Water experts to examine new frontiers in conservation

CONROE, TX – March 1, 2016 – The Fifth Annual Gulf Coast Water Conservation Symposium is around the corner. Beginning at 8 a.m. on March 9 in Houston, local water experts are lined up to speak on a variety of timely and relevant water conservation topics.

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In this March 4, 2015, courtesy photo, Paul R. Nelson, assistant general manager with the Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District, addresses attendees at the 2015 Gulf Coast Water Conservation Symposium. Registration is open for the 2016 Gulf Coast Water Conservation Symposium, which will be held March 9, at TexasWater.org. This year’s theme is ‘New Frontiers in Conservation.’

The symposium, hosted by the Gulf Coast/Montgomery County Water Efficiency Network and others, has selected New Frontiers in Conservation as this year’s theme. The event will be held at the United Way Community Resource Center at 50 Waugh Drive, Houston. Registration is required and can be completed at TexasWater.org.

“As water demands continue to rise, there are a great deal of innovative minds looking at water conservation efforts in entirely new and substantive ways,” said Paul R. Nelson, assistant general manager with the Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District. “These annual symposiums capitalize on such innovation and help good ideas reach a broader audience.”

Nelson, who coordinates the GC/MCWEN, said the symposium is a valuable educational resource to business and community leaders, including mayors, city council members, city managers, county commissioners, MUD Board members, CFOs, finance directors, water providers, water utility directors, and water conservation program staff.

Registration for the event is $45 and lunch is provided. The event is presented by GC/MCWEN, LSGCD, Sierra Club-Lone Star Chapter, Texas Water Foundation, National Wildlife Federation, Galveston Bay Foundation, City of Sugar Land, Texas AWWA, Woodlands Joint Powers Agency, Municipal District Services, San Jacinto River Authority, Allen, Boone, Humphries, Robinson LLP, West Harris County Regional Water Authority, Brown and Gay Engineers, North Ford Bend Water Authority, and City of Houston.

LSGCD to court: Waste injection well a threat to groundwater

CONROE, TX – Feb. 19, 2016 – In an effort to overturn a decision which would allow TexCom Gulf Disposal, LLC to operate a Class 1 waste injection well in Montgomery County, the Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District filed an amicus brief with Travis County’s 345th District Court Wednesday.

An ongoing lawsuit against the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, filed by multiple plaintiffs, including Montgomery County, the City of Conroe and a private oil and gas company, is awaiting the court’s final ruling.

“This is a very serious matter,” said LSGCD President Richard J. Tramm. “Our Board is committed to continuing to protect Montgomery County’s drinking water.”

The Railroad Commission had previously determined that waste injection activities from the site would likely migrate upward to overlying geologic formations and even to the land surface because of the high pressures that will occur underground with the addition of the waste—causing harm to oil and gas resources. LSGCD’s legal brief argued, by the same reasoning, such upward migration could pose a danger to overlying fresh groundwater resources.

“The judge heard arguments from both sides Thursday on motions for a summary judgment to overturn the TCEQ’s decision to issue the waste permits on grounds that they failed to properly consider the Railroad Commission’s determination of harm to natural resources in the matter,” said Kathy Turner Jones, LSGCD’s general manager. “As a matter of law, TCEQ was therefore not legally authorized to issue the permits.”

State District Judge Tim Sulak, who is presiding over the case, took the matter under advisement yesterday afternoon at the conclusion of the hearing. 

The plaintiffs have sued the TCEQ on multiple grounds, including an allegation that the TCEQ commissioners overturned or ignored many of the findings of fact made by the Administrative Law Judges assigned by the State Office of Administrative Hearings to conduct the contested hearing on the permit application on TCEQ’s behalf.

“The ALJs determined that TexCom did not prove that the waste injection activities would protect groundwater and surface water resources in Montgomery County,” Jones said.

The waste injection well site is located in the City of Conroe off FM 3083.

Gregg Hope, LSGCD board member appointed by Montgomery County, reaffirmed Tramm’s sentiments.

“The District has heard the concerns of the citizens,” Hope said. “We hope the court will make the right decision.”

LSGCD APPROVES GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT RULE AMENDMENTS

The Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District’s board of directors approved a number of amendments to its rules and regulatory plan at its December board meeting on Tuesday. The approved amendments primarily address three areas of groundwater management.

LSGCD General Manager Kathy Turner Jones said, “These updates are practical, common-sense additions that better serve our permittees, the public, and the District’s ongoing mission to conserve, protect, and enhance Montgomery County’s groundwater resources.”

While the first two District Rules amended were unanimous, the last was approved by a 6-3 decision. This item creates a variance process in which a landowner may petition LSGCD for additional groundwater production authorization over and above that allowed under the District Regulatory Plan in situations where the landowner feels that the pumping limits imposed by the regulations impede his or her ability to obtain a fair share of the common groundwater resources in the aquifers underlying Montgomery County, based upon the particular facts and circumstances related to the individual landowner.

The criteria approved by the board of directors for considering and acting on such a variance application were taken directly from the laws governing groundwater management as established recently by the Texas Supreme Court and the Texas Legislature.

Additionally, all three amendments, prior to the board’s vote on Tuesday, were supported by the Stakeholder Advisory Committee which was specifically set up to assist the board during review processes.

Of the unanimously passed amendments, the first authorizes the creation of temporary permits for water wells used to supply water to construction projects or to supply water for the drilling of permanent wells. It also establishes the requirements related to obtaining such permits, including an obligation for the well driller who obtains such a temporary permit to plug the well upon completion of the project in order to protect groundwater quality in Montgomery County.

The second unanimously passed amendment eliminates certain provisions that prohibited the utilization of groundwater produced from the Gulf Coast Aquifer in counties immediately adjacent to Montgomery County as an acceptable alternative water source to comply with the LSGCD’s regulatory system.

LSGCD’s next board meeting will be at 10 a.m. on Jan. 12. Visit www.LoneStarGCD.org for more information.

Notice of Public Hearing on Proposed Amendments to District Rules and District Regulatory Plan

The Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District's (LSGCD) Board of Directors will hold a public hearing, accept public comment, and may take action on proposed amendments to the District Rules and to Phase II(B) of the District Regulatory Plan (DRP) at a rulemaking hearing on Tuesday, December 8, 2015, at 10 a.m.  The public is welcome to attend the hearing and provide comment before the District Board.

The proposed amendments to the District Rules, including without limitation amendmentsto Phase II(B) of the District Regulatory Plan ("DRP"), include revisions regarding: (1) the creation of Temporary Permits for water wells used to supply water to construction projects or to supply water for the drilling of permanent wells and the establishment of requirements related to obtaining such permits; (2) the elimination of certain provisions prohibiting the utilization of groundwater produced from the Gulf Coast Aquifer in counties immediately adjacent to Montgomery County as an Alternative Water Source; and (3) a petition process to allow a landowner to petition the District for additional production authorization over and above that allowed under the DRP.

Click here to view the draft proposed amendments

You may also provide advance comment or ask questions by contacting General Manager Kathy Turner Jones at 936.494.3436 or by email at kjones@lonestargcd.org

GMA 14 Approves Proposed Desired Future Conditions ~ Seeking Public Comment

District representatives for the Groundwater Management Area 14 (GMA 14) at their last meeting approved proposed Desired Future Conditions (DFCs) for relevant aquifers located within GMA 14, and the group is now welcoming public comment.

Texas is divided into 16 Groundwater Management Areas (GMAs), and, on a five-year cycle, district representatives in each GMA are required to establish the DFCs for their area. A DFC is defined by the Texas Administrative Code as “the desired, quantified condition of groundwater resources (such as water levels, spring flows or volumes) within a management area at one or more specified future times as defined by participating groundwater conservation districts within a groundwater management area as part of the joint planning process.”

The Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District (LSGCD) is one of five groundwater conservation districts that make up GMA 14. At the last GMA 14 meeting on June 24, GMA 14 district representatives voted unanimously to approve proposed DFCs to present to the general public for comment. These proposed DFCs can be viewed here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/h5jipp0wsh4xoiu/AADoCxvuAQXk1fsiqX9oOeaNa?dl=0 The public comment period officially began Monday, July 6, and lasts for 90 days.

Toward the conclusion of this 90-day public comment period, the LSGCD will hold a public hearing to receive both written and oral comments on the proposed DFCs. After public comment has been received, each of the five groundwater conservation districts will compile a summary of relevant comments received and present this summary for consideration at the next GMA 14 meeting, which will be held October 28, 2015. The primary focus of this meeting will be to review the summary reports, including any suggestions for revisions to proposed DFCs.

Those wishing to provide comment on the proposed DFCs may do so via e-mail: kjones@lonestargcd.org, or via USPS: Attn: Kathy Turner Jones, General Manager, Lone Star GCD, 655 Conroe Park North Dr., Conroe, Texas 77303. For more information, call 936-494-3436.