Rare spider halts pipeline construction (With less than 1,500 feet to go)
Rare spider halts pipeline construction
The rare, federally protected spider that gained fame for stopping a highway project has also blocked a water pipeline.
With less than 1,500 feet to go, construction of a six-mile, $11 million pipeline was halted after the discovery of the endangered Braken Bat Cave meshweaver at Loop 1604 and Texas 151, the board of the San Antonio Water System was told Monday.
SAWS contractors were boring below 1604 for the pipeline in August when a different company working for the Texas Department of Transportation exposed a cave nearby that was home to the spider.
Because of that discovery and the threat to the spider, which has been seen in only one other cave anywhere, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which enforces the federal Endangered Species Act, stopped all construction at the intersection.
According to SAWS, the pipeline contractor was paid $250,000 to remove all equipment from the site in early October. Since then, SAWS has been trying to figure out how to complete the pipeline.
http://newsok.com/rare-spider-halts-pipeline-construction/article/3759340
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