BANDERA, Texas – The rain is what ranchers pray for, but for landowner Andrew Bogar, the sediment he believes it carries is what he’s dreaded.
“It’s a pretty horrific event to watch,” Bogar said.
Bogar hoped his sprawling lot of land in Bandera would be his oasis.
He said the Rio Lago solar farm being worked on next door destroyed the peace.
“Just the magnitude of what it’s going to do to our lives over the next couple of years,” Bogar said.
KSAT Investigates has followed the battle between landowners and the solar company, Pine Gate Renewables, LLC for months.
In March 2024, Judge Pat McGuire signed a temporary injunction pausing Pine Gate Renewables, LLC’s ability to move forward with construction.
Summertime thunderstorms have brought in a downpour of new legal issues.
“It filled the tanks with that contaminant,” Bogar said. “And it killed all of our aquatic life, our turtles.”
Bogar is heartbroken by what he said has happened.
“At the end of the day, we’re contaminated, and they will continue to say they’ve done everything that they could have,” Bogar said of the solar company. “And they haven’t.”
Attorney Jenn Rosenblatt, who represents the landowners, said, “These are people’s houses. These are people’s lives.”
Rosenblatt presented her case in a July 25 hearing inside a Bandera County courtroom.
“They have failed and refused to do anything,” Rosenblatt said of Pine Gate Renewables, LLC. “We have tried to get them to do testing. They won’t. We have tried to show them the flow of the water. They have ignored it. And what they are doing is making the flow worse.”
Rosenblatt is asking the judge to require Pine Gate and Rio Lago to install a sediment control measure.
“All we want them to do is quit working until they know how to solve the problem,” Rosenblatt said.
Bogar said cleaning up the contaminants is complicated.
While a judge could make a ruling this week, Bogar said the damage is done.
“A win in this case would have been stopping it before it happened,” he said. “It’s a loss now. There’s no win now. There’s no win for anybody.”
An attorney representing Pine Gate Renewables, LLC declined to comment at last Thursday’s hearing.
KSAT reached out to the company twice. In an email sent Friday, Kristen McKenzie, senior director of Government & External Affairs for Pine Gate Renewables, sent this statement:
“Proceedings continue in the District Court of Bandera regarding allegations of property damage from site activities related to the Rio Lago Solar project. We are eager to demonstrate to the Court that we have been responsive to the recommendations and requirements of the independent monitor -- the Texas engineering firm charged with mediating disputes and responding to complaints.
“Meanwhile, Pine Gate Renewables continues to deploy safe and responsible construction and engineering practices on the project site under the oversight of the independent monitor appointed by plaintiffs and Pine Gate. We will continue to communicate project updates to all interested members of the Bandera community through the project website and monthly newsletter. We remain confident in the future of solar energy in Texas. We believe that solar has a critical role to play in supporting the local economy, powering the growing state, and providing another domestic and reliable source of energy for generations to come.”
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