SUCCESSFUL MINING OF THE EDWARDS AQUIFER RECHARGE ZONE - THE SOLE SOURCE OF DRINKING WATER FOR SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS

The Edwards Limestone is just a typical mid cretaceous limestone formation that outcrops primarily in Central Texas. However, in the San Antonio area, it just so happens to be home to the sole source of drinking water for over a million people. Additionally, this limestone is the only suitable and commercially viable construction material for over close to a hundred miles. Introduce the normal suite of regulatory entities that you must satisfy and answer to in order to secure the required permits, then add a dash of local organizations and groups to address. One of these local organizations will not allow you to uproot a tree unless you have their plan submitted and approved. But it isn’t just any tree you need to clear to start mining; it must first fit the definition of tree according to their terms, which might not fit the definition of another group who has an ordinance you need to adhere to. Then the site where the tree is located must be adequately assessed by the ensuing entities which, by the way, do not agree and the same definition for assess. This article will look at the processes undertaken to not only secure the required permits to successfully mine in this environmentally sensitive area, but how they were done in such a manner to allow this site to become the third largest producing limestone quarry in the United States.