SULPHUR SPRINGS, Texas - The ongoing stalemate between Northeast Texas and North Texas over a proposed lake has frozen solid.
In their third meeting in about two months, representatives from both regions failed again to resolve their differences about the proposed Marvin Nichols Reservoir, which would inundate 63,000 acres of land and send thousands more acres into mitigation along the Sulphur River north of Mount Pleasant.
Subcommittee members for Region C (Dallas-Fort Worth) and Region D (Northeast Texas) met Tuesday in Sulphur Springs but were unwilling to give ground on their respective demands - just as they were during meetings in Tyler in November and December.
"This is a unique project - a real bad one, but unique nonetheless," Region D Chairman Jim Thompson of Bowie County said.
Region C wants to include construction of Marvin Nichols by 2050 in its draft for the 2021 state water plan.
Region D wants either no construction of Marvin Nichols or that it occur no earlier than 2070, which is what both regions agreed upon when they last stalemated in 2015.
In front of more than 150 people who were mostly anti-Marvin Nichols, neither side yielded.
Thompson said North Texas representatives "had no intention of complying" with the 2015 agreement.
"I do not feel like (building Marvin Nichols) protects the natural and valuable resources of the state," Thompson said.
His Region C counterpart, Kevin Ward, said Marvin Nichols is the best solution to meet North Texas' growing water needs and that his region can't wait past 2050 for construction. Other options such as expanding Wright Patman Reservoir or impounding the Sulphur River farther upstream of Marvin Nichols won't meet Region C's water needs, Ward said.
The full Region D Committee will consider whether to officially oppose Marvin Nichols in its draft water plan when its members meet at 1 p.m. Jan. 23 at the Region 8 Education Service Center in Pittsburg.
Thompson and Ward agreed that, after Region C Committee members meet Feb. 10 in Arlington, they will come together to decide whether to bring the subcommittees back together for further discussions.
"If we can't get past that," mediator Robert Gulley said, "then I think we're going to find ourselves in a position where we have different proposals by Region C and Region D."
If their stalemate continues past March 10 when their draft plans are due to the state, the Legislature and courts could get involved, authorities said.
Ward suggested a compromise in which Region C would agree to issue no permits for Marvin Nichols construction until the 2027 state water plan - provided that the construction timeline is moved to 2050 in next year's state plan.
Region D subcommittee members balked at the idea.
"My position is there is no way that a reasonable person can look at this project and say it protects the natural resources of this state," Thompson said.
Nearly everyone from the public who spoke inside Hopkins County Regional Civic Center voiced opposition to impounding for Marvin Nichols, including Stanley Jessee, superintendent of Rivercrest ISD, which would be directly impacted by the reservoir's creation.
"When this happens, we are going to lose students, so we lose state funding (and) we lose local funding," Jessee told the joint subcommittee members. "I don't know how Rivercrest is going to survive with that happening. In fact, what I see happening if this happens is Rivercrest dying a slow death. I just can't see how it can't."
The district, which is based in Bogata in Red River County, had 693 students enrolled in the 2017-18 school year, according to the Texas Education Agency.
Jeff Hargrave, vice president of operations for Graphic Packaging International in Queen City in Cass County, asked the subcommittees "to really consider the impact downstream to the Cass County area" if Marvin Nichols is built.
Max Shumate of De Kalb in Bowie County also spoke against the reservoir.
"I tell you, we don't need this lake," Shumate said.
Robert Holt of Red River County expressed his thoughts a little differently.
"We feel like we're being treated sort of like the Indians," Holt said.
Information provided by the Longview News-Journal.