On Feb. 7, a Bandera judge signed a temporary injunction preventing construction from moving forward without regulatory plans in placeIn January, the landowners surrounding the Rio Lago Solar Project site met before 198th District Court Judge Pat Maguire with theirThe prosecution reiterated that their clients did not want the project stopped. However, they wanted assurance that proper protocols would be followed so the community wouldn’t suffer.
Both parties will need to meet for mediation before May 1, 2024, and a jury trial is currently set for October 22, 2024, at 9 a.m., according to court records.“Day one, we had trespassing, we had property damage. And now we’re building a secondary road against a court order, in my opinion. And so, we’re starting off on the wrong foot,” said Andrew Boger, a landowner named in the court records.
Boger believes the solar company is not being honest or transparent about what its plans are for the thousands of acres of land its leasing and for the construction of over a million solar panels. The day the temporary injunction was signed by the judge, Nevels recorded a video of the company bringing heavy machinery onto the property.
County engineer Dieter Warner didn’t want to go on camera but sat down to speak about the permitting process. “No, but I’ve been asking for it for almost a year,” Warner said. He went on to explain that he’s seen a preliminary plan, but not a final plan.