|
Water group invites GLO to meeting On behalf of the Far West Texas Water Planning Group, Alpine resident Tom Beard, the group's chairman, invited Texas General Land Office commissioner Jerry Patterson to attend the planning group's regular meeting in Van Horn on Nov. 20 to explain Rio Nuevo's water mining proposal. Rio Nuevo, a partnership of Midland and Austin investors, made an offer to the GLO to lease hundreds of thousands of acres of state-owned land in Far West Texas. Initially, the company proposed to pump up to 300,000 acre-feet of water annually into the Rio Grande for delivery downstream. An acre-foot of water is approximately 326,000 gallons. Neither Rio Nuevo nor GLO has so far made any of the details of the current offer public. Since the Far West Texas Water Planning Group is charged by law with coordinating and planning water demand and supply, Beard invited Patterson to explain the proposal to the group. "The only thing we know about Rio Nuevo's proposal is what has been published in various newspapers," Beard said. "The possible export of some 97 billion gallons of water per year from our region is of more than a little concern to us. The bottom line is, not only is it a ridiculous idea, but it would also make our regional water plan essentially irrelevant, and the proposal is completely contrary to the policy set by the Texas Legislature. We are hopeful Commissioner Patterson will give us some details." In his letter to Patterson, Beard stated, "The members of the Far West Texas Water Planning Group understand your desire to maximize revenue for the Permanent School Fund. On the other hand, we believe maximizing revenue should not be achieved at the expense of the economic and environmental health of an entire region of the state. We would welcome the opportunity to talk to you about it personally and hope you will be able to attend." Sen. Frank Madla and Rep. Pete Gallego have urged the GLO to hold public hearings in the region. So far, GLO has declined. The did announce they would have representatives at the water planning group meeting in Van Horn. Asked if he had a message for the meeting, Beard replied, "No, it's our meeting they are attending. We will see what message they bring, and we will reply accordingly." Beard urged Far West Texans to attend the meeting and voice their concern but reminded everyone it is a meeting of the planning group and not one called by GLO. "As such, we have other business to conduct and can only allow such public comments as we have time for and that are germane," said Beard. "What is germane will depend on what the GLO presents. We will, in any event, be polite." Both Beard and Janet Adams of Fort Davis, a member of the planning group, have met with Patterson recently on separate occasions. "He was very polite," said Adams, "but he was not willing to offer any details about the Rio Nuevo proposal. We don't know how many acres, how much water, or anything else." The Far West Texas Water Planning Group will meet at the Van Horn Convention Center and Visitors Bureau, 1801 W. Broadway, at 1 p.m. Water group invites GLO to meeting On behalf of the Far West Texas Water Planning Group, Alpine resident Tom Beard, the group's chairman, invited Texas General Land Office commissioner Jerry Patterson to attend the planning group's regular meeting in Van Horn on Nov. 20 to explain Rio Nuevo's water mining proposal. Alpine preps for Gallery Night Alpine's Gallery Night celebrates its 10th anniversary this year with a second annual Art Car Parade and the event's first cook-off and golf tournament. What began in 2002 as a vision by two students at Sul Ross who wanted to make films has now become a full-blown film festival for the region-WestFest 2003. New York film crew learns West Texas ways A television crew headed by Leo Eaton, president and CEO of Eaton Creative, Inc., has made Alpine its temporary home. |
| Subscribe | Health News | Financial News | Entertainment | Home |