A burning pile of mulch VIII

Now officials are saying the owner of that burning pile of mulch in Helotes didn't have the proper permits.

From WOAI-TV:

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Texas environmental officials have accused the owner of an enormous mulch pile that caught fire of failing to have proper permits and other environmental violations.

The violation notice disclosed by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on Friday listed 13 violations at the facility in Helotes, just outside San Antonio. Among them, failing to have proper permits, creating air quality problems, discharging waste water and allowing the pile to grow larger than its permit allowed.

This is interesting. Initially the problem seemed to be that the owner was in compliance with regulations, and that perhaps the regulation process was flawed to allow this situation to develop. Now the state is laying the blame on the owner of the pile. It will probably be some time before this is all figured out, but I am curious to see whether the owner was skirting regulations all along or whether the state is just trying to find a scapegoat.