The Land Report

Spring 2017

The Magazine of the American Landowner is an essential guide for investors, landowners, and those interested in buying or selling land. The award-winning quarterly is known for its annual survey of America's largest landowners, The Land Report 100.

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76 The LandReport | S P R I N G 2 0 1 7 LANDREPORT.COM I n 2006, NTMWD applied for a water rights permit for Lower Bois d'Arc Creek R eservoir. Texas Commission on Environ- mental Quality granted the permit in June 2015. Per the Clean Water Act, NTMWD also applied for Section 404 Environmental p ermit from the Army Corps of Engineers, and, in 2015, submitted a Draft Environmen- tal Impact Statement (DEIS) for evaluation and comment by the Environmental Protec- tion Agency and stakeholders. NTMWD had hoped to receive the Section 404 permit and begin construction in 2016. A coalition formed of Texas Conservation Alliance, Natural Resources Defense Council, Audubon Texas, Ward Timber Ltd., and Ward Timber Holdings found the DEIS inadequate and recommended the Corps deny the permit. Texas Parks & Wildlife Department and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and more importantly, the EPA, agreed. "This was one of the weakest environmen- tal assessments I've seen," says Janice Bezanson, longtime executive director of Texas Conservation Alliance. "There are lower-cost alternatives to the huge impacts of inundating over 16,000 acres, some of which is prime agricultural land and wildlife habitat. The permit requires that if there are viable alternatives, they must be evaluated. According to the DEIS, there are none. That's preposterous." The Environmental Protection Agency concurred. Regarding alternative analysis, an evaluation submitted to the Corps' Tulsa District Office on June 5, 2015, states, "[T]he Draft EIS does not study in detail a range of alternatives other than the project as proposed and the 'no-action' alternative." Chief among those possible alternatives is use of extra available water from Lake Texoma. Although the salinity of untreated Texoma water exceeds the allowable level for drinking water, possible solutions include dilution by mixing with less-saline water from other current sources and partial desalination by a membrane reverse osmosis system. The DEIS dismisses these options as impractical or unfeasible with little or no supporting analysis. Other shortcomings include lack of assess- ment of numerous wetland functions, insuffi- cient attention to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and an inadequate mitigation plan. The Corps agreed. A new DEIS is tentatively scheduled for release in September 2017. Stakes are high. Wrangling will continue. Urban business interests, water developers, and politicians make a utilitarian case for eminent domain. Their accounting involves population growth, economic growth, and of course, jobs. Planners estimate that failure to add to current water capacity could cost the region 373,000 jobs and $34 billion in 2070. They assure us that while they feel for the rural landowners, we must face reality and look to the future. The landowners will be fairly compensated, or at least compensated per the terms of eminent domain. Further- more, tourists, new residents, and businesses drawn by the new reservoir will make up for agricultural losses and the tens of thousands of acres taken from the local tax roll. To its credit, NTMWD plans to cover the estimated $1 billion cost of the Lower Bois d'Arc Creek Reservoir from its own revenues and has pledged to compensate taxing authorities that lose revenue due to reservoir construction until reservoir-related development balances lost agricultural property tax revenue. T here can be no doubt about the profit po- tential of the reservoir. Lower Bois d'Arc will b e the first of its kind in Texas – zoned before construction begins and perhaps even before all permits are acquired. The 82nd Texas Leg- islature passed Senate Bill 525, giving Fannin C ounty zoning authority within 5,000 feet of the shoreline of the reservoir at full capacity. Fannin County Judge Creta "Spanky" Carter chairs the zoning commission. "Overall, the local business community has been very supportive of the project," says Spanky. "There's a small group there that opposes the project, and I certainly under- stand. They've been out there forever, their families have been out there, and they don't want to sell their land. But most people know that over the long haul, the reservoir will be a positive asset for Fannin County." More specifically, NTMWD estimates that construction of the reservoir, pump station, water treatment facility, and 35 miles of pipeline will add $509 million into the Fannin County economy, and that the completed project will increase property tax revenue by $316 million. Perhaps. Yet Region C already has 24 reservoirs. All 24 compete for lake-related recreation dollars. How many boaters and anglers will forgo large, nearby reservoirs for a relatively small, shallow impoundment in Fannin County? Consider 19,305-acre Jim Chapman Lake (formerly Cooper Lake), which can be found on the South Sulphur River in Delta and Hopkins Counties. Completed in 1991, Chapman Lake provides water storage for the same water district that includes Bois d'Arc Creek. Yet, despite the popularity of Cooper Lake State Park, the little town of Cooper just north of the lake has seen a steady decline in population since 2000. The median household income of $26,643 hardly reflects a boom. Like the water pumped out of Chapman Lake, nearly all of the wealth flows west to Dallas's suburbs. N TMWD hopes to receive its environ- mental permit in early 2018 and has vowed to start work on the reservoir the very next day. In the meantime, Thump Witcher and his neighbors are girding for the next round. "They came in here and told people that this thing is a done deal, that it can't be stopped," he says. "Told them that if they wait until the end, they'll get less money. Scared a bunch of people. Not me. They hate my guts." "This was one of the weakest environmental assessments I've seen. There are lower-cost alternatives to the huge impacts of inundating over 16,000 acres, some of which is prime agricultural land and wildlife habitat. The permit requires that if there are viable alternatives, they must be evaluated. According to the DEIS, there are none. That's preposterous." — Janice Bezanson, Texas Conservation Alliance

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