County ordinance includes new buffer zones for habitats

The Williamson County Conservation Foundation has been working with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service since 2011 to avoid having the Georgetown salamander added to the federal endangered species list.

On Dec. 20 Georgetown City Council approved an ordinance outlining ways the city will protect the species 18 known habitats without inhibiting economic development.

The ordinance is one part of a comprehensive conservation plan put together by the county as an offering to USFWS in exchange for not listing the salamander as endangered.

The three aspects were focused on are water quality, water quantity and site preservation, said Valerie Covey, Williamson County Precinct 3 commissioner and president of the WCCF board. I believe our comprehensive conservation plan addresses all that.

The species reaction to water quality changes is still being studied, but under the ordinance, springs that are known salamander habitats would be protected by an 80-meter red zone on either side of the stream the spring flows into, Covey said.

Red zones would be considered no-disturbance areas, according to the ordinance. Maintenance of existing developments would be permitted, but no new construction could take place there, Covey said at a Dec. 10 City Council meeting.

A 300-meter orange zone would further protect the habitat, Covey said. The minimal disturbance area would allow some parks, wastewater infrastructure and residential development near the habitat, she said.

Orange zones would not extend very far past major waterways, as the salamanders are not known to travel, Covey said.

Spring and stream buffers in areas that are not known habitats are also included in the ordinance. Spring buffers would allow limited construction within 50 meters of a spring. Stream buffers would limit development and construction to wastewater lines, parks, utility line crossings, flood control measures and road crossings near streams in the 100-year floodplain.

The council also approved a water quality management plan to illustrate to USFWS the citys commitment to the approved ordinance.

We need to demonstrate [that] were going to assume some control of this, Councilman Steve Fought said. [The ordinance] is pretty rushed. Its also pretty necessary.

The management plan may be discarded if the salamander is listed as endangered by USFWS in February.

USFWS is accepting public comment on the ordinance and conservation plan until Jan. 22. Visit www.regulations.gov to comment.