The Sulphur River Basin Authority's board of directors chose to not approve two contested studies during its regular meeting Tuesday, voting instead to pay the firms that did the work.
Prior to the vote, representatives from Riverbend Water Resources District, the city of Texarkana and Ward Timber addressed the board during public comments, all asking them to not approve the studies. It's the same request all three Sulphur River Basin stakeholders made during SRBA's meeting in December.
An approval vote on the studies was called by acting President Wally Kraft, with Board Member Mike Russell making the motion to approve the studies, stating, "In due deference to the ones here who want us to avoid approving all this, these are contracts we entered into and we have accepted the information. People are free to study them, do any kind of peer review they want to, bring back to us any kind of comments they feel necessary. None of these have recommendations for action for us other than accepting their study I propose we finalize this with RPS Espey and pay them."
Kraft seconded the motion, with Board Member Bret McCoy introducing a new motion to simply pay RPS Espey and the Sulphur Basin Group the remaining 10 percent of what SRBA owed for the studies, with no approval or acceptance.
"In visiting with the (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers), we're not going to hold anything up by not approving these studies. I think we need to pay the remaining 10 percent," McCoy said. "I still have concerns with some of the science, the methodologies, formulas, whatever you want to call it that was used here pay the remaining 10 percent. We entered into those contracts. I agree with Mr. Russell."
The studies, an instream flow study by RPS Espey, and a 2016 yield analysis study by SBG, came under stakeholder scrutiny after they were presented during SRBA's November meeting. Specifically, the yield analysis study showed a potentially lower amount of water in Wright Patman Lake than previous studies. SBG used a different water availability model than those previous studies conducted in the basin and also showed using both a raised level in Wright Patman and the construction of the controversial Marvin Nichols Reservoir in future water planning for the state of Texas.
Raising the lake level and reallocating Wright Patman from flood control to water storage would provide water that could possibly be sold to water districts in the Dallas Metroplex-five of which comprise the Joint Commission for Program Development, which solely funds the SRBA.
SRBA was created in 1985 and is a governmental entity responsible for the conservation and development of natural resources within the river basin, which covers 11 counties. A decision on the river authority's future is expected to come before the 85th Texas Legislature, which began last week. It's been reviewed by the Sunset Advisory Committee, which conducts regular assessments of the continuing need for each state agency to exist. Among other things, the committee recommended a full reset of the board.
That includes former Board President Mike Sandefur, who was appointed to the board in March and was elected to the president's position two days prior to SRBA's public hearing before the Sunset Committee in June. Sandefur resigned two weeks ago, sending a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott, stating that his focus while in the position had been collaboration, but Sunset's report of the basin's stakeholders being "divisive, antagonizing and appear (ing) to be largely driven by their financial motivations or wishes to control future water rights" was "absolutely true."
Riverbend Board Member Fred Milton and Andrea Williams McCoy said they were happy with the board's decision to not approve the studies.
"We're pleased with the decision made today that they did elect to pay their bill and merely allow the Corps to have the information without any formal stamp of approval, which is what several stakeholders requested," Milton said. "I'm very pleased that that took place."
They also both stated the data was flawed on a "water science perspective," and by not giving a formal stamp on the studies, SRBA made a powerful statement.
"We didn't want science pushed through the back door on Marvin Nichols, their approval of Marvin Nichols, under the false pretense that they had to have it in order to proceed with reallocation," McCoy said.
During the November meeting when SBG presented the yield analysis study, Corps representatives said that approving the studies was necessary to reach the next step in reallocation, the TSP, or Tentatively Selected Plan, which would determine how high Wright Patman could be raised.
Milton said Riverbend met with the Corps last week, and they were told SRBA did not need to approve the studies to reach the TSP. "It is our indication that they don't need to be approved for the Corps to proceed," he said.
Kraft said he was in talks with the Corps to address the determined lack of funding to reach the TSP, adding that he was expecting a letter in approximately two weeks to determine the amount SRBA needed to add to their in-kind contract for the study to continue.
In other business, the board approved the 2016 audit by Wilf and Henderson, a review of the Clean Waters Program, and updates on financial matters.
The next meeting will be held at 1 p.m. on Feb. 22.