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Toledo Bend Bi-State Alliance
Minutes May 13, 2002
The meeting was called to order by Larry Kelly.
J.B. Meyers lead the group in the opening prayer.
Joe Goodson asked members and visitors in attendance to introduce themselves.
Minutes of the April 22, 2002 meeting were approved as read.
Janna Lehman presented the treasurer's report. There are currently 16 organization and 12 associate members. The current balance is $1,809.52 plus the funds collected tonight.
Motion was made, seconded and approved to accept the treasurer's report.
Old Business:
DEDTA Report: Charles English
There were three items addressed at the last DEDTA meeting: 1) The establishment of a task force on economic growth with the idea in mind to study retirees as an excellent source of income. Charles English was asked to chair the committee for studying retirees in East Texas.
2) Two meetings on Economic Development have been announced. One meeting will be at Lamar University and the other will be in the SFA Ballroom in Nacogdoches at 2 p.m. on 5/21/02. 3) The last item discussed was Texas Tourism. Tourism brought in $44, 000 last year and is growing every year. There were 9 counties in East Texas that showed an increase and 3 counties that did not. Those 3 counties were on Toledo Bend Reservoir. It was noted that one reason for less tourism on Toledo Bend is the amount of shoreline that is part of the U.S. Forest Service. The improvement project of the El Camino Real (Old Spanish Trail) that is to span from Natchez, MS to the Texas Valley
would mean a lot to Sabine Parish and Sabine County.
East Texas Regional Water Planning Committee report: Bill Heugel
Bill did attend the meeting. Water requirements for the areas below the dam were discussed with regard to the Spring rains. Texas Parks and Wildlife is studying the area, but there is no final plan yet.
Collaborative effort: Larry Kelly
The Collaborative Effort collapsed after the April 23 rd. meeting, as there was no tentative agreement reached.
New Business: Larry Kelly
Larry passed out a paper outlining the chronology of the efforts to affect a new operating guide for Toledo Bend Reservoir.
Four topics for discussion concerning the Lake Level were outlined:
FERC- The FERC still has our request to open the license agreement. The FERC has 6 months to reply. Larry emphasized the need for a Letter Writing Campaign to the FERC and passed out a sample letter for individual use. Joe Goodson said we should send one letter for each subject: 1) Re-opening the license and 2) Not changing the Pool Level of the Reservoir to any level below 172' msl. We should encourage our neighbors, merchants, and organizations to write letters to Local, State, and Federal Elected Officials seeking support to get the FERC to open the license for SRA dam operation.
Jerry Cowgill suggested finding a letter regarding the old Pendleton Bridge and see what water level was stated at that time. Setting the full pool water level below 172 msl would be devastating to people and businesses above the dam. Criteria for operating the dam must be looked at from all aspects.
Legal Action- Whether legal action might be appropriate for TBBSA was discussed. Larry reminded the group that the By-Laws of TBBSA require that the suggestions be taken back to the individual organizations before action can be taken. Mr. Chuck Soileau, an attorney from Many, LA., explained about the pending law suits from LA residents below the dam, the need to watch to see how they proceed and whether or not they are dismissed. An "Amicus Brief" maybe filed by anyone now on suits under appeal right now.
Janna moved monies (for a legal fund) be set aside to support the filing of an "Amicus Brief" to oppose the court decision of lawsuits below the dam. Members should bring their organization's permission back to the next TBBSA meeting, June 24th.
Legislative Intervention- Larry said we need to look at intervention via legislation to stop the sale of water for power generation when the level of the reservoir is drawn down below 168 msl. Legislators might be convinced to look at setting aside a Wild Life Preserve or a flood plain. Bill Huegel mentioned that very thing is happening now below the Trinity River, citing the ruling of the Supreme Court on the taking of land.
State & Federal Support- State and Federal support is needed for possible solutions to the down-river issues. Larry will be attending a meeting of the House Commerce Committee tomorrow in Baton Rouge, LA. Testimony concerning the HSR6 Bill will be heard and Larry will be giving a presentation and giving hand-outs concerning efforts made by concerned parties on resolving the lake level issue.
Joe Goodson said that he will now be able to write articles in the Beaumont Enterprise concerning our efforts.
Approval of New Members: Three new associate memberships were approved by the TBBSA.
Approval for Payment of Bills: Payment was approved for $167.10 to Larry Kelly for printing and postal services.
The next meeting of the TBBSA will be June 24, 2002.
Meeting adjourned.
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