The Sulphur River Basin Authority Board of Directors will meet Tuesday to discuss and take action on a letter from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers stating the full $1.4 million is needed to complete the feasibility study on Wright Patman Lake.
Representatives from the Corps' Fort Worth District previously stated that they could possibly complete the Tentatively Selected Plan, which would determine at what level the lake could be raised, with only $300,000. The Joint Commission for Program Development, a group comprised of five water districts in the Dallas Metroplex that fully funds SRBA, committed those funds in November for the plan to be completed.
On Feb. 13, JCPD sent a response to SRBA in reference to the Corps letter stating they are willing to commit the $1,398,000 to complete the study and that costs for any repairs to the dam on Wright Patman would be included in that amount.
SRBA and the Corps are 50/50 partners in the study, with SRBA being the nonfederal sponsor. Even though SRBA's portion of the funding will be in place, the Corps must still request an exemption at the federal level for the study to continue.
The exemption is necessary because the study has exceeded the Corps' 3x3x3 smart planning process, under which all studies are required to take only three years, $3 million and three levels of oversight to be completed. SRBA and Corps representatives have stated repeatedly that the study exceeded the 3x3x3 plan because of changes in the scope of the study, which now also includes the possibility of dam safety modifications.
The Corps was set to have the tentative plan completed in December. Now, SRBA's estimated timeline shows that milestone could be reached in as little as 150 days if the exemption is granted.
The board will also hold an executive session to consider the hiring of an executive director and a water protection specialist for the Clean Rivers Program.
The meeting will be held at 1 p.m. at the Mount Pleasant Civic Center, 1800 N. Jefferson Street, Mount Pleasant, Texas.