BAYSIDE (Kiii News) - The mayor of Bayside in Refugio County may be in some hot water with the US Army Corps of Engineers, for unauthorized dumping of concrete rubble in wetlands near Copano Bay.
The dumping of those construction materials is an apparent violation of federal law.
City Council member Karen Clark said she first found out about this last week, when some local residents told her about it. So she went out to the site and stopped the dumping.
"I immediately stopped them, and told them no. No more. Can't have it," Clark said. "Rebar was sticking out like spaghetti, and I knew we were in violation. We had to be."
Clark said the contractor who was dumping the rebar-filled concrete told her the mayor had approved it. At that point, 12 dumps had already been made, with a reported 175 more dumps of concrete scheduled, until Clark stopped it.
The debris is reportedly from a school in Refugio that was recently demolished. Clark said she was shocked and very upset, saying the area was being polluted. She said City Council never voted on the matter.
Mayor Pro-Tem Orville Downs said the contractor that made the dump told the mayor the concrete was clean, with no rebar in it. Downs said he thought the dump would be a positive for the community, as the clean concrete would prevent land erosion, and works a lot better than grass at preventing land from washing away.
Meanwhile, Clark showed a letter that the Army Corps of Engineers has sent the mayor, saying that the discharge of fill material is in apparent violation of section 404 of the Clean Water Act.
Mayor Ken Dahl is out of town on vacation, but over the phone he said a lot of things don't get voted on by the City Council, and that the concrete was not supposed to have rebar in it. He said that he saw this as an opportunity for a small town to save money, and that the contractor has agreed to clean up the site.
