Opposition to reservoir still strong

Marvin Nichols Reservoir is officially a part of the 2022 Texas State Water Plan, but the fight to stop the construction of the proposed reservoir is far from over. Those who have organized to oppose the construction of the mammoth 66,000-acre lake note that there is still plenty of time for them to be successful in their quest to keep it out of the Sulphur River Basin. Work is already underway in an effort to have the project removed from the 2027 State Water Plan.

Organizers held a strategy meeting in Cuthand, Texas recently to rally support for the opposition. Over 200 people filled the Cuthand United Methodist Church, where an array of speakers were present to provide information and answer questions. Cuthand will be one of the hardest-hit communities, with over 60 homes under water and 40 percent of the Cuthand ISD flooded and no longer in the tax base.

Janice Bezanson, the senior policy director for the Texas Conservation Alliance, spoke to the overflow crowd about the general scope of the project, including the size and the likely 200,000 acres plus that stand to be taken out of production and off the tax rolls when mitigation is added. Mitigation is a huge issue with the proposed lake, as experts have stated that there is likely not enough acreage left in all of the Sulphur River Basin to meet the mitigation requirements that could be handed down for the lake’s construction.

Bezanson also spoke about the multitude of alternatives available to Region C to void their need for the lake, including increased efforts toward municipal water recycling; increased conservation, especially reducing level of waste to water lawns, and obtaining water from other already available sources like Lake Texoma and Toledo Bend Reservoir.

Discussion also focused on the next task at hand for those who want the reservoir built, and that is the permitting process. They are two major permits that have to be acquired before the lake can be built and those are a state water rights permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the federal “404” permit administered by the US Army Corps of Engineers. The permitting process can be arduous and time consuming, or it could be fast tracked.

Section 404 of the Clean Waters Act clearly states that anyone applying for the 404 permit must show that steps have been taken to avoid impacts to wetlands, streams and other aquatic resources; that potential impacts have been minimized; and that compensation will be provided for all remaining unavoidable impacts.

That permit should be a hard task for those applying in that the Sulphur River Basin is known to be a endangered member of the type of pristine bottomland hardwoods habitat that is home there, and is also home to a myriad of endangered species.

A key element to the meeting in Cuthand was the emphasis placed on signing the petition on the Preserve Northeast Texas website, https://preservenortheasttexas.org, to help spread the word in communities throughout the region, and on contacting elected officials at all levels and asking them to speak out in opposition to Marvin Nichols Reservoir.

In that vein, a meeting of the Region D Water Planning Group is scheduled for August 4 at the Region 8 Education Service Center in Pittsburg.

Those in attendance will have the opportunity to sign up to speak on the record as to their personal thoughts on Northeast Texas water issues, including Marvin Nichols.

Citizens opposed to Marvin Nichols from all over the area are encouraged to attend the meeting and make their voice heard and to let state water planners know of their continued opposition to the reservoir.

Again, that meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, August 4, 2021 at the Region 8 Education Service Center in Pittsburg, starting at 10 a.m.