The Aquifer Protectors! From L to R, Eric Allmon (attorney for Environmental Stewardship), Michele Gangnes (pro bono attorney for landowners Meyer, Hanna and Brown), Andy Meyer (Paige landowner), Darwyn Hanna (Bastrop landowner), Ernie Bogart (pro bono attorney for landowners Meyer, Hanna and Brown), Betz Brown (Lee County landowner), Don Grissom (pro bono attorney for landowners Meyer, Hanna and Brown), Steve Box (Executive Director Environmental Stewardship)
Folks, yesterday’s hearing to determine whether landowners seeking party status (a voice) in the fight between Aqua Water Supply and EndOp, over EndOp’s 56,000-acre feet/year permit application for water from the Simsboro aquifer formation beneath us, was both fascinating and telling. EndOp attorneys, Russell Johnson (notorious gun-for-hire by the water speculators) and Stacy Reese, held us up ALL DAY with a “throw the kitchen sink” strategy in seeming attempt to rattle landowners. It didn’t work.
EndOp’s barrage of questions and miles of paperwork sought to narrow the parameters to granting party status to no one.
We won’t even try to guess how the Judge (Michael O’Malley) is going to rule. He stated that he hoped to rule by mid-September. He also guessed that the full hearing between Aqua Water and EndOp (hopefully to include those seeking party status) will likely be sometime in February. Once that hearing is held, SOAH will make a recommendation to the Lost Pines Groundwater Conservation District. It will be up to the Lost Pines GCD to decide whether to adopt the recommendation, reject it, or alter it.
We’ll let you know what happens — but make sure you get set to come to the first Independent Texans’ convention ever. It will be held at the Bastrop Convention Center on Saturday, September 21. Look for details in another article on this blog.
Stay tuned y’all!
PS A little birdie told us that Russ Johnson charges $450 per hour. With all that paper work, we can’t imagine what EndOp paid for the attempted robbery — robbing landowners and their heirs of what is rightfully their land and the water beneath them.
Comments and questions below are welcome!