| Sect alters wastewater plan FLDS Wants to be 'good neighbors,' observer says | |
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By Matt Phinney San Angelo Standard-Times | |
Owners of the YFZ Ranch near Eldorado want to store treated wastewater in ponds to use for irrigation on the ranch. The group initially wanted a permit to treat water before discharging the water into Millican Draw, a tributary of the South Concho River. The group abandoned that plan amid protests from people who said it would hurt the quality of water in the local streams. Officials from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in Austin are studying the new permit request, which was received in June, said Ricky Anderson, San Angelo-based director for the state agency. If approved, the permit would authorize the disposal of treated wastewater at a volume not to exceed a daily average flow of 100,000 gallons per day by irrigating 125 acres. Glenn Breisch, president of Wasteline Engineering, which has done engineering work for the ranch, said this week that YFZ landowners wanted to be "good neighbors" when they made the decision to switch uses for the treatment plant. Breisch has filed a lien against YFZ Land L.L.C., saying the company has failed to pay some of its debt owed for the design and engineering of a water treatment and supply plant on the ranch. Breisch, whose company is based in Aledo, 20 miles west of Fort Worth, filed the papers in the Schleicher County Courthouse. A lien is a legal claim against property as security for payment of an obligation. It entitles the lienholder to get his or her money from the sale of the property if the owner sells it. Eldorado, the seat of Schleicher County, is about 45 miles south of San Angelo. According to the affidavit, the labor and material furnished by the company are "generally described as those necessary for the construction of a water treatment and supply plant." "The amount of $1,350 remains unpaid and is due," according to the affidavit. Members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints bought the land near Eldorado and constructed dozens of buildings on the land, including a huge white building most people call the "the temple." Merril Jessop is listed as the owner of YFZ Land L.L.C. on the Texas comptroller's Web site. The corporation is listed as :in good standing," meaning it has paid the state franchise tax. Jessop did not return a phone call from the Standard-Times. A limited liability corporation is a hybrid business structure designed to provide the limited liability features of a corporation and the tax efficiencies and operational flexibility of a partnership. Such a corporation is a popular choice for sole proprietors looking to incorporate simply to protect personal assets or secure additional loans. Breisch said he first met Jessop and Paul Allredin 2004, when the two asked to put him on retainer for engineering work on the ranch. At the time, the men paid Breisch $4,000 in cash, he said. Breisch, who has never been on the ranch, said he had a good working relationship with the land company until about eight months ago. Up until then, the group paid promptly when billed, but the situation reached a point where the two parties weren't working well together, Breisch said. Around Christmas, Breisch billed the group and later received a check. However, three weeks later, he received notice the account had been closed, Breisch said. "I honestly don't know why the relationship went south," Breisch said. "At any given time, I work for 20 clients at the same time. ... It could have been me, and it could have been them, or it could have been a combination." "The bottom line is, I expect to be compensated for the work that was done." Rod Parker, a Utah-based lawyer who has represented church members in the past, said this week he has no knowledge of the lien and does not want to comment on the group. SKG Engineering in San Angelo is now performing the engineering services at the ranch. Company officials also declined to comment on the YFZ ranch. After buying the land in 2004, ranch owners initially wanted a wastewater treatment plant for the purpose of discharging water into Millican Draw, a tributary to the South Concho River. The TCEQ issued a stop-work order in 2004 when workers at the ranch began construction on a treatment plant at the site without a state permit. The ranch owners eventually changed engineers and applied for a wastewater storage land application permit, Anderson said. The Upper Colorado River Authority, the agency that spearheaded the protest against discharge into Millican Draw, has no opposition to the new permit as long as ranch officials follow all state laws for agriculture water use, staff hydrologist Chuck Brown said. YFZ bought the land in 2004, and there is no indication of how many people will live on the ranch or whether church leader and prophet Warren Jeffs has ever been in Eldorado or on the ranch. Jeffs is wanted by the FBI. Ranch members now store the wastewater in an above-ground vessel and haul the vessel to the Eldorado waste treatment plant, Anderson said. He said ranch owners requested the 100,000 gallon-per-day permit. Treatment plants are required by law any time an entity generates more than 5,000 gallons of wastewater per day, Anderson said. A typical San Angelo home uses 266 gallons of water per day. Typically, water treatment plants are designed for a capacity of 100 gallons per day per person, Anderson said. The TCEQ has fined the ranch more than $18,000 in the past for previous environmental infractions, but for now, ranch officials are doing what they need to do to comply with state law, Anderson said. However, he added that the agency considers the ranch a "habitual noncompliant entity" of state environment law. Anderson said he is disappointed owners of the ranch have never become more familiar with state and federal environmental law despite pleas from the agency. "We've certainly had several follow-up activities," Anderson said. "When we have brought things to their attention, the follow-up has been acceptable. They have met the time frames or asked us for an extension." Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff froze an estimated $100 million trust fund for the church because of evidence that the fund's trustees were not acting in the best interests of all church members. In May, the FBI placed Jeffs on its 10 Most Wanted list, alongside Osama bin Laden, and is offering a reward of as much as $100,000 for information leading to Jeffs' arrest. The church also owns property in Colorado, South Dakota, Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Canada. Jeffs is wanted in an alleged sexual assault on a minor in 2002, and one count of conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor in 2002. The alleged offenses took place near Colorado City, Ariz. Jeffs also is wanted on accusations of rape as an accomplice in Utah, according to the FBI's Web site. mphinney@sastandardtimes.com or 659-8253 | |
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SanAngeloStandardTimes.com Originally published August 19, 2006 | |
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