Sierra Challenges Expansion of Dairy CAFO in Heavily Polluted Leon River Watershed

In addition to the Sierra Club, the cities of Temple, Belton & Kileen, the Bell County Health District, a group of affected landowners, and the National Wildlife Federation have all filed similar motions requesting the three-member Commission of the TNRCC to overturn the Executive Director's approval of the Wildcat Dairy expansion permit. This is the first instance in which a coalition of parties has challenged a dairy permit in the Leon or Bosque river watersheds.

The Leon and Bosque rivers are heavily polluted by organic waste run-off from the large concentration of CAFO (confined animal feeding operations) dairies in the area. High concentrations of bacteria caused by cow waste have fouled the two rivers and threatened the drinking water supplies of Killeen, Temple, Waco, Belton, Copperras Cove, Harker Heights and Fort Hood.

The Wildcat Dairy is located on a segment of the South Leon River, that is listed on the 2000 state 303(d) list as impaired for pathogens and total dissolved solids. This listing is an indication of serious pollution, and means that the river has been found unsuitable for fishing, and swimming in the river presents a threat to human health. The high concentration of fecal coliform bacteria from cow manure is particularly threatening to human health.

The listing of a stream segment on the 303(d) list also requires the TNRCC to adopt a plan to restore the health of the stream. But the TNRCC has not adopted a plan to restore water quality in the South Leon River, and the agency does not expect to establish a protection plan until 2007.

"The state's own analysis shows that the river is too polluted to handle any more cattle waste, but they continue to approve massive expansions like Wildcat," said Justin Taylor, the Lone Star Chapter's water quality project coordinator. "That's like starting a diet by having a chicken fried steak."

In the motion to overturn the permit, the Sierra Club argues that the TNRCC cannot permit new sources of pollution to a 303(d) stream segment until a plan of protection has been adopted. The fact that the agency has authorized the Wildcat Dairy expansion is in direct conflict with the federal Clean Water Act and state rules adopted to implement the law.

In addition to adding 3000 head of cattle, the Wildcat Dairy will add a "lagoon" to store organic liquid waste from the animals, and will significantly increase the amount of liquid and solid waste that it spreads onto agricultural fields. Pathogens such as fecal coliform bacteria are deposited in the rivers and streams in large amounts when heavy rains wash organic waste matter from fields into nearby waterways. Large rains have also caused flooding of many of the lagoons at dairy CAFOs in the Leon and Bosque river watersheds. The amount of waste carried from lagoons into the river during floods has caused massive damage to the rivers, and is a serious threat to the public drinking water supplies for many cities in central Texas such as Temple, Belton and Waco.