A state judge has ruled in favor of Guadalupe County Groundwater Conservation District stating they have the authority to prohibit siting a proposed landfill over an outcrop of the Wilcox aquifer. State District Judge Kirkendall ruled in January 2015 in favor of the GCD noting among other things, the state, “has vested the districts with broad power to make rules to protect the groundwater and prevent degradation of water quality.” However, when a motion was filed by the Texas attorney general’s office in December on behalf of the TCEQ, the motion to the lawsuit countered, “This lawsuit is, in fact, an improper attempt by the district to appropriate for itself power it does not have.”
Based on the District Court’s ruling Groundwater Conservation Districts could be empowered to have land use authority for any type of development or activity that could have an impact on the water quality of underground aquifers.
It is anticipated this ruling will be appealed.