SRBA appointees outline goals
The new and reappointed members of the Sulphur River Basin Authority say they are looking forward to working together to protect stakeholders’ interests within the basin and move forward with a study to determine if Wright Patman Lake can be raised.
Wally Kraft of Paris, who’s been on the board since 2013, is one of seven board members Gov. Greg Abbott appointed to the board Tuesday. He said he’s happy to be reappointed and that he hopes the board can accomplish the plans they began with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is currently working on a Tentatively Selected Plan for the lake. The TSP, which has been delayed several times over the past two years due to lack of funding, would determine if, and how high, the lake could be raised for additional water storage.
“We’ve got good board members and I’m happy about having a complete board now,” Kraft said, adding that all members will have to go through training before holding a meeting where the members vote on agenda items. He said the board would have a planning meeting Feb. 20 and will not conduct business until all the board members are both trained and sworn in.
The board training is part of HB 2180, approved during the last session of the Texas Legislature. It requires all SRBA board members to receive training on the Texas Open Meetings Act and administrative procedure, requires the board to obtain advice from county judges in the areas where proposed projects would be located and the governor’s right to designate the board’s presiding officer.
Abbott chose Chris Spencer of Hughes Springs as board chairman. He said appreciated the confidence the governor has in him to both serve on and lead the board.
“I have been interested in water for a long time, but I have not formally been involved in water issues, water planning or water quality, but I have a deep interested in the future of Northeast Texas,” Spencer said. “I come to the board with no pre-formed opinions, but I’m here to learn and to contribute. Water is our single greatest natural resource.”
He added that he wants to foster a sense of team chemistry with the board and promote stakeholder involvement throughout the basin.
“We need stakeholder involvement,” he said. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to work together to preserve our way of life while at the same time meeting growing water needs throughout the basin. We also certainly want to focus on water quality, sedimentation and erosion issues. Those are things that have to be addressed.”
New appointee Gary Cheatwood of Bogota, agreed with Spencer that SRBA should address the issue of erosion along the banks of the Sulphur River, which was dammed in the 1960s to create Wright Patman, and the issue of sedimentation within the lake itself.
He served six years on the Region D Water Planning Group and owns land along the river he says is threatened by erosion and the potential creation of Marvin Nichols Reservoir, which would reduce the amount of water flowing into the Sulphur.
“Our school district and tax base is threatened if Marvin Nichols is built on the river,” he added. “I definitely want to try to prevent that from happening.”
Cheatwood said he thought people in Red River County who owned land along the river were not well represented and that he hopes to now have the chance to do just that.
“I also told the governor’s office I think the funding should be local and not come from Dallas,” he said. SRBA is funded by the Joint Commission for Program Development, comprising of water districts in the Dallas Metroplex seeking water for their growing population. The funds are being used for the corps studies, along with others to determine the depth and amount of sedimentation in Wright Patman.
Re-appointee Bret McCoy of Omaha, who Abbott placed on the board in 2016, said he’d also like to see the studies completed soon, so the board can move forward.
“I’m glad to have been reappointed to the board. I think it’s an exciting time with the new board members,” he said. “I would like to see some of the stuff the corps is working on finished up in a direction that’s fair to Northeast Texas.”
New Board member Kelly Mitchell of Texarkana, said he also is seeking to protect the area’s water interests. He is currently secretary and board member of Riverbend Water Resources District and an ex-officio member of Region D. He served for seven years as a city of Texarkana appointee to Riverbend. He was set to rotate off the board at the end of the year, but this appointment causes the Riverbend term to expire immediately.
“I am really looking forward to broadening my knowledge of water to the whole basin.” Mitchell said in a press release. “This is so important to our region and our economic development efforts. For decades we have let the state take care of defining our needs and it is far past time that we get engaged in the process and actually be a part of the process.” Mitchell said he has a number of priorities for SRBA, chief among them are openness and transparency, basinwide collaboration and support for existing water rights holders.
Spencer echoed Mitchell’s emphasis on the importance of the board’s actions and how they define future development.
“You get to make a contribution that lasts far past your lifetime,” he said. “The contributions we make are lasting.”
The next meeting, which will be a planning meeting only, will be held at 1 p.m. Feb. 20, at the Mount Pleasant Civic Center, 1800 N. Jefferson, Mount Pleasant, Texas.