WASHINGTON CO. COMMISSIONERS UPDATED ON CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CASE

  

Washington County Commissioners learned more today (Tuesday) about what steps are being taken to prevent any further spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD) after the county’s first case was discovered earlier this year in a white-tailed deer.

Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) officials met with the court in a workshop to go over the process that will be set out after the confirmation of the case in March at a deer-breeding facility on the north side of the county.

CWD is a prion disease that severely impedes a deer’s neurological function and is ultimately fatal, with no treatment or vaccine.  There is no present evidence that the disease can affect humans, but wildlife officials recommend avoiding eating meat from infected animals.

Ryan Schoeneberg, TPWD Big Game Program Specialist, said the focus of today’s meeting was starting discussions on getting a centralized location set up for deer to be dropped off for sample testing. 

Where exactly the testing site will go has not been determined, but Schoeneberg and Stephanie Damron, TPWD Natural Resource Specialist, said the location needs to be on a level surface, have electricity and be easily accessible for several vehicles to drop off samples.  The testing site will not be permanent, staying open from the last week in September to mid-January. 

Damron said suggested testing sites include the constable headquarters on Blue Bell Road and at the Washington County Expo.  Commissioner Kirk Hanath said putting the testing site in an agricultural area would be very risky, since there are so many unknowns with this disease.

Testing for CWD began in 2002 but ramped up significantly in 2012 upon the state’s first discovery of the disease near the Texas-New Mexico border.  When asked whether the location of Washington County’s initial discovery of CWD could be released, Schoeneberg said TPWD is unable to identify specific properties.

Damron said she collected roughly 110 testing samples last year between Washington and Waller counties, with about 95 percent of that number being from Washington County.  Submitted samples include roadkill and hunter harvest.  Schoeneberg said testing numbers are going up due to increased concern about and risk for CWD. 

Schoeneberg said the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) will meet this month to provide direction on where to set a 2-mile surveillance zone around the area of the discovery.  The proposed zone would require all wildlife harvested in that area to be submitted for testing.

A public meeting will be held in August for hunters to learn more about what they need to do upon the start of hunting season and what to be aware of. 

Also during today’s meeting, commissioners:

• Briefly discussed the Brenham ISD police department, emergency reunification plan, and facility projects including the feasibility of a solar generator for the Expo, landscaping at the courthouse, a storage building and the county jail kitchen during workshop.
• Granted authorization to execute a professional services contract with Strand Associates for the Community Development Block Grant Mitigation project at South Meyersville Road.
• Approved a resolution re-adopting the guidelines and criteria for granting tax phase-in in a reinvestment zone in the county.  Commissioner Candice Bullock said it has been three years since the last re-adoption of the guidelines and around 10 years since a full review of them.  The plan is for the county to gather along with City of Brenham officials to make updates to the criteria.
• Approved the county engineer’s recommendation for a bid award for seal coating to Cornerstone Paving out of Lyons.
• Approved oil and gas development permits for Magnolia Oil & Gas, LLC in Precinct 4 at 6455 FM 1697 in Carmine and 6655 FM 2780 in Burton.
• Authorized the execution of an amendment and task order to the 2020 agreement for technical services with Strand Associates.  The amendment is for contract schedule extension, while the task order is for the Community Development Block Grant Mitigation project bridge design.
• Approved the sale of surplus county property through GovDeals, the county’s online auction service.
• Approved a plat revision for lots 8 and 9 in the Hoppers Lane subdivision in Precinct 3.