburg has introduced yet another bill to regulate APOs. Biedermann’s bill, HB2871 focuses on mine reclamation. His bill targets APOs that quarry and crush rock, but the bill, if passed, would affect sand mines in our area, too.

Focus on Reclamation

HB2871 requires miners to acquire a reclamation permit BEFORE they can acquire a production permit. It would also require them to file a performance bond ensuring reclamation BEFORE acquiring that production permit.

*Abandoned sand pit in Humble remains unfenced despite being next to areas where children play.*

Gives Primary Enforcement Responsibility to Railroad Commission

HB2871 places the burden of enforcement on the Texas Railroad Commission. However, it allows the Railroad Commission to use the resources of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).

I first learned about HB2871 from a Hill County group protesting the permitting of a quarry. They approached me asking for support. It certainly appears that our interests align. And the author wrote the bill in such a way that it would apply to this area, too. I have previously blogged about the problem of abandoned and unsafe sand pits. We have many in the Lake Houston area. Once the last truckload of profit goes out of a mine, owners have little incentive to reclaim it.

Currently, owners are required to file a reclamation plan before getting a reclamation permit, but there is no requirement to actually execute the plan when they are done mining.

This page on the Hill Country group’s web site explains their loss of faith in the TCEQ, and hence, their desire to have the Railroad Commission oversee regulation.

How to Act NOW

On Monday, the House Energy Resources Committee will consider HB 509 and HB 2871. Representatives Biedermann, Wilson, and their staff have worked hard to draft these bills. Now we need to back them and help get them passed into law! HB 509, you may remember, requires a permitting agency to consider the aggregate impact of multiple mining operations in a small area before permitting any more.

Below are the names, phone numbers and email addresses of all the members of the House Energy Resources Committee who are soliciting comments. If you have friends or relatives living in any districts below, reach out to them: their voices as constituents may be even more powerful. Please call or write and encourage friends and relatives to do the same.