Overflow Energy

COMMUNITY SERVICE While saltwater disposal wells are ubiquitous in the Texas Panhandle, our curiosity was piqued when Overflow Energy LLC published its notice of intent for one disposal well in the regional daily Amarillo Globe-News, instead of the newspaper of record for Canadian and Hemphill County, The Canadian Record.

We looked closer, and realized that the location of the proposed injection well was just beyond the north edge of Canadian at the congested intersections of Highways 60/83 and Lake Marvin Road, situated perilously atop the shallow water table of the Ogallala aquifer and on the edge of the Canadian River. That’s when we realized that Overflow owner Duwane Skipper’s real intent was to actually avoid the attention of the affected public by publishing his notice in a newspaper 100 miles away. So we decided to make sure our readers got the notice they deserved and which the law intended.

That was in January 2014. Since then, The Record has published dozens of stories about Overflow’s plans, including maps and aerial photos of the site, as well as a series of editorials critical of the company’s poor choice of locations and its attempt to undermine both the intent and spirit of public notice laws. We have also encouraged our local effected officials to challenge Overflow’s permit applications with the Railroad Commission, and to write letters to TxDOT expressing their concern for the impact of that heavy industrial site and the resulting influx of traffic on an intersection that has already seen more than its share of accidents.

By November of 2014, Mr. Skipper had abandoned the first site—which had already drawn formal protests from affected landowners, and from the county commission, economic development council and groundwater conservation district board—and chosen a different one directly across the highway, closer to the intersection of US 60 and 83, and closer to the river.

That decision prompted another editorial in the November 13, 2014, edition of The Record, headlined: “Why did Overflow cross the road?”

Despite the growing coalition of individuals and organization protesting Overflow’s application, Canadian’s City Council opted not to join the fight. We covered the meeting in which the issue was discussed, reporting comments like these from our council members: “I’m not concerned about water quality,” said one. “I don’t like it when this entity imposes its feelings of the day on other property owners,” said another.

In an interview with the groundwater district general manager, she explained her concerns about the vulnerability of the shallow water table and the river to a saltwater disposal well, and its potential impact on the city’s water supply. “You could go pour Kool-Aid on the river banks and probably, within a short period of time, see it infiltrate and make its way into the river’s waters,” she said, in part.

In 2015, we continued to report on the issue. In January, the RRC refused Overflow’s permit request. Mr. Skipper requested that it go to a contested case hearing. Both the water district and the landowners’ group hired attorneys. In June 2015, heavy rainfall in the Texas Panhandle filled area creeks and the Canadian River overflowed its banks for the first time in 74 years, heightening the community’s concerns about the potential for contamination from a saltwater disposal well located within the river’s floodplain.

In December 2015, Guthrie asked to be placed on the city council agenda to request that they join the effort to block Overflow’s permit for the well, and to present information she had compiled in support of her plea. The mayor refused her request to be heard.

A couple of weeks later, an editorial titled, “Heads in the sand,” called the public’s attention

once again to the issue, and to the denial of the groundwater district general manager’s request to be heard. The community’s response was swift, and fierce. Two council members were in my office by the end of publication day, saying they were unaware of Guthrie’s request and mad as hell about it.

In January 2016, a divided council approved the submission of a protest letter to TxDOT over the Overflow site, expressing its concern for the public’s safety. It was the final straw. On February 24, 2016, Overflow officially withdrew its permit application for the Canadian North saltwater disposal well, ending the two-year-old battle.

2

THE CANADIAN RECORD

THURSDAY 16 JANUARY 2014

What is our water future?

The Canadian

RECORD ESTABLISHED 1893 INCORPORATED FEBRUARY 1998 PO Box 898, Canadian, TX 79014 Phone: 806.323.6461 Fax: 806.323.5738 BEN EZZELL Editor/Publisher 1948-1993

NANCY EZZELL Editor/Publisher 1948-2010

LAURIE EZZELL BROWN

Editor & Publisher laurie@canadianrecord.com

Business Manager Mary Smithee mary@canadianrecord.com

Advertising Ray Weeks, Jaquita Adcock ray@canadianrecord.com

News Editor Cathy Ricketts cathy@canadianrecord.com

Sports Editor Antonio Morales antonio@canadianrecord.com

DESIGN & PRODUCTION Laurie Brown, Cathy Ricketts, Ray Weeks, Antonio Morales PHOTOGRAPHY Laurie Brown, Cathy Ricketts, Alan Hale, Antonio Morales CONTRIBUTORS: Mary Jane McKinney, Bob Rogers, Cheri Smith

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By Laurie Ezzell Brown

EDITOR’S NOTE: Overflow Energy LLC of Booker and its owner Duwane Skipper are intent on circumventing the public notice process. They have routinely published notices of applications to locate saltwater disposal wells in Hemphill County—not in the county’s well-read local newspaper, The Canadian Record, as public notice law intends, but in the Amarillo Globe News.

Two of those notices, in particular, were of great interest to this editor, who hoped to make the public aware that the locations chosen for the disposal wells are in highlycongested areas along the highway, and that the addition of heavy trucks coming and going from the site would pose a grave and unacceptable public danger on our alreadydangerous highways.

The first time Overflow bypassed publishing its notice in The Canadian Record was in 2011, when they were applying for a permit to locate a disposal well at the dangerous and already heavily traveled intersection of Highways 33 and 83, adjacent to Vaca Corrales Feedyard. We felt fairly certain that, had that information been published here, and had attention been called to its unfortunate location, more than a few Hemphill County residents would have responded and stated their objections.

The second time occurred on December 22, 2013, just before the busy Christmas holiday, when Overflow published a notice of its application for a saltwater disposal well permit to be located “2 miles northeast of Canadian, Texas, in the Canadian, NE (Douglas) Field in Hemphill County Texas.” Translated for public consumption, that means that the new saltwater disposal well, if approved, would be located behind Canadian Redi-Mix on US 83 north of town.

We do not know yet where Overflow will propose access points be located—whether

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NON-KOSHER...CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

IN A REPORT ISSUED this week, Texas Comptroller Susan Combs examined the effects of the water challenges facing our state and offering her recommendations to the Legislature to help stretch existing supplies further. According to a Texas Water Development Board report issued last May, groundwater levels in Texas’ major aquifers dropped substantially from 2010 to 2011 as the drought intensified—including “significant declines” in the Ogallala Aquifer, which underlies much of the Panhandle and is the main source of groundwater for Hemphill County. The situation is grim throughout Texas, where 99 percent of the state is abnormally dry or worse, with 10 percent experiencing exceptional drought.

The water well that serves the tiny West Texas community of Barnhart, near San Angelo, has gone dry. Ranchers have dumped their herds. Farmers have lost their crops. Residents are being forced to water ration. The debate rages over whether the disappearance of water is due to heavy use of water by oil and gas companies in the fracking process, or to heavy agricultural water usage, or to the fact that Barnhart is located in the middle of the West Texas desert in a state that has suffered from near-record drought for the last five years. Regardless, a natural resource essential to life has been depleted, and the town of Barnhart may dry up and die as well.

According to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), thirty other communities are running out of water, too, and nearly 15 million Texans are living under some form of water rationing. The purpose of reporting this isn’t to frighten you or to make you lose hope. It is meant to make us be smarter about water and to make us care about and participate in the decisions that will guide this county’s water future.

Against this backdrop of drought and decline, the Hemphill County Underground Water Conservation District board is seeking the public’s help to determine this county’s water future. It has called two public hearings to be held next week— the first on Tuesday, January 21, at 1:30 pm, and the second on Thursday, January 23, at 6:30 pm—to receive public input on this district’s proposed DFC, or desired future conditions, for the groundwater in storage in this part of the Ogallala.

According to state water law, the water district must review its water conservation goal every year, monitoring it to determine whether the amount of water remaining in storage meets its current DFC, a goal of 80 percent in 50 years—a relatively conservative goal when compared with those adopted by its partners in the 18-county Groundwater Management Area 1.

Every five years, the district must adopt a new DFC—a decision in which public involvement is essential. The new proposed DFC could either remain the same or could instead be lowered to only 60 or 70 percent of water remaining in storage over the next 50 years.

That decision will hinge on what the public tells water district board members in next week’s hearings. The law is complex, but the question before this community is really very simple: How much water do you want left in 50 years and what do you consider an acceptable rate of decline?

Although the question is simple, there are several things that must be considered in determining an answer: •Water usage has doubled in Hemphill County since the 80/50 DFC was established four years ago, due in part to the drought which creates greater demand, and in part to the effects of population and industrial growth. How much water in storage should this district allocate in its DFC to accommodate growth and provide for future demand?

•The groundwater depletion rate in neighboring districts in GMA1 is far greater than Hemphill County has experienced.

FIELD NOTES...CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

THE CANADIAN RECORD

THURSDAY 16 JANUARY 2014

3

NON-KOSHER...CONTINUED those trucks will be entering and leaving the site from the highway or from Lake Marvin Road. What we do know, and what the map provided by the Hemphill County Underground Water District clearly shows, is the proposed location is the point where a lot of traffic coming from a lot of places suddenly converges.

On the south side of the railroad overpass, we have traffic coming from the Canadian River Bridge on US 60/83, from the old walking bridge, and from Lake Marvin Road. On the north side of the overpass, we have traffic coming and going from the Oasis Truck Stop and from the Y intersection where Highways 60 and 83 diverge.

As it now stands, it is congested and confusing on a slow day. But there are no slow days.

The editorial below was first published in the September 22, 2011, edition of The Record after we learned of Overflow’s attempt to evade any notice of what they knew would be a controversial location. When we reviewed it in preparation for writing a new editorial castigating Mr. Skipper, we realized that there was very little we would change.

Therefore, we are publishing it again, with minor editorial changes to reflect the location of the now-proposed saltwater disposal well.

OVERFLOW’S PUBLIC NOTICE...TO THE WRONG PUBLIC

FIELD NOTES...CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 Their estimates of available water in storage will affect this district. In a shared aquifer, the water has to come from somewhere.

•There is a push for standardization of DFCs in the Texas Legislature. Local control may be the victim of that effort.

Hemphill County residents must weigh their desire to conserve water in storage with their preference to maintain a local board whose rules manage groundwater and its rate of depletion. How different should Hemphill County be from its other partners in GMA1, given the ever-present dual threats of standardization and loss of local control?

While we are not all landowners, nor are we all water rights holders, we are all stakeholders in the water planning process, and each of us has a voice. We owe it to ourselves and to our community to consider what our future will be and to help answer that one simple question.

A NEW SALTWATER DISPOSAL well site has been proposed for construction in Hemphill County. That is not news. What is news—not particularly good news, mind you, and certainly not well-known news—is the proposed location of that well site at the intersection of US 60/83 and Lake Marvin Roads two miles north of Canadian.

If you’ve driven north on US 60/83 lately, you’ve probably noticed the tangle of traffic as it converges there, and you may even have wondered who actually commands the right-of-way as trucks and cars enter the traffic flow from numerous directions.

What you probably do not know is that the public comment period for this this saltwater disposal well permit has already passed. It is an an application process that is normally public and reasonably transparent, but which in this case evaded this community’s scrutiny by means that we can only assume were at best dishonest, and at worst, deceptive and devious.

Public notice is a requirement of the Texas Administrative Code, Title 16, Part 1, Chapter 3, Rule 3.9 which presumes that the public which might be adversely affected by installation of a saltwater disposal well has a right to know about it, and to comment on or protest its permit application if the situation warrants.

But Overflow Energy and its principals must have suspected that this particular application for this particular well site at this particular location might not be well-received by a public that is increasingly troubled by the amount of traffic on area roads, and by the increasing number of accidents have occurred and the number of lives that have been taken. They might even have suspected that the public would prefer not to see an even greater increase in the volume of heavy truck traffic that such a facility can be expected to generate at this intersection.

Of course, we’re only speculating as to what Overflow Energy was thinking, because the company and its principals chose not to publish the required public notice in The Canadian Record—indisputably “the newspaper of general circulation for the county where the well will be located,” as specified in the aforementioned rule. Instead, Overflow Energy’s less-than-public notice was published in the Amarillo Globe-News, well below the radar of the concerned public. It was also out of sight of Hemphill County Underground Water Conservation District manager and this editor, both of whom fully intended to alert the public to the notice when it appeared in these pages.

Lest we be misunderstood, we sure don’t begrudge the Globe-News the advertising, for which we are certain Overflow Energy paid a far prettier penny than they would have in this newspaper, but the public notice failed to meet the law’s requirements.

It’s not like Overflow Energy and its principals do not know better. Similar permit applications for commercial disposal wells in Lipscomb County have been appropriately published in The Booker News—“the newspaper of general circulation for the county where the well will be located.” As intended, some of those notices have elicited protests from those affected by the disposal site. And while those protests rarely yield any results, at least the public knew, responded, and was heard—and their protests are part of the public record.

The public in Hemphill County was denied that opportunity, and should be incensed

by Overflow Energy’s apparent attempts to slip one by them. In this case, the result may well be a fatal one. This is an excellent argument for public notice and transparency, and one which the public should find compelling given its potential to do greater harm.

We hope you are as outraged as we are by Overflow’s attempt to deny the affected public its opportunity to comment on his application, and by the very real threat this well’s location represents to highway safety. We also hope that you will join us in asking TxDOT Area Engineer Kenneth Corse and his agency to deny the company access to either Lake Marvin Road or US 60/83 due to public safety concerns (Kenneth Corse, PO Box 1136, Pampa, TX 79066, kenneth.corse@txdot.gov, 806.665.2374).

MEMBERSHIPS National Newspaper Association Texas Press Association West Texas Press Association Panhandle Press Association Society of Professional Journalists International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors OUR POLICY LETTERS TO THE EDITOR are always welcome, and will be published if they are signed and cannot be considered libelous.

We will not publish anonymous letters under any circumstance.

All letters must be accompanied by a phone number for verification purposes.

Letters may be edited for length.

Each letter should be received in our office no later than Wednesday noon for publication in that week’s newspaper.

PLEASE DIRECT LETTERS TO: The Canadian Record P.O. Box 898, Canadian, TX 79014 (806)323-5738 (Fax), or editor@canadianrecord.com ALL E-MAILS ACKNOWLEDGED UPON RECEIPT

2

THE CANADIAN RECORD

THURSDAY 23 JANUARY 2014

The Canadian

RECORD ESTABLISHED 1893 INCORPORATED FEBRUARY 1998 PO Box 898, Canadian, TX 79014 Phone: 806.323.6461 Fax: 806.323.5738 BEN EZZELL Editor/Publisher 1948-1993

NANCY EZZELL Editor/Publisher 1948-2010

LAURIE EZZELL BROWN

Editor & Publisher laurie@canadianrecord.com

Business Manager Mary Smithee mary@canadianrecord.com

Advertising Ray Weeks, Jaquita Adcock ray@canadianrecord.com

News Editor Cathy Ricketts cathy@canadianrecord.com

Sports Editor Antonio Morales antonio@canadianrecord.com

DESIGN & PRODUCTION Laurie Brown, Cathy Ricketts, Ray Weeks, Antonio Morales PHOTOGRAPHY Laurie Brown, Cathy Ricketts, Alan Hale, Antonio Morales CONTRIBUTORS: Mary Jane McKinney, Bob Rogers, Cheri Smith

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by Laurie Ezzell Brown POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Canadian Record, PO Box 898, 211 Main St., Canadian, TX 79014

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BY LAURIE EZZELL BROWN

OVERFLOW ENERGY LLC’S notice of intent to locate a saltwater disposal well on the north end of Canadian at the congested intersections of Highways 60/83 and Lake Marvin Road may have gotten a bit more notice than the Booker company really intended last week. Our comments on their dodgy attempts to circumvent the true spirit of public notice law (as they have done before) by publishing their notice in the Amarillo Globe-News instead of in The Canadian Record—which is indisputably the newspaper of record in Hemphill County—raised a little more dander than just ours, and incited several readers to promise they intended to write letters in protest.

We took advantage of our attendance at the Hemphill County Underground Water Conservation District’s public hearing and business meeting this week to ask a few more questions of General Manager Janet Guthrie— questions about the RRC permitting process, in general, and about Overflow Energy’s permit application, in particular.

Yesterday, we received Guthrie’s written response to our questions, along with a few others she thought might come up. As it turns out, it’s not too late to file a protest with the RRC over the saltwater disposal well permit itself, which would certainly be appropriate given the location’s direct proximity to the Canadian River and to several private water wells in the area, and given the fact that it would be sitting right smack dab on top of the water table.

Here is Guthrie’s response: To address your questions regarding the opportunity to protest a saltwater disposal well permit application with the Texas Railroad Commission, I have confirmed the following information: 1. The deadline to file a protest is any time prior to the actual issuance of the permit. This allows the RRC staff to consider the issues being presented and consider if they have the jurisdiction to address the area of concern and make special provisions/conditions to this particular disposal.

2. A copy of the protest could also be sent to the Pampa field office as

they are familiar with the area, operator and field conditions that might warrant additional review or considerations 3. Protests can be withdrawn with a “Waiver of Protest with special conditions.” This is what we do when they agree to the water quality testing.

4. Protests can be withdrawn with a “Conditional Waiver of Protest.”

The terms and conditions must be in writing for the RRC to be able to enforce them and a signed agreement with the operator might be more binding, but I am not a lawyer.

5. A protest will delay the issuance of the permit but may not stop the issuance of the permit.

6. If a protest is not resolved by the time the permit application is administratively and technically complete, then the operator can request a contested case hearing.

7. At these hearings, the protester will need to present evidence regarding the basis of the protest. The hearings examiner will review all evidence submitted in an Examiner’s Report and Proposal for Decision which will contain the examiner’s recommendation for action. They may recommend denial, amendment to staff’s draft permit or issuance of the permit as drafted. Then the RRC Commissioners must take action on the item.

In regards to the Overflow Energy, LLC Canadian SWD Lease Well Number 1, the comment/protest period is still open. As of 9:20 am (on Wednesday), they have not received an application nor have they issued a permit.

Many times the operators will work with the individuals to address concerns, however the agreement needs to be in writing and filed with the RRC even if it is over an entrance location. The Hemphill County UWCD has protested this disposal application.

In regards to Notice Requirements, the RRC criteria is that a copy of the notice as published must have an attached affidavit from the newspaper stating they are a newspaper of general circulation in the County in which the disposal well will be located. They do not require (at this time) for the notice to be published in the local newspaper.

All other operators, who are publishing notices, have published them in The Canadian Record. They only have to publish the notice once, and yes, it could be published in the Sunday edition of the Amarillo Globe News which would require an interested reader to have a subscription to the Sunday edition.

Commercial disposal well owners must also notify adjacent landowners. For example, if an operator leases 5 acres out of a 15-acre tract, an adjacent landowner is any tract that touches the 15-acre tract (not just the leased acres within a tract). Corners will count for providing notice under this rule.

The RRC has provided a link to frequently-asked questions about saltwater disposal wells on its website at http://www.rrc.state.tx.us/about/faqs/ saltwaterwells.php. We are happy to assist anyone in locating this information or to provide them with a paper copy.

Last week, we suggested that in lieu of the opportunity to protest the actual permit application, those concerned about the disposal well location could write letters or emails to TxDOT Area Engineer Kenny Corse (PO Box 1136, Pampa, TX 79055, kenneth.corse@txdot.gov) to protest its location and the addition of more heavy truck traffic to that particular intersection.

In light of Guthrie’s helpful answers to our questions, we would also suggest that concerned residents of this community write a letter to the Texas Railroad Commission protesting the permit application based on its proximity to the Canadian River, to private water wells, and to the water table.

Those letters may be submitted to the Environmental Services Section, Oil and Gas Division, Railroad Commission of Texas, PO Box 12967, Austin, TX 78711 (512.463.6792).

For those unsure of how to state their objections to the well, Guthrie and her staff are knowledgeable about the protest process and are willing to assist any citizen who needs help with the appropriate terminology or who has other questions about how to file a protest. She can be reached at Hemphill County UWCD, 906 S. 2nd Street, P.O. Box 1142, Canadian, TX 79014, 806.323.8350.

In closing: It seems, these days, that there is so much wrong that we feel utterly powerless to fix. This is not one of those things. Both the safety of our water and of our highways are life and death matters, and it is within our power to state our concerns clearly and forcefully when they are threatened.

NEWS PAGE

THE CANADIAN RECORD

COUNTY

THURSDAY 17 JULY 2014

5

NOTES

Commissioners nix location of DPS scale system, go back to drawing board In a June 30 meeting, commissioners rejected the only bid received for purchase of a new DPS scale system for commercial trucks, agreeing that the proposed location of the inspection center west of US 60/83 near the Exhibition Center would create an unnecessary traffic safety hazard and that the roads that would provide access to and from the facility were inadequate for that purpose. Judge Briant agreed to talk to TxDOT Area Engineer Kenny Corse about other possible locations for the scales that might minimize safety risks. Sheriff Morse Burroughs again suggested that the court consider a location near the US 60/83 Y south of Canadian, but Commissioner-elect Nick Thomas spoke from the audience, saying the area is “pretty congested,” and adding, “Every morning, when I come to work, there are a lot of trucks there. It’s certainly a busy, busy intersection…especially on SH 33 and US 60. They sure take an influx of traffic.” Thomas added, “I just don’t know that the benefits outweigh the potential risks involved.” The court agreed to reject the sole bid submitted for the scales by Rusty’s Weigh Scale Service based on the proposed location.

Court considers replacement of Canadian River Walking Bridge planks Aware of the worn and, in some cases, dangerous condition of the 14-year-old wooden planks on the Canadian River Walking Bridge, commissioners considered several manmade materials as more long-lasting options for resurfacing the popular destination spot.

Fiberglass, steel, concrete and aluminum grading systems were all mentioned as having a longer and more maintenance-free lifespan, with consideration given to the aesthetic appeal of lumber. Though no conclusions were reached or action taken, the court agreed that the bridge planking should be replaced, and that costs for that project should be factored into the budget-planning process which is already underway. “Am I hearing you say that we should start moving on this in the next six months or a year?” Briant asked, to which the response was unanimous assent.

Commissioners award split bids for road construction materials In other business, the court awarded bids for base road construction material to be used in conjunction with county road repairs funded under TxDOT’s energy sector transportation grant program. Bids were submitted by B&B Solvent and S&P Aggregates—both of which were disqualified because no bid bond was provided—and Galmor Inc. and 412 White Rock. After factoring in transportation costs, based on the location of the material, Judge Briant reported that the bid totals were surprisingly close, with White Rock’s only 1.5-cents/ton higher. With the consent of the two company representatives, the court decided to split the bid, awarding roughly 75 percent to Galmor and the remainder to White Rock, taking into consideration proximity of each source to the roads which will be under construction in different phases of the project.

Work begins on new soccer field at county recreation facility Commissioner Lynard Schafer has taken charge of improvements to an area in the county recreation complex that will be used, in part, as a soccer field. Schafer reported this week that crews had already hauled about half of the dirt needed to level the area in preparation for installation of new sod, a pod irrigation system and fencing. He said an earlier plan to install a drip irrigation system was abandoned when it was determined that the shallow lines would be vulnerable to damage from stakes being driven into the ground when the area is used for events like the music festival and rodeo concerts. The request for a soccer field that would conform to competition requirements was made by representatives of the Canadian Football League, who said the improvements would enable them to schedule league games and tournaments here in Canadian.

Airport reconstruction project revised Commissioners authorized changes to the $4.27 million project to improve pavement, lighting and signage at Hemphill County Airport Monday, agreeing to recommendations by the contractor that the parking area and taxiways should be replaced rather than repaired.

The revision in the plan was not unexpected, and will not add to the county’s share of costs for the project. Judge Briant said that in the process of milling those surfaces for repairs, the contractor determined the base was not sufficient and would have to be replaced. “The milling machine just fell through,” Briant said. “TxDOT plans to take it all off and put it in right.” Briant said there were adequate contingency funds in the budget to pay for the work.

“The only downside is that the airport will be down longer,” he added. The court agreed, and also authorized the replacement of asphalt in the area where several hangars were damaged or destroyed by the 115 mph winds and microburst that struck the airport on June 6.

Commissioners protest Overflow well site On June 30, commissioners agreed in a 3-0 vote, with Coleman Bartlett abstaining, to send a letter to the Railroad Commission protesting location of a saltwater disposal well at the intersection of US 60/83 and FM 2266 (Lake Marvin Road). The letter, drafted by Judge Briant, stated the court’s objection to the site, saying, “This is a dangerous intersection, and the additional truck traffic and congestion will only serve to threaten the safety of our citizens and visitors to Hemphill County. The proposed site is located only a few hundred feet from the Canadian River and the water table is very shallow in this area. It would not appear that the potential environmental hazards associated with this location could be adequately mitigated due to its close proximity to the river and the shallow water table.” In a previous meeting, commissioners approved sending a protest letter to TxDOT, asking that the agency deny access to the location due to the safety issues. The aerial photo above, taken on a quiet Sunday morning following the June 6 windstorms, shows the convergence of four highways near the proposed Overflow well site.

PHOTO BY LAURIE EZZELL BROWN

2

THURSDAY 13 NOVEMBER 2014

Why did Overflow cross the road?

By Record Editor/Publisher Laurie Ezzell Brown

The Canadian

RECORD ESTABLISHED 1893 INCORPORATED FEBRUARY 1998 PO Box 898, Canadian, TX 79014 Phone: 806.323.6461 Fax: 806.323.5738 BEN EZZELL Editor/Publisher 1948-1993

NANCY EZZELL Editor/Publisher 1948-2010

LAURIE EZZELL BROWN Editor & Publisher laurie@canadianrecord.com

Business Manager Mary Smithee mary@canadianrecord.com

Advertising Ray Weeks, Jaquita Adcock ray@canadianrecord.com

News Editor Cathy Ricketts cathy@canadianrecord.com

Sports Editor Antonio Morales antonio@canadianrecord.com

Record Intern Benjamin Antillon DESIGN & PRODUCTION Laurie Brown, Cathy Ricketts, Ray Weeks, Antonio Morales PHOTOGRAPHY Laurie Brown, Cathy Ricketts, Alan Hale, Antonio Morales CONTRIBUTORS: Mary Jane McKinney, Bob Rogers, Cheri Smith

USPS 087-960 Periodicals postage paid at the Post Office in Canadian (Hemphill Co.), TX. Published weekly in Canadian

by Laurie Ezzell Brown POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Canadian Record, PO Box 898, 211 Main St., Canadian, TX 79014

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WHEN OVERFLOW ENERGY LLC withdrew a permit application this summer to place a saltwater disposal well site in the flood plain of the Canadian River, we were tempted to believe that the company had learned something.

Maybe, just maybe, we thought, they understood how much this community cares about preserving not only its natural resources, but also its scenic beauty, as exemplified by the Canadian River, its wetlands and walking bridge, and Lake Marvin Road. Maybe, just maybe, we thought, they had heard and grasped this community’s concerns about the impact so much heavy truck traffic would have on the tangle of busy roadways that converges just north of the Canadian River bridge.

We were further heartened by the company’s commitment to begin publishing the required legal notices for those permit applications in the newspaper of record in Hemphill County, which is and has been The Canadian Record for more decades than we can count. That, too, was the right thing to do, and is laudable for its nod to the importance of public transparency.

Maybe, just maybe, Overflow Energy had done the right thing just because it was right—not because it was either convenient or profitable.

But our warm and fuzzy feelings for Overflow’s exhibit of community consciousness died a cold, hard death last week when we realized that its new permit application was nothing but a wolf in sheep’s clothing. In that document, the proposed saltwater disposal well site is once again located in direct proximity to the Canadian River, where it poses grave potential harm to the shallow water table. And although the location has been moved to the other side of US 60/83 and just north of the railroad underpass, the heavy truck traffic that it will attract will still enter and exit the same major highway, vying for the right-of-way at the same busy intersection near the Oasis Truck Stop, and presenting the same—if not even greater—danger to public safety.

There is no apparent rhyme or reason for Overflow’s decision to cross the road, nor is there any way to justify the company’s obvious disregard for the community’s concerns.

But if their hope is to wear us down, or make us lose interest in yet another bureaucratic battle with the Texas Railroad Commission, it is badly misplaced.

Overflow’s neighbors along the Canadian River are writing new protest letters. County commissioners have called a special meeting today to consider sending a letter protesting the new proposal. The Hemphill County Underground Water Conservation District has already filed its protest with the RRC, and raised the ante this week by vowing not to settle. Instead, the water district board intends to commit its resources to preparing a technical review of the permit application and bringing to light the potential problems it poses. That information will prove invaluable to landowners and other stakeholders who intend to take their fight against Overflow’s plans to the RRC. One thing should be perfectly clear by now. We are all stakeholders in the effort to preserve water quality in Hemphill County, and in the battle to make our highways safer. We should all be concerned about needless threats to either one.

There is no time to waste.

Sit down today and write a letter to the Environmental Services Section, Oil and Gas Division, Railroad Commission of Texas, PO Box 12967, Austin, TX 78711. State your concern for the potential threat Overflow Energy LLC’s Canadian North saltwater disposal well poses to our shallow water table in the proposed location on the Canadian River.

Write another letter to TxDOT Area Engineer Kenny Corse, PO Box 1136, Pampa, TX 79055 (or email kenneth.corse@txdot.gov. State your concern for the potential threat Overflow Energy LLC’s Canadian North saltwater disposal well, and the heavy truck traffic it will attract, pose to highways near its proposed location at the busy intersection of US 60 and 83 north of Canadian.

Call your county commissioner and urge his action. Call your city council member and urge his or her immediate attention. Call your water district representative and commend their efforts to protect our water. Call your friends and urge them to do the same.

If Overflow won’t do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do, you can.

THE CANADIAN RECORD

State Capital Highlights

By Ed Sterling TEXAS PRESS ASSOCIATION

Abbott, Patrick win top posts as Republicans dominate AUSTIN—Winners in the Nov. 4 general election on the whole proved that incumbency and/or running as a Republican continue to be assets when Texas voters hit the polls. Democrats Wendy Davis and Leticia Van de Putte lost by wide margins to Republicans Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick for the offices of governor and lieutenant governor, respectively.

In the Abbott-Davis race, the spread was 20 points: 59 to 39 percent. Similarly, the spread in the Patrick-Van de Putte race was 19 points: 58 to 39 percent. Incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, rebuffed Democratic challenger David Alameel, a Dallas businessman, by a 27 percent margin or 2.85 million votes to Alameel’s 1.59 million.

Incumbents, regardless of party, exacted a near sweep in races for congressional seats. The exception was incumbent freshman U.S. Rep. Pete P. Gallego, D-Alpine, who lost massive Congressional District 23 stretching from El Paso to San Antonio by two percentage points (about 2,500 votes) to Republican Will Hurd of San Antonio.

Republicans to head agencies In the races to head state agencies, Republican state Sen. Ken Paxton of McKinney was elected attorney general, to replace Greg Abbott as the state’s chief law enforcement officer. Paxton, of McKinney, received nearly 59 percent of the vote to Democratic challenger Sam Houston of Houston, who received 38 percent.

Farmer and Republican state Sen. Glenn Hegar of Katy in the race to succeed Texas Comptroller Susan Combs, beat Houston-area accountant and Democrat Mike Collier by a margin of 20 points: 58 percent to 38 percent.

Republican Fort Worth attorney George P. Bush in the race to succeed Jerry Patterson as land commissioner beat Democratic opponent John Cook by a 25-point margin, 60 percent to 35 percent.

Former state Rep. Sid Miller, R-Stephenville, won the race to succeed Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples, over Cleburne farmer and Democrat Jim Hogan by 20 points, 58 percent to 38 percent.

Petroleum engineer Ryan Sitton, a Friendswood Republican, won a seat on the oil and gas regulating Texas Railroad Commission, beating Democratic opponent Steve Brown, a Houston businessman, 58 percent to 36 percent.

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THURSDAY 13 NOVEMBER 2014

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THE CANADIAN RECORD

Concern over proposed disposal well spurs county officials to take action

VAULTING TO NEW HEIGHTS: Artist/muralist Tom Gibson of Red Oak recently completed a project at the Hemphill County Courthouse that involved repainting all five vault doors. The doors are located in the offices of the County/ District Clerk, Treasurer, County Judge, Commissioners’ Courtroom, and one downstairs.

The doors are all original to the courthouse, making them over 100 years old. Pictured is the revamped vault door in the County/District Clerk’s office.

PHOTO BY JAQUITA ADCOCK

Hemphill County Commissioners will hold a special called meeting today (Thursday, Nov. 13 at 3 pm) to consider filing a protest against an application by Overflow Energy, LLC for a saltwater disposal well located just off of US 83 north of Canadian between the Oasis Truck Stop and the municipal golf course.

The location of what Overflow calls the Canadian North Saltwater Disposal Well was proposed after a previous application to locate the well nearby at the intersection of US 60/83 and Lake Marvin Road drew protests from the County, Economic Development Council, Water District and nearby landowners. That permit application was subsequently withdrawn after protest letters cited both the proximity to the Canadian River and the shallow water table, and concerns about the increased truck traffic that would result at the already heavily-traveled intersection of two major highways.

The new location has attracted the same concerns, and has set off a new round of protest letters to both the Texas Railroad Commission (RRC) and to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), as well as to elected representatives. The RRC has authority over well permitting, and TxDOT regulates access to the site from the highway.

On Tuesday evening, the Hemphill County Underground Water District board also weighed in on Overflow’s permit application. The district has already protested the permit with the Texas Railroad Commission, but this week voted unanimously to with-

hold a settlement offer for the controversial saltwater disposal well site, and to look into the costs of performing a thorough technical evaluation of the application and of any issues associated with the disposal location and operation.

Janet Guthrie, general manager of the water district, urged her board to authorize withholding a settlement offer for Overflow’s Canadian North, and to get more involved in providing support to adjoining landowners by offering them more technical assistance and by participating in the permit hearing.

“It is the duty and purpose of the district to conserve, preserve and protect the aquifer,” Guthrie said, “and this disposal location is a threat to the groundwater and surface water just as the [previous] location was. The new location does not address concerns for the shallow water table.”

Any member of the public who feels they would be adversely affected by the proposed saltwater well location is allowed to file a protest with the RRC. The deadline for protests is imminent.

All protests must be submitted in writing to the Environmental Services Section, Oil and Gas Division, Railroad Commission of Texas, PO Box 12967, Austin, TX 78711.

Protests over the location of the proposed well and its potential impact on traffic congestion may also be filed in writing with the Texas Department of Transportation. Those letters should be sent to TxDOT Area Engineer Kenny Corse, PO Box 1136, Pampa, TX 79055, or via email to kenneth.corse@txdot.gov.

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THURSDAY 20 NOVEMBER 2014

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THE CANADIAN RECORD

Commissioners authorize letter to RRC protesting saltwater disposal well site In a called meeting held Thursday afternoon, county commissioners voted 4-1 to send a letter to the Texas Railroad Commission protesting a permit application by Overflow Energy LLC to build a saltwater disposal well site two miles northeast of Canadian off of US 83.

“This is a dangerous ingress/egress location and the additional truck traffic and congestion will only serve to threaten the safety of our citizens and visitors to Hemphill Coun-

ty,” the letter said, in part. “The proposed site is located only a few hundred feet from the Canadian River, and the water table is very shallow in this area.”

“It would not appear that the potential environmental hazards associated with this location could be adequately mitigated due to its close proximity to the river and the shallow water table,” it concludes.

The proposed site of what Overflow calls Canadian North SWD lies between the Oasis Truck Stop and the municipal golf course.

It is very near a site proposed by the same company several months ago at the intersection of US 60/83 and Lake Marvin Road, which drew similar protests from the court, as well as from the EDC, water district and nearby landowners.

County Commissioner Coleman Bartlett told the court he had talked to Overflow owner Duwane Skipper prior to Thursday’s meeting. “He said it is directly behind the Oasis,” Bartlett said, “and that they plan on 15-20 trucks/day.”

Although the site had not been finalized, Skipper indicated that the trucks would access the well site through the truck stop entrance. If not, they would leave the highway on the other side of the railroad bridge and come around the back side.

“Skipper assumed that by moving across from the original location,” Bartlett said, “it would appease some of the people in opposition.”

Skipper told Bartlett that if the new site is protested, he will abandon it and pursue the original location near Lake Marvin Road.

According to the Railroad Commission, that original permit application is still pending with the agency, despite Skipper’s assurance that he had asked that the permit request be withdrawn.

“I don’t know if this is an idle threat,” Bartlett said. “Ideally, he wants to be beside the cement plant. I would rather have him behind the Oasis than down on the river.”

The court discussed the pros and cons of access to and from both locations, expressing concern for the lack of visibility from both sites for oncoming traffic. “Either one is not good,” said Bartlett, adding, “Both locations have people coming in and out all the time anyway.”

Commissioner Ed Culver’s motion to send a letter protesting Overflow’s permit application to the Railroad Commission was seconded by Lynard Schafer and approved 4-1, with both Mark Meek and Judge George Briant adding their support and Bartlett opposed.

THE CANADIAN RECORD

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THURSDAY 20 NOVEMBER 2014

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Council opts out of Overflow well protest Members of Canadian’s City Council chose not to follow the lead of other elected officials Monday evening, deciding in a split 3-2 vote—with Mayor Rob Talley casting the tie-breaker—not to write a letter protesting a saltwater well disposal site proposed by Overflow Energy LLC north of Canadian between the Oasis Truck Stop and the Canadian River.

Protests have already been filed with the Railroad Commission by Hemphill County Commissioners and by the Hemphill County Underground Water District board, which also agreed last week to withhold a settlement offer for the site in order to perform a more thorough technical evaluation of the application and of any issues associated with its location and operation.

The council vote followed a debate, led by Councilman Colby Waters, over whether the city has either a right or a reason to weigh in on Overflow’s permit application to the Texas Railroad Commission.

The Railroad Commission permitting process specifically provides anyone who feels they may be adversely affected the opportunity to protest. But Waters questioned the city’s standing in opposing the permit application, despite the proximity of the site to both the Canadian River and to the municipal golf course.

“I just don’t like it when we are making comments on the use of someone’s property that is not our property,” Waters said, sounding an increasingly familiar refrain.

“I think we should protest,” said councilman Bob Gober. “It’s a very bad location, especially being where the water table is at.

It’s just an accident looking for a place to happen.”

City Manager Hoyt Manning said that if the well is approved at the proposed location, the water wells at the municipal golf course would probably be used by the water district to monitor water quality in the area. “This could be part of an agreement for the water district to sign off on,” he said, suggesting, too, that the operator of the well could be the one to do the testing—a suggestion that does not accurately reflect the water district’s water quality monitoring policy (see related story).

Councilman Bruce Pickens expressed his concern about the contamination of the city’s water wells at the golf course.

“I’ve seen Duwane Skipper’s Overflow sites,” Waters said. “Pick one. They’re all better taken care of than the Oasis Truck Stop.”

“The disposal well business is highly regulated,” he said, adding that, in his opinion, the gas tanks at the Oasis pose a bigger potential problem than saltwater disposal wells do.

Mayor Rob Talley agreed that disposal wells are safe, but echoed Councilman Bob Gober’s concerns about the heavy truck traffic at that intersection. “Why put something so close to the intersection,” he said. “It’s a terrible spot for an entrance.”

As saltwater disposal well sites increase, water district reviews monitoring policy A program by the Hemphill County Underground Water District to monitor water quality at saltwater disposal well sites is straining resources as the number of sites continues to grow at a rapid pace in this county’s busy oil and gas industry.

That is the message delivered by the district’s general manager, Janet Guthrie, to her board last week, in an effort to clarify and formalize the monitoring program policy and to rein in any redundancy in its procedures.

Guthrie said her office is now tracking 103 commercial disposal sites in the county, and expects that number to grow.

Those disposal sites typically require monitoring water quality at a cluster of four water wells—a job that requires at least 20 work-hours per site to negotiate the monitoring agreement, plus the time required to travel to each remote location.

Currently, Guthrie said, her staff is able to test 149 samples annually, though landowners have requested more frequent testing—some as much as four times a year.

It is the water district’s policy to collect its own water samples from wells located in the cluster around disposal well sites. The district negotiates easements between the affected landowners and the disposal well operator in order to gather the samples, which are then tested by an independent lab.

Benchmarking tests establish existing water quality levels before the disposal site begins operations, which protects both the company operating the disposal well and the landowner. The operator pays for the lab tests and the district provides the service of collecting the samples and sending them to the lab, thus

“Using that logic, there’s no place that’s good,” Waters said.

“But do we want to make it worse?” Talley asked.

“I’m not concerned about water quality,” said Councilwoman Cassi Rash, adding that she was more concerned about the congestion that would result from the disposal well site. “The EDC wrote a letter protesting the location on the other side of the highway.

They expected 30 trucks a day in and out of that location. Lots of property owners wrote letters in protest.”

Manning suggested that the council could also consider writing a letter to TxDOT District Engineer Kenny Corse, expressing concern about the location of a commercial entrance off of US 60/83.

Although Waters admitted that there are quite a few more businesses near the intersection than he remembered there being five years ago, he said characterizing it as “a busy intersection” is relative. But he also suggested that the property in question “and everything around it” is going to be developed in the next 5-10 years. “It is interesting to me that if Terry Brown decided he wanted to put a Flying J out there, there’s not anything that could be done,” Waters said.

Gober disagreed, saying that the Tex-

protecting the chain of custody.

Guthrie told her board last Tuesday that the monitoring program depends on the cooperation of both the operator and the landowner. Not all disposal wells located in the county are covered by the program. Twenty-two disposal wells predate the program, which began in 2002. Others are inactive. Nine are currently in negotiation with the district and 13 other proposed sites are not being pursued at this time.

All of the disposal wells are being tracked for mechanical integrity, or H5, she said, which poses a true potential threat.

Guthrie said the biggest problem with the program is the repetition involved in contacting each affected landowner and the multiple notices that are often needed to encourage them to sign the easements. “My biggest concern is that enthusiasm is down,” she said, adding that many landowners don’t like signing over an easement to the operator, some want testing to be more frequent, and many think the water district should remain involved if water quality issues go to hearing before the Railroad Commission.

The board suggested several improvements to the program that might reduce the redundancy issues and encourage more landowner participation. Guthrie and field technician Cory Cameron were both tasked with doing a cost analysis of the district’s water quality monitoring program and with developing a formal written guidance document for the program that makes the best use of the district’s resources and time.

as Commission on Environment Quality (TCEQ) “would probably have a problem with a big truck stop out there because of the water well and sewer system it would take.”

“I don’t like it when this entity imposes its feelings of the day on other property owners,” Waters said again. “If they come up with a business idea that they want to use their property in a certain way, we don’t have any regulatory authority.”

The discussion nearly ended without a

vote, when Rash said she didn’t think the council had reached a consensus on what the protest letter would say. But Gober offered a motion that the council send a letter of protest to the Railroad Commission expressing its concern about traffic congestion and potential water contamination, which Pickens seconded. Rash and Waters both opposed the motion and Talley cast the deciding vote in opposition.

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THURSDAY 4 DECEMBER 2014

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THE CANADIAN RECORD

Why Overflow Energy’s Canadian North saltwater disposal well warrants concern A conversation with Water District GM Janet Guthrie After listening to the arguments made last month by City Council members against writing a letter protesting the location of a saltwater disposal well near the Canadian River, we contacted Hemphill County Underground Water Conservation District General Manager Janet Guthrie to learn more about the district’s concerns for this particular well site.

In our story two weeks ago [“As saltwater disposal well sites increase...” November 20, 2014, p7], we explained that Guthrie’s office monitors water-quality at saltwater disposal well sites throughout Hemphill County. The success of the district’s water quality testing program hinges on cooperation by the landowner, the operator and the water district.

When an operator applies for a saltwater disposal well permit in Hemphill County, the water district routinely protests the permit application with the Railroad Commission, then negotiates both a monitoring agreement with the operator and easements with the landowner on whose property the well will be located.

The district’s first goal is to gather water samples from wells in the affected area before the disposal well has begun operation, and to have them tested to establish a baseline for the water quality in that area. The operator pays for the cost of the lab tests. By establishing a baseline, both the landowner and the operator are protected to some extent in the event of contamination. From that point on, the wells are tested on an annual basis, to determine if any contamination has taken place.

Given that the water-quality monitoring program has been a successful one, and that disposal well operators have been willing to comply with it, we asked Guthrie why the district went a step further with one saltwater disposal well, proposed by Overflow Energy LLC to be located off of US 60/83, 2 miles north of Canadian. Last month, Guthrie’s board of directors unanimously authorized her to withhold a settlement offer for Overflow’s Canadian North SWD and to gather more technical information to assist adjoining landowners in the permit hearing.

Why did you ask you board to approve these additional measures?

We feel that Canadian North presents a higher potential threat than Overflow’s other proposed saltwater disposal well (SWD) on FM 1573. We are going to offer the withdrawal of our protest against that well...with the same conditions for withdrawal: you pay for the monitoring and we will proceed with it.

With the Canadian North location, however, the board said to hold up on that. Because of its proximity to the Canadian River and its shallow water table, I have reached out to a consultant, who is going to take another look at it from [the perspective of] whether there should be construction and operation changes to the RRC’s minimum standard.

To get a permit you have to meet this minimum standard. The RRC is not saying that in certain circumstances you shouldn’t go above and beyond that, and they themselves may impose greater restrictions.

When you’re given public notice that this is happening, you have to jump in then. Commercial disposal wells have to give all the adjoining landowners direct notice because by the RRC’s own statute—by their definition— you’re an affected party. To me, that [indicates] that there is an inherent risk, and that if you’re an adjoining landowner to these op-

erations, you’re automatically considered an affected party.

The only way you get your foot in the door to have a conversation with the operator is to file a letter. If you don’t file the letter, then you’re saying you wish not to participate.

They take that as you have no concerns and you’re willing to accept whatever.

The city council considered protesting the saltwater disposal well permit and decided against it. It was their contention that it would be overreaching, or as councilman Colby Waters said, “I don’t like it when this entity imposes its feelings...on other property owners.” Could you explain why you brought this permit to the City Manager’s attention?

As I explained to Hoyt Manning, the district was not asking for the City Council or any other party to do any additional science or participate all the way through the hearing.

But as an affected party, they need to send a letter saying, “Yes, we are concerned.”

It’s not saying you can’t do this with your property. It’s saying you can’t do this with your property if it’s going to have harsh or detrimental impact to the city’s properties.

We consider the golf course a great asset to this community and to the city of Canadian, and personally, I feel they should take action

THE CANADIAN RECORD to protect that.

Is it correct that you don’t have to be an affected landowner in order to file a protest?

That is correct. And if the message from County Commissioner Coleman Bartlett is correct, if this is protested—and Skipper will see that it is abundantly protested—he’s just going to jump back over to the original location because it’s further along. What we have been told by the RRC is that he can pick that back up in its hearing state and schedule a hearing. It has to go to hearing because there were protests filed. Other parties can still join the protest.

I understand that the city didn’t receive a notice from the RRC. Why? Overflow Energy LLC owner Duwane Skipper may not have filed an application yet.

If so, those notices have not gone out yet, so it’s still in the very initial stage.

One of the heightened concerns here is that because of the shallow water table, any contamination could occur very quickly.

Councilman Waters commented that the RRC monitors and inspects these wells, and that if there is any problem there, they’ll catch it. Could you address that?

Yes, our concern is that there is no room for error here. Perhaps we’re wrong, so we’re willing to do the technical research to back up whether or not that is actually warranted.

On initial review, when it’s less than 10feet to the water table, the infiltration rate for sand is not long. You could go pour KoolAid on the river banks and probably, within a

NEWS PAGE short period of time, see it infiltrate and make its way into the river’s waters.

Our board agrees that this just deserves closer scrutiny. What the water sampling will do is give a benchmark for where the water was prior to the operation. In the event of an incident, we would push that it be restored to that, and not just to minimum drinking water standards. That’s the important issue...to get that benchmark to know that your water was okay and to know what level it was at prior to this operation going in place.

Is there a connection between potential contamination there and my drinking water in the city of Canadian?

As far as that location, to me, the affected party is the groundwater for the private wells that service the golf course. It’s directly tied to the water supply system out there and not the city’s main water supply system. But it is an asset of the city’s.

If I’m not mistaken, one of the first actions that Councilman Colby Waters took as the new city manager was to file a letter of protest to T3’s Red Deer saltwater disposal well. I am wondering what has changed, that on Day One of his tenure here in our community, he was willing to accept the groundwater district’s concerns and our request that he participate in this manner—and he eagerly did so—but today, he does not see that the golf course is an asset that’s worth getting the city’s foot in the door just to protect.

The city also has jurisdictional powers to look at and can participate on the level of public safety and welfare. If they’re going to operate a public facility adjacent to something like

THURSDAY 4 DECEMBER 2014

that, would there be any liability to the city? If there is an incident, and they say they’ll catch it...they’ll catch it after it’s contaminated. If you have mechanical or human error, then it’s already happened. If you have mechanical or human error with those trucks, then you have a spill, a turnover, an accident, a collision, a fire, a loss of life...and is it necessary?

The required notice that Overflow placed in the newspaper was vague as to the description of the proposed well’s location, saying only that it was 2 miles north of Canadian.

Why is it so nonspecific?

That is the standard notice that the RRC requires. The commission accepts these vague descriptions as meeting its criteria for having given public notice in a newspaper of general circulation. I think they are extremely vague. For instance, the notice says you only have 15 days from the day it is published to protest...but that’s not what the rules say, which is that it’s up to the time when the permit is issued. The notices in my opinion are misleading and not informative.

How hard is it to pinpoint the exact location of this proposed site from the notice? Do we even know exactly where this site is?

It is impossible. We have an approximation. We contacted the operator who then had to contact another office to get the coordinates. So it took two phone calls, and I got transferred at least five times to find out. On their legal description—we’re dealing with two [proposed wells]—either the coordinates or the legal description of one were incorrect.

Because we took the coordinates and tried to

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plat it into the mapping system, we figured out that those coordinates don’t match the legal notice.

We don’t know where the entrance to this location is. It could be south of the Oasis Truck Stop, but that’s a state easement, and I don’t know that they would grant that for commercial use. Maybe they would. But they’d either have to come in from south of the Oasis or off of US 83 a little further north. I do not know.

I also don’t know when a commercial operator actually receives their entrance permit. My sources have insinuated that having the entrance permit from TxDOT is part of the application process with the RRC, and I was not aware of that.

Your board has authorized you to contract with a consultant to gather detailed information about this proposed well site. This is an extremely conservative board that has approved this expenditure. There must be some real concern.

There is the concern to put our money where our mouths are and to...identify and offer technical solutions to it. If it’s that extreme, the answer may be no—you should deny it. We will have two options: either to make the request that they place additional construction and operations restrictions and standards...for both locations.

Going across the road does not lessen our concerns. They were concerns we really thought we had reasonably and adequately worked through with the operator that he was acknowledging, and believed he would move away from this location.

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THURSDAY 15 JANUARY 2015

Banners-up on Main St. The new banners on 60 street lights in downtown Canadian appeared last week, replacing the holiday ones that have graced five blocks of Main Street throughout the season. Kat Decker, administrative assistant for the Canadian/Hemphill County Chamber of Commerce, designed the five styles featured on the

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new banners. The company that supplied them had a catalog, but she said she didn’t see anything she liked except a cityscape.

“I thought, you know, our little downtown is pretty cute,” so she played with a photo of the downtown streetscape that shows the modified outline of four buildings—Kim’s Cottages, the Palace Theatre, Courtney Jane’s, Happy State Bank and the Moody Building. The wording promotes the July 4th Celebration, the Calf Fry Cook-Off, the Fall Foliage Festival, the Canadian Riv-

THE CANADIAN RECORD

er Music Festival, and the last one is a plug for shopping, dining, playing and staying in Canadian. Decker says the next set of new banners will have a spring theme. With the holiday, Fall Foliage Festival and July 4th banners already in use, the street lights will now sport them year-round. Chamber Events Coordinator Jackie McPherson said, “We just think Main Street looks so pretty with the banners.”

RRC refuses approval for Overflow saltwater disposal permit request The Railroad Commission of Texas notified Overflow Energy LLC this week that it would not grant administrative approval of its permit application for the Canadian North saltwater disposal well to be located on the edge of town near the Oasis Truck Stop.

The letter of notification referred to several protest letters received in opposition to its application, and advised the company that it could request a hearing on the matter. If no request is received within 30 days of the letter, which is dated January 5, 2015, the application will be considered withdrawn.

Letters of protest were sent by Judge George Briant on behalf of Hemphill County, Community Development Director Tamera Julian on behalf of the Canadian Community Development Partnership, General Manager Janet Guthrie on behalf of the Hemphill County Underground Water Conservation District, and by several individual property owners, expressing concerns about the proposed well location and its proximity to the Canadian River and to the shallow water table in that area.

In November, the water district board of directors unanimously authorized Guthrie to withhold a settlement offer for Overflow’s Canadian North SWD and to gather more technical information to assist adjoining landowners in the permit hearing.

“Because of its proximity to the Canadian River and its shallow water table,” Guthrie explained, “I have reached out to a consultant, who is going to take another look at it from [the perspective of] whether there should be construction and operation changes to the RRC’s minimum standard.”

Similar concerns and letters of protest have been filed opposing the previously proposed location for Overflow’s well at the nearby intersection of Lake Marvin Road and US 60/83. Overflow owner Duwane Skipper told County Commissioner Coleman Bartlett in November that if the Canadian North proposal was protested, he would abandon it and pursue the original location near Lake Marvin Road. According to the Railroad Commission, that original permit application is still pending with the agency, despite Skipper’s assurance that he had asked that the permit request be withdrawn.

THE CANADIAN RECORD

WATER

NOTES

Legislative agenda for 2015 finalized In December, the water district board approved an engagement letter with former State Representative Robby Cook III to provide legislative services to the District from November 2014-September 2015. Cook replaces VA Stephens, who submitted her resignation effective November 30 after accepting an offer to become Chief of Staff to Senator-elect Paul Bettencourt (SD-7). In last week’s meeting, the board also approved its legislative agenda, which includes as District priorities: maintaining Hemphill County UWCD as a single-county district; preserving local management of groundwater resources and the authority granted to GCDs in Chapter 36 of the Texas Water Code; discontinuing audits of GCDs by the State Auditor’s office; amending provisions in Chapter 36 governing the joint planning process to require that districts participate in DFC development only for those aquifers that are shared with other member districts in the groundwater management area; and increasing incentives to promote water conservation and recycling/reuse in the drilling and fracking process. Three of the District’s priorities relate to disposal or injection wells. One would require identification of the well location by specific section, block and survey, and another would require notice of disposal well permit applications to be placed in a newspaper of general circulation that is published in the county where the well is located—replacing language that only requires publication in any newspaper of general circulation in the county. Another would require that anyone wishing to operate a new disposal or injection well obtain an API number for the proposed wellsite prior to the application process, and a third priority would be to amend the RRC’s statewide rules to expand the 1/4-mile area of review for those wells.

Status of three Overflow saltwater disposal well permits reviewed While continuing to monitor the RRC protest and hearing process for two saltwater disposal wells proposed

by Overflow Energy north of town close to the Canadian River, the District has offered a settlement agreement for a third Overflow disposal well to be located on FM 1453, stipulating that the operator participate in annual water quality monitoring. Guthrie said a consultant has begun his review of Overflow’s Canadian North site and will make recommendations as to the District’s options, which range from withdrawal of the protest to requesting denial of the permit at the contested case hearing.

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THURSDAY 29 JANUARY 2015

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Water District issues first export permit for Hemphill County water The first production permit for the export of water outside of the county’s boundaries was issued last month by the Hemphill County Underground Water Conservation District. The permit allows the withdrawal, for commercial purposes, of 411,200 gallons per year from land owned by the Paris Family Trust in the southeast corner of the county.

The water will supply the Roberts Countybased offices of Miami Wind 1 LLC. While several export permit requests have been filed with the District, this is the first to have been found administratively complete and to have met all relevant criteria. The export application specifies the purpose for the water’s beneficial use, its destination, and its means of conveyance in a manner that is not considered wasteful. The production permit for the proposed well was also found in conformity with the district’s spacing rules.

The export permit is still subject to other district rules, which require that its use be metered, that the rate of withdrawal not exceed 17 gallons per minute—as specified for small production wells—and that the rate of depletion not exceed the District’s 1 percent annual decline rate. The right to withdraw water from the aquifer is also subject

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

To learn more about the Hemphill County Underground Water Conservation District’s management plan and rules, go online to www.hemphilluwcd.org

to interruption or suspension, as provided by the district’s rules governing depletion of the aquifer and annual decline rates.

The district’s rules also govern water conservation and require that any water exported from Hemphill County be used for beneficial purposes and that its withdrawal does not adversely affect the aquifer.

The water will be exported via pipeline from a 40-acre section of land on the southeastern border of Hemphill County to the Miami Wind 1 offices located on 3004 County Line Road in Miami.

Miami Wind entered into an agreement with the Paris Family Trust following its failed efforts to obtain a source of water closer to its location in Roberts County, where the water rights are largely owned by the Canadian River Municipal Water Authority. The Authority supplies water to 11 member cities in the Texas Panhandle and South Plains. Considered among the largest water rights holders in Texas, it has purchased rights in Gray, Hutchinson, Roberts, Wheeler and Hemphill counties to improve both the quality and quantity of water supplied by Lake Meredith.

The other export permits that had been pending with the district were ones filed by

Hemphill County landowners who sold their water rights to Boone Pickens’ Mesa Water.

After being reviewed by the water district, they had been deemed administratively incomplete for various reasons—chief among them that no destination for the water had been provided, nor had its beneficial use or means of conveyance been determined.

After CRMWA purchased those water rights from Mesa, it withdrew the export permit requests, which can be resubmitted at a later date. According to Guthrie, the Authority’s plan is to hold that water in reserve for the next 50 years.

The Paris Family Trust filed its applications for drilling, production and export permits on October 2, 2014. The permits were deemed administratively complete just over a month later. Upon the recommendation of General Manager Janet Guthrie, the permits were unanimously approved by board members Jim Haley, Beth Sturgeon, Melvin Walser, Elizabeth Henderson and Matt Carr during their board meeting on December 17, with Steve and Martha Porter, independent co-executors for the Paris Family Trust, and Marlin Conry, spokesperson for Miami Wind Farm 1 LLC, on hand.

THE CANADIAN RECORD

NEWS PAGE

EDC wants to move saltwater disposal well up the road The EDC will attempt to kick the can up the road a bit regarding two proposed sites for saltwater disposal wells, one of which has been the object of concern for more than a year. In its Jan. 26 meeting, the EDC decided to approach landowners further up Highway 60 who might be willing to work a deal with Overflow Energy LLC on alternate locations for the sites the company has applied for—the first, near the intersection of Lake Marvin Road and US 60/83 and the second, near the Oasis Truck Stop at the junction of US 60/83.

In mid-January, the Railroad Commission of Texas notified Overflow Energy it would not grant approval of its permit application for the Canadian North saltwater disposal well to be located on near the Oasis Truck Stop. Community Development Director Tamera Julian had written one of the letters of protest on behalf of the Canadian Community Development Partnership. Others were by Hemphill County, the Hemphill County Underground Water Conservation District and several individual property owners. They all expressed concerns about the proposed well location and its proximity to the Canadian River and to the shallow water table in that area.

John Julian, one of the landowners near the first Lake Marvin Road site proposed by Overflow, asked the council if they would be willing to assist financially should the company opt to go to a hearing following the RRC’s denial of the second site. This led to a discussion about just where the entrance would be and precautions taken by SWD companies to protect groundwater. Julian said he was more concerned most about an accidental spill involving a truck than one at the storage unit. “It’s time for change,” he said regarding the disposal wells. “It may never happen in my lifetime, but it needs to be set up where they are not built in these shallow groundwater zones.”

Overflow owner Duane Skipper has indicated he would return to the original Lake Marvin Road location should he be denied the second site. Julian talked about what the additional traffic in both places would mean for safety and that the Lake Marvin Road is our “gateway to tourism,” a local focus for several years.

Tamera Julian noted their best hope might be fighting for concessions in the permit, which would still require legal assistance.

Kevin Osterson indicated he was opposed to the first site because of its proximity to the entrance to Lake Marvin Road, but said he felt there were actions that could protect the groundwater at the second site. “I don’t know if it’s our place to fight what bit of growth there is out there,” he said, adding he didn’t understand why Overflow Energy didn’t “go up the road a mile.” Coleman Bartlett agreed.

No action was taken regarding funding.

The council gave Tamera Julian permission to contact Canadian Feedyard to identify

possibilities for suitable and available land at a higher elevation.

Julian reported to the council that the retail trade analysis conducted by The Retail Coach, a consulting firm, was being completed that week. The EDC approved funding for the study in December after the announcement of the imminent closing of the local Alco store. In the study, the firm identifies two components necessary for interested businesses to locate here: a retail trade area and a gap analysis.

A retail trade area identifies the customer base, how far away people come to make purchases in a town, how many people are involved, and what they buy. A gap analysis refers specifically to the products available in a retail area, what is missing and, perhaps, what is duplicated.

Julian said The Retail Coach also assists with retail recruitment and is reaching out to the five players in the area of general merchandise on behalf of Canadian.

Meeting dates for 2015 were discussed at the request of Patrick Murfee who said he was concerned about their frequency. There had been no meetings in October and November. “It seems like we’re skipping more than our meeting,” he said. Julian admitted there had been “quite a gap” in that period and said it was a mix of both conflicting schedules and lack of necessity for a meeting. “Had there been required business, I definitely would have found a different date,” she said. “That’s typically up to the president every year.”

Murfee noted he thought the EDC should be “more prudent” about meeting regularly.

“I just think it would be better not to push it off to next month if a meeting date does not work out.”

The dates for 2015 are Feb. 2 (which will be rescheduled because of the recent January meeting date), March 2, April 6, May 4, June 1, July 6, Aug. 3, Sept. 7, Oct. 5, Nov. 2 and Dec. 7.

Three board members’ terms will expire in 2015: Kris Richardson’s and Patrick Murfee’s in March and Cassi Rash’s in June.

Rash is a representative from the City Council and her term there will expire in May. She has announced she is not running for re-election. Julian urged the other two councilmen to notify her if they don’t plan to continue serving on the EDC.

THURSDAY 5 FEBRUARY 2015

7

Future of water is topic of Saturday panel discussion at Amarillo Library Amarillo Public Library is hosting a special panel discussion, “Water and the Future of Farming on the Plains,” which will be held 10 am, Saturday, February 7th at the Downtown Library, 413 SE 4th Ave, Amarillo. The panel will be moderated by KGNC-AM Agribusiness Director James Hunt, and includes the following experts: • Dr. Nolan Clark, Panhandle Regional Water Planning Group Agricultural Water Demands and Projections Committee chair; former director of the USDA-ARS lab in Bushland • Dr. Dave Brauer, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service soil and water management research unit leader • Danny Krienke, past president of the North Plains Groundwater Conservation District, past chairman of Groundwater Management Area 1, current member of Panhandle Regional Water Planning Group • Dale Artho, past chairman of the U.S. Grains Council, founding member of the United Sorghum Checkoff Program board of directors This is the perfect opportunity to learn about the future state of our region’s water from some of the top experts in the field, as well as what’s in store for our area economy, which remains largely dependent on agriculture. The event is free and open to the public.

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THE CANADIAN RECORD

THURSDAY 12 MARCH 2015

What public notice does for you (and what you can do for public notice)

By Laurie Ezzell Brown

The Canadian

RECORD ESTABLISHED 1893 INCORPORATED FEBRUARY 1998 PO Box 898, Canadian, TX 79014 Phone: 806.323.6461 Fax: 806.323.5738 BEN EZZELL Editor/Publisher 1948-1993

NANCY EZZELL Editor/Publisher 1948-2010

LAURIE EZZELL BROWN Editor & Publisher laurie@canadianrecord.com

Business Manager Mary Smithee mary@canadianrecord.com

Advertising Ray Weeks, Jaquita Adcock ray@canadianrecord.com

News Editor Cathy Ricketts cathy@canadianrecord.com

Sports Editor Antonio Morales antonio@canadianrecord.com

Record Intern Benjamin Antillon DESIGN & PRODUCTION Laurie Brown, Cathy Ricketts, Ray Weeks, Antonio Morales PHOTOGRAPHY Laurie Brown, Cathy Ricketts, Alan Hale, Antonio Morales CONTRIBUTORS: Mary Jane McKinney, Bob Rogers, Cheri Smith

USPS 087-960 Periodicals postage paid at the Post Office in Canadian (Hemphill Co.), TX. Published weekly in Canadian

by Laurie Ezzell Brown POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Canadian Record, PO Box 898, 211 Main St., Canadian, TX 79014

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS: $36/$42/$55 Print / $25 Online

www.canadianrecord.com 806.323.6461

The Canadian

RECORD and the Ezzell Family WINNERS OF THE

2007 Gish Award FOR COURAGE, TENACITY & INTEGRITY IN COMMUNITY JOURNALISM

BECAUSE THE IMPORTANCE of public notice is rarely mentioned elsewhere, it must be tempting for the public to think that this is simply an issue for newspapers and journalists, and that it has no bearing on their lives.

Tempting, perhaps, but dead wrong. Newspapers like this one are battling to uphold this state’s public notice laws which require publication in local newspapers. It is urgent because we know exactly how important it is—or should be—to the public’s ability to remain informed, and because several bills have been filed that threaten the promise of government transparency.

Here are just a few examples of the many public notices that have appeared in The Record during the last year—notices that clearly protected our readers’ rights to know what their elected representatives are doing, and what decisions they have made that affect them and the community in which they live: In 2014, The Canadian Record published a variety of notices of public hearings. Among them were hearings held by the school district to discuss its annual performance review or its financial management report, one conducted by the city to consider a request to install a 35-foot tower in a residential neighborhood, and a county hearing giving public notice of a plan to lower speed limits on some farm-to-market roads and of a hearing to receive public comment on the proposal.

We published notices by Black Kettle National Grassland, announcing the county’s intention to perform restoration work at Lake Marvin, and inviting the public to comment on those plans; by the county, notifying residents of improvements made to waterlines at Edith Ford Cemetery; by the city, informing residents of its annual cleanup and the availability of special trash pickup services; and by the Sheriff’s Office, advising that it had impounded a Hereford cow and that—following failed attempts to identify its owner—it would offer the “estray” for sale on the courthouse steps.

Sometime last year, 15 area public school districts announced the anticipated destruction of the records of students with disabilities, and notified both parents and students of their right to obtain those records rather than have them destroyed.

Hemphill County was required to publish a legal notice, advertising the commissioners’ intent to seek bids for a truck scale system to be built on Exhibition Road—a project that the court later opted not to pursue, partially due to concerns about its location and the potential impact on traffic safety.

Another required notice informed potential buyers of local property that was being offered at a Sheriff’s sale due to unpaid tax debt— and alerting the property owners to their last opportunity to retain possession by paying their taxes and assorted fines and fees.

Local taxpayers were notified, too, of salary increases proposed by and for the county’s elected officials. Vehicle owners with farm exemptions learned of new requirements for renewing their license plates and were reminded that registration must be done in person at the county tax office.

Every year, local taxing entities are required to notify the public that they are seeking fuel bids for the year, or to notify banks that bids will be taken for depository services.

When Suddenlink—the city’s now-departed cable franchise holder—decided to change the programming it provided to local customers, it was required to notify them of those changes. Roberts County Commissioners placed a legal notice requesting sealed bids for property being sold in Miami. They placed the ad in this newspaper, where

our readers in both counties would have an opportunity to see it and to participate in the bidding process.

Unit Petroleum notified area landowners of their intent to inject drilling waste into the Brown Dolomite Formation, providing them the opportunity to register their concerns with the appropriate regulatory commission. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality provided notice of Enbridge Pipelines’ request for renewal and revision of its permit to operate a natural gas liquids facility in Hemphill County.

Overflow Energy LLC published its intent to locate saltwater disposal tanks just north of town close to the Canadian River, and affected property owners and county officials were able to protest those plans and bring the permit request to a full hearing, which is still pending.

In all of these cases, The Record was the most convenient and reliable means of disseminating this information to the residents of Canadian and Hemphill County. In many of these cases, its reporters also provided additional information to readers about the discussion and circumstances that led to the decisions made by their elected officials.

In some cases, we also drew needed attention to issues that warranted greater concern by the public—an added value that many community newspapers provide.

Not everybody reads this newspaper, though many in this and surrounding communities have done so for decades, and will continue to do so, knowing that we are committed to providing timely and credible information. They can also be assured that we will continue to fight for the public’s right to know what their government officials are doing, despite growing efforts by many of those same officials to destroy the essential principle of government transparency.

But we cannot protect the public’s right to know without the public showing its interest and concern, as well. Here’s what you can do: Call or email your elected representatives’ offices today (contact information posted below). Tell them you support Texas’ public notice laws, and that you read your local newspaper and rely on it for important news about your community. Tell them you don’t like government secrets—and that sometimes, the best way to keep something secret is simply to make it difficult to find.

Ask your representatives to join The Canadian Record, the Texas Press Association and other newspapers and statewide organizations in the fight to keep public notice in the printed newspaper alive. Ask them to vote against any bill that would alter public notice requirements, allowing the posting of notices by a governmental entity or political subdivision online and not in print. Ask them to oppose HB 139

by Stickland; HB 814 by Larson and its companion bill, SB 392 by Burton; HB 1019 by Flynn; HB 1499 by Sarah Davis; HB 1548 by Harless; HB 1754 by Pickett and its companion bill, and SB 563 by Rodriguez.

To read the text of these bills, go online to www.capitol.state.tx.us and perform a search by bill number.

CONTACT

YOUR

REPRESENTATIVES:

Texas State Senator District 31 Kel Seliger Capitol Office: CAP GE.4 Capitol Phone: 512.463.0131 Capitol Address: P.O. Box 12068, Capitol Station Austin, TX 78711 District Address: P.O. Box 9155 Amarillo TX 79105 Phone: 806.374.8994

Texas State Representative District 88 Ken King Capitol Office: EXT E2.416 Capitol Phone: 512.463.0736 Capitol Address: P.O. Box 2910 Austin, TX 78768 District Address: P.O. Box 2910 Austin TX 78768 ken.king@house.state.tx.us

THE CANADIAN RECORD

NEWS PAGE

THURSDAY 4 JUNE 2015

3

Notes from the Storm Canadian River reaches flood stage Thursday am

By Thursday morning, heavy rainfall from Wednesday’s storm had filled area creeks that normally produce barely a trickle, and the National Weather Service in Amarillo had issued a flood warning for the Canadian River. At 12:45 am Thursday morning, the river had reached 7.1 feet and was still rising. With the official flood stage at 8 feet, the forecast was for the river to exceed that level and eventually reach 8.3 feet and overflow its banks.

By sunrise Thursday, there were no banks and the Canadian River north of town had become the latest tourist attraction, bringing photographers, videographers and—a sure sign of the times—drone pilots to the bridge to document the rising waters. According to Weather Service records, the river’s crest compared to a previous high of 9 feet set on October 1, 1941. Not quite the 100-year flood, but close.

Sheriff issues reminder of river’s danger Sheriff James Pearson is warning the public to stay clear of the Canadian River while it is still at flood level. Although the water has receded from its peak—reached last Thursday morning after an estimated 3-5 inches drenched our area last week—conditions on the river are still very dangerous. “The water is rolling, and the depths and currents are deceptive,” Pearson said.

“There are undercurrents and areas of quicksand, as well. Folks could get swept away quickly.”

Kelln home north of town damaged by hail, winds Maryle Kelln’s rural home was in the direct line of last Wednesday evening’s storm and sustained extensive damage from hail, golf-ball size and larger, which pounded the area for 45 minutes to an hour. The hail—which pelted a strip of land about a mile to a mile-and-a-half wide—denuded trees, broke several windows in the house and beat all the grass down. “The CRP grass looks like it’s been mowed,” said

NOTES...CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

Three Apache rig workers injured by tornado on Nix Ranch are identified Three Weatherford contractors were injured when a tornado struck the drilling rig they were working on last week near Canadian. The three men were working for Cactus Drilling Rig #121 on an Apache location near the Nix Ranch last Wednesday afternoon when the accident occurred.

Hemphill County Sheriff James Pearson confirmed the following day that at least one tornado touched down north of Canadian and struck a drilling rig, adding that there was extensive damage to the doghouses on the location.

On Thursday, Sheriff Pearson reported the three victims’ identities. They are: Nick Kirkwood, who suffered head trauma and facial injuries and was treated and released from Hemphill County Hospital.

Adrian Mihalache, who was impaled by a wooden board—possibly a 2 by 4—and who, at last report, was in critical condition with abdominal injuries today at Amarillo’s Northwest Texas Hospital.

Justin Ruthstorn, who suffered injuries to the pelvis and other areas, and who was transferred from Amarillo to Lubbock for specialized treatment. At last report, he was in critical condition.

All three victims were transported from the rig location by Hemphill County EMS to the hospital in Canadian, before the two more critically injured men were transferred to Amarillo’s Northwest Texas Hospital.

An Apache spokeswoman, Castlen Moore Kennedy, confirmed the tornado-related accident and injuries last week, and said that all other personnel were safe and accounted for. “The well is secured and no other damage was reported.”

“Our thoughts are with all those affected,” she added.

Canadian firefighters, Hemphill County law enforcement and other emergency responders were dispatched to the rig around 5:15 pm yesterday afternoon when the accident was reported. They returned to Nix Ranch later in the evening, responding to a report of stranded rig workers, who had been attempting to drive out to the highway from the location and became trapped by flood waters.

The four as-yet unidentified men were in two vehicles and had been trapped on a sand bar, surrounded by deep, rushing water. Al-

though rescuers were unable to reach them, Flap-Air Helicopter owner and pilot Trey Webb was able to fly into the area by helicopter and lift the men to safety.

Webb said he had heard reports of other rescue efforts on the police radio, and considered flying in to assist but decided the weather was too bad to go. “There was heavy rain and wind, and it was close to being dark,” Webb said.

Then Webb was contacted by North Plains Electric representatives, who said that two of their linemen had gone in to Nix Ranch to make repairs. Their truck was stuck, and although they were in no apparent danger, the company did not want them to stay there all night.

“I don’t have any search lights,” Webb said, “just landing lights.

But I said I would see if I could locate them before it got any darker.”

By the time Webb had powered up the helicopter, the storm had let up some. “Knowing there were others still stranded on Big Timber,” he said, “I thought I’d follow Highway 83 until I got there, turn north and help them out on the way by.”

Webb could see the flashing lights as he approached the scene, and spotted several deputies and firemen in their reflective gear. Then he saw the four stranded rig crew members. They and their two pickups were surrounded on a patch of high ground, surrounded by water.

“I could see that the main channel west of them was running rapidly, and there was water on the other three sides as well,” he said, “but I had room to land the copter.”

Webb made two trips out to the highway with the stranded workers, then found the North Plains linemen and transported them to Hemphill County Airport. That’s when he called it quits for the evening.

Several other rig workers remained on location until the flood waters receded the next day. No other injuries were reported.

In photo at top, an aerial view of Cactus Drilling Rig #121 northwest of Canadian, taken a day after the storm.

PHOTO BY LAURIE EZZELL BROWN

THE CANADIAN RECORD

NEWS PAGE

THURSDAY 4 JUNE 2015

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NOTES...CONTINUED Maryle’s son, Mike Kelln, who said he also saw dead birds and a jackrabbit that were victims of the storm. The flooding that resulted from the downpour took all the water gaps out and filled the dams. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” Mike said.

Rain-filled Horse Creek overflows its banks Janice and Bill Roy Moore watched from the relative safety of the front porch of their home at Moore Ranch on Horse Creek, as the tail of one tornado dipped down and touched the ground on the neighboring Nix Ranch.

The Moores were fortunate not to have been any closer to the twister than that, but the 8.65 inches of rain that Janice measured in their gauge the next day created a fair share of havoc just the same. Horse Creek, which meanders through their property, is usually about 50 feet across at its widest spot. But by nightfall, it was closer to a quarter-mile wide or more and flooding had washed out several roads and water gaps. By Sunday, Janice could barely lift her arms after she and Bill Roy had spent a full day replacing the fences that had been swept away by flood waters—much of which had receded by Thursday evening, leaving behind bullfrogs bellowing from the banks, serenading their mates with songs of the storm.

Finding shelter in a weather emergency When the tornado sirens sounded last Wednesday evening, local residents began streaming to the public shelters. Officials at Hemphill County Hospital said they were inundated with people who assumed the facility is one of the designated shelters. It is not. The hospital does happen to be one of the sponsors of a tornado warning procedure ad that runs in The Record during the active tornado season. The information provides a public service by informing residents of Hemphill County about the procedure for the sirens and lists the public shelters. A copy of the ad has been copied and circulated. The confusion about the designated shelters caused problems at the hospital that Wednesday because the staff was busy arranging shelter for patients. The public is being asked to be aware that there are four public shelters which will be open during weather emergencies: 1) Hemphill County Courthouse; 2) Canadian Middle School; Baker Elementary School; and the Hemphill County Airport Pilot Lounge Basement.

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THURSDAY 4 JUNE 2015

NEWS PAGE

THE CANADIAN RECORD

Weathering the storm at Nix Ranch “It was the scariest thing ever,” Mary Jane Wheeler said this week. She had difficulty speaking, so weary was she from the aftermath of Wednesday’s storm. The overflowing banks of Big Timber Creek had forced Mary Jane, husband Stacey, and their neighbors— Jason Martin and Callie Crouch—from their homes on Nix Ranch late that night, and the tale of walking through rising flood waters, that were almost as tall, as she stands was a harrowing one.

Nix Ranch northwest of Canadian was at the epicenter of last week’s tornado activity, and according to neighbor Janice Moore— whose rain gauge filled to 8.65 inches that day—collected more than its share of rain, as well.

After calling Bill and Puddin’ Nix, the Wheelers headed for town, where Jason and Callie had already gone to seek shelter from the tornadoes. They stayed until the all-clear siren sounded and then turned back for home around 7:45 pm.

“Stacey’s mom said the creek was coming our way,” Mary Jane said. “We just thought we’d come along the creek crossing the highway.”

What they found when they got home was worse. “We hadn’t been home just a few minutes, and went outside,” she said. “We could hear the creek coming. It was roaring.”

They met Puddin’ down on the road and walked down to where they had just crossed the creek to get home. It was raging, and trees and debris had fallen everywhere. The mosquitos were so thick and hungry, that they turned toward home.

“By the time we walked maybe half a block to our houses,” Mary Jane said, “I could see water way behind Jason and Callie’s home. It looked like it was standing, but within a minute, it was coming around their house.”

Jason and Callie waded back toward the Wheeler residence with their dogs tucked under their arms. “Here was about a foot of rushing water,” Mary Jane said. “We got up on our porch and put the dogs inside. We just stood there as the water kept coming up the steps.”

Mary Jane said that soon, they could see things floating by in the water. A riding lawn mower. A deep freezer from the garage. Then they saw Callie’s car floating toward some trees. The headlights were flickering.

It was dark by then, she said, but Jason and Stacey decided they needed to head for higher ground. They could still see cars on the highway and thought if they climbed up a nearby sandhill, they could find a path out to safety.

“Jason was trying to prepare me to get back in the water,” Mary Jane said. “He told me if it knocked me over, ‘Don’t fight it. Just float to the highway.’”

The water was 4-to-5 feet high by then, Mary Jane, adding, “I’m only 5’1”.”

Jason strung together some garden hoses and tied them to a tree to provide a safety line.

Afraid that the house was going to give way, he and Stacey said, “We’re getting out of here while we can.”

Although their cell phones were dead, Mary Jane was finally able to reach her daughter, Janie, on a landline. She asked her to contact Ray Anderson and tell him that they were heading to the highway and would need a ride when they reached it.

“Jason helped me get across the water,” Mary Jane said. “I was just numb. I don’t remember coming out of my house. I just remember crossing the water and him hanging onto me.”

The minute they reached the sandhill, the rain and lightning resumed. By then, all the cars they had seen on the highway were gone.

“We knew it was flooded, too.”

Surrounded by dark, with the flood waters below, the four of them walked until they reached the highway. “When we got to the

fence, I could see Ray in his truck, backing up to reach us. He got out and said, ‘Hey, guys.’”

“I told him then that seeing him was just like seeing Jesus,” Mary Jane said.

In the daylight Thursday morning, the water’s true power was revealed. Jason and Callie’s house was totaled. They were able to salvage a few clothes and other things. Both of their vehicles had been destroyed, as well, as was Stacey’s. Mary Jane’s car survived the night in town.

The Wheeler home was in better shape— but just barely. “We have walls that are wet,” Mary Jane said. “The flooring is damp and there’s standing water under the house. We haven’t pulled the furniture out yet. There’s nowhere to go with it.”

“It’s going to take a long time to get every-

thing fixed and back,” she said. “But we’re alive, and very grateful. That’s just stuff.”

“I remember us standing on the porch that night, thinking,” Mary Jane said. “I remember Jason saying he had always wondered why people are such dumbasses and stay in their houses when there is a flood coming.”

She paused for a moment, realizing that they all knew the answer now. “It just happens so quickly.”

In photo above, the waters of Timber Creek were still roiling on Thursday morning, and had carved out new banks, toppled trees and washed out fences following torrential rains.

PHOTO BY LAURIE EZZELL BROWN

THE CANADIAN RECORD

NEWS PAGE

Rain threatened again early Thursday morning when this photo of a flooded pasture along Highway 60/83 near Big Timber Park was taken.

THURSDAY 4 JUNE 2015

9

PHOTO BY LAURIE EZZELL BROWN

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NEWS PAGE

THURSDAY 24 DECEMBER 2015

THE CANADIAN RECORD

EDC considers new Visitors’ Center signage, revisits disposal well issue, purchases property After more than a year of off-and-on discussion, the Visitors’ Center came a step closer to having new signage in front of the building.

In the Dec. 14 EDC meeting, Rob and Gabriel Brown with Alley Woodworks submitted a drawing for a proposed sign. The structure will be iron constructed by Kirk Westbrook with a cutout mirroring the Santa Fe-style of the building. The panels with the wording will be high-density sign foam board, which is stable, holds paint, and is waterproof and impervious to rot. The lettering will be done with a CNC router. Also mentioned was a need for a building number, as well as a logo for the Chamber/EDC. “The building needs a sign that’s visible and legible,” said Rob Brown, “and consistent with the style of the building and consistent with the intent of the Chamber and the EDC.” He said the rough estimate of the cost is $15,000 and would hinge on who would pay for moving the sprinklers so they would not continually spray the sign, and what would be involved with the electrical work for lighting.

Councilman Coleman Bartlett agreed with the board that he would prefer to have local craftsmen create the sign. Another proposal that had been discussed in earlier ses-

sions was from Wellborn Sign Co. in Amarillo had been estimated at $26,000. Community Development Director Shane Spencer will meet with Rob and Gabriel Brown to choose fonts and a design style for the sign.

Disposing of disposal wells After discussing the history of the issue of disposal wells 2 miles northeast of town, the board authorized Spencer to seek counsel regarding a protest of Overflow Energy’s disposal well proposed for the site between the Oasis Truck Stop and the Municipal Golf Course. The EDC had received notification of a hearing scheduled for Feb. 11, 2016, but there was confusion about which site the hearing referred to—the first one proposed

by Overflow at the intersection of Lake Marvin Road and US 60/83, or the second one near the Oasis.

The hearing does refer to the Oasis site. In January, the Railroad Commission of Texas notified Overflow Energy LLC that it would not grant administrative approval of its permit application for the Canadian North saltwater disposal well to be located on the edge of town near the Oasis. Letters of protest were sent by Judge George Briant on behalf of Hemphill County; former Community Devel-

opment Director Tamera Julian on behalf of the Canadian Community Development Partnership; General Manager Janet Guthrie on behalf of the Hemphill County Underground Water Conservation District; and by several individual property owners, expressing concerns about the proposed well location and its proximity to the Canadian River and to the shallow water table in that area.

Because the RRC did not grant administrative approval, that action left it open for the company to proceed with the hearing process, which then gives protestors a chance to submit letters. Similar concerns and letters of protest had been filed opposing the previously proposed location for Overflow’s well at the Lake Marvin Road intersection. Overflow owner Duwane Skipper had indicated to County Commissioner Coleman Bartlett in November 2014, that if the Canadian North proposal was protested, he would abandon it and pursue the original location.

Regarding the problems of disposal wells, Councilman Jonathan Frederick said, “At the end of the day, it’s no different than an oil well.

If somebody drills an oil well in your backyard, they say, ‘Can you drink the water,’ and, yeah, if they follow the rules. Does a disposal well improve our economy? I doubt it.”

Councilman Patrick Murfee said he thought the water contamination issue would gain less traction because the answer would be that the regulations would be followed. As for the stance the EDC has taken in regard to the issue, he added, “Economic development is what we’re talking about long-term for zoning and planning—about the community outside of the town and the city limits. Really, the character and feel of what we’re trying to do with the town, I think it really flies in the face—having a disposal well right there.” He cited truck traffic and the activity making the area more of an industrial district than a tourist attraction, since the site is in close proximity to the walking bridge.

The board authorized up to $5,000 for legal counsel to assist with the protest. On Tues-

day, Dec. 21, the city council heard a request from the HCUWCD General Manager Janet Guthrie to consider being involved in protesting the well disposal site. A report on that decision will be published in the Jan. 7 issue of The Record.

EDC purchases property After an executive session, the EDC approved the purchase of property from Eddie Duenes at 110 W. Hobart, for up to the amount of $18,000 plus closing costs. It is a commercially-zoned site off the highway. Community Development Director Shane Spencer said the property could possibly be utilized for the Food Truck Park being proposed and researched by the EDC, or for some other business needing land.

Calf Fry Cook-Off wrap-up Kimbra Julian presented a report on the Canadian River Beach Club’s 2015 Calf Fry Cook-off in September. The club received a $10,000 marketing grant for the event. Julian said the attendance of 1,050 was down 150 from last year. There were 18 vendors, down two, and 30 teams, representing a decrease of five from 2014. A representative from the International Barbeque Cookers Association told Julian that cook-off attendance had been down all across the country. Even with the drop in attendance, it was considered a success. During the cook-off, a survey is conducted. This year 70 surveys were submitted—46 percent local and 54 percent out-of-towners.

When asked how they had heard about the Calf Fry, 23 percent said radio and the same number said Facebook. A total of 46 percent said they heard about the event through a friend, 10 percent saw a poster, and 3 percent saw ads in the local newspaper. Of the $11,441 spent on promotion, $6,059 was spent on radio; $672.90 on ads in The Canadian Record; $250 for Facebook ads; $395 on posters and direct mail-outs; and $4,063 on promotional items. After the accounts had been settled, the CRBC donated $8,000 to local charities.

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THE CANADIAN RECORD

THURSDAY 14 JANUARY 2016

Heads in the sand

By Laurie Ezzell Brown

The Canadian

RECORD ESTABLISHED 1893 INCORPORATED FEBRUARY 1998 PO Box 898, Canadian, TX 79014 Phone: 806.323.6461 Fax: 806.323.5738 BEN EZZELL Editor/Publisher 1948-1993

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by Laurie Ezzell Brown

IN THE NOW-DISTANT PAST, our community’s progress was hampered by the inability of city and county to work together, to share their resources in a way that used our tax dollars most effectively, and that acknowledged their common interests and interdependence. Much good has come from the ability of those two governmental entities to work together, and to bring others—like the school and hospital districts—to the table, as well.

There is no lesson learned, though, that cannot be unlearned, and no progress achieved that cannot be lost when we ignore the past and lose sight of the future.

As our city council embarks on a new challenge to map that future by investing heavily in a comprehensive long-range plan, we would like to believe that the lessons have been learned and committed to memory, and that their vision for our future is clear. We are concerned, though, that neither is true.

The examples of this council’s collective failure to fully grasp those hard-earned lessons are many. We emphasize the word “collective,” because there are some members of that body who know only too well how important the intergovernmental cooperation has been to our progress, and who should also know how fragile those bonds can be.

This county’s underground water conservation district is an all-too-often overlooked, but increasingly essential, component in growing and protecting our future. The city council’s refusal last month to grant a request by its general manager, Janet Guthrie, to provide information about Overflow Energy’s contested permit application for a saltwater disposal well at a location on the north edge of town is both insulting and irresponsible.

It should be noted. The location of the saltwater disposal well is the paramount issue—not the right of Overflow owner Duwane Skipper to build that commercial facility. Fond as he is of siting those facilities at busy intersections in order to maximize profitability, Skipper has proposed a well location on land adjacent to both the Oasis Truck Stop and the city golf course. It is also precipitously close to the Canadian River and to that area’s shallow water table, and precariously located at the heavily-traveled intersections of US 60, US 83 and Lake Marvin Road.

It no longer requires any stretch of the imagination to understand that area’s vulnerability to heavy rainfall and flooding. We have ample documentation of just such an event last spring, in which the Canadian River quickly rose to flood stage and above, washing over its banks and spreading from one end of the highway bridge to the other and well beyond.

Nor does it require any imagination to understand the danger of that stretch of road, with heavy industrial traffic slowing and turning, with trucks entering and exiting the Oasis Truck Stop—all at the junction of two major highways and nearby Lake Marvin Road and the Canadian River Bridge, where travelers from the north and south and east and west suddenly converge. The disaster that can result—and has—is also welldocumented, and can only be compounded.

Wise and well-intentioned citizens may disagree about the inherent dangers of this location. That is why we protect free speech and honor the expression of diverse opinion in this country. But to refuse to hear the concerns of any citizen is wrong, and to reject the request of a highly-

respected, well-educated expert, charged with conserving and protecting our most valuable resource, to voice her concerns and to share the information she has compiled for the council’s edification on this issue—well, that is unconscionable.

One cannot help wondering what the city council is protecting itself from—and whose interests it is really guarding. The fact that three council members owe their livelihoods to the oil and gas industry may well be a factor, while not necessarily a disqualifying one. Not one of them has declared what could be a conflict of interest, and done what is both ethically and legally correct by stepping away from the table when their own best interests may conflict with the public’s.

That they have not been advised to do so is the fault of City Manager Hoyt Manning, whose job it is to inform and guide them. It should be corrected not only in this matter, but in all matters before the council that pose a conflict, if its members are to be entrusted with these decisions that affect our future.

Take a page from the county commissioners, who at the beginning of each year are asked by Judge Briant to submit a letter declaring their business interests and disclosing any potential personal conflicts. Take another page from Commissioner Mark Meek, who stepped away from the table just this Monday when the bids for construction work at the Exhibition Center were opened, discussed and voted on—among them, one from Virtus Builds, a business interest of Mark and son Kaleb Meek—or from Commissioners Coleman Bartlett and Nicholas Thomas, who have done so in other matters where their own businesses stood to profit from the court’s decisions.

We asked this week why Guthrie’s request had been denied, and were told that it was the decision of Mayor Rob Talley—who may, or may not, have shared the request with his fellow council members. According to Manning, Talley said the council had already visited this issue—which it did, in November 2014, when it rejected a written request by Guthrie to exercise its right as an affected party and protest the permit before the Railroad Commission. Guthrie had not been able to attend that meeting, but she was there last month, fully-prepared to offer information she hoped would compel the council to act. Manning said Talley didn’t think the council would change its mind.

It should be noted that Talley is employed in the oil and gas industry, and that his business is engaged in water hauling—a direct conflict of interest in this matter. It is also worth noting that over half of the council’s membership has changed since this issue first came before them.

We would love to believe that this council can act wisely—with insight, vision and abundant knowledge—to prepare for this community’s bright future when it begins the comprehensive planning process. But a governmental body that rejects, out of hand, a citizen’s appeal to be heard is an affront to the basic principles of representative government on which this nation was built. And one that refuses an appeal by another public official to present information critical to this community’s best interests should not be entrusted with its future.

EDITOR’S NOTE: When contacted this week, Manning noted that Guthrie had not specifically indicated she wished to speak to the council—only that she asked that the Overflow permit be placed on last month’s agenda. Because of a death in the family, Guthrie was unavailable to take our call seeking clarification on this matter, but we believe from previous conversations that her intention to speak on the issue were clear. —LEB

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NEWS PAGE

THURSDAY 14 JANUARY 2016

THE CANADIAN RECORD

Overflow Energy saltwater disposal well permit goes to RRC hearing next month The Overflow Energy Canadian North saltwater disposal well site permit application is going to hearing with the Railroad Commission in February.

The permit has elicited letters of protest to the RRC from county commissioners, the Economic Development Council, the water district, and several landowners with property that could potentially be affected by any spill or flooding at the location. If those protests fail to block RRC approval of the permit, the last line of defense will likely be the Texas Department of Transportation, which will have to approve a permit allowing access to and from the location off of US 60 and US 83.

In their meeting on Monday, Jan. 11, county commissioners unanimously approved and signed a letter to be sent to TxDOT Area Engineer Wesley Kimmell oppos-

ing the provision of access points at or near the intersection of US 83 and US 60 north of Canadian. The letter cites safety concerns due to sight restrictions coupled with a high volume of traffic at the location, which is the site proposed by Overflow Energy LLC for a saltwater disposal well.

“To add new truck access points in this area would create additional traffic congestion and safety issues for the motoring public, including the citizens of Hemphill County,” the letter reads, in part. “We will appreciate your diligent investigation and cautious consideration as you review this matter.”

Any Hemphill County resident who would like to send a letter of protest to TxDOT expressing their concerns over the potential traffic hazards the well site could present at that location may do so by submitting them to the following individuals:

[Insert Date] TX Depart. of Transportation ATTN: Kit Black 5715 Canyon Drive Amarillo, TX 79110

TX. Dept. of Transportation ATTN: Wesley Kimmell P.O. Box 1136 Pampa, TX 79066

RE: Protest to Entrance Permit appl

• Wesley Kimmell, Area Engineer Texas Department of Transportation PO Box 1136 Pampa, TX 79066 • Scott Brewster Texas Department of Transportation PO Box 206 Canadian, TX 79014 For those who are unsure what the letter should say, a suggested draft is offered below, and can be signed and addressed by one or more individuals.

TX Dept. of Transportation ATTN: Scott Brewster P.O. Box 206 Canadian, TX 79014

nN ication - Overflow Energy Canadia

Gentlemen,

• Kit Black, District Engineer Texas Department of Transportation 5715 Canyon Drive Amarillo, TX 79110

Disposal

osal faof Overflow Energy Canadian N disp protest to the entrance application ens who citiz d erne conc and s ator Please accept this letter as formal oper owners/ of Hwy 83/60. As residents, business ronment. cility to be located at the junction for the safety of motorist and the envi ern conc of e voic our in orm unif are we , tion junc this el trav ly frequent to the give and take that must ocral resources. We are no stranger natu t dan abun with s the risk is sed bles is nty Hemphill Cou acknowledge that in some instance however we are also protective and ity area where mun itive com l sens rura ly a in high a ve in thri ted to cur instances. This facility is loca e thos of one is site osal ding from disp floo r of l , there is a potentia too great. This particula h to water 10-15 feet. At this location dept the winter with the low ng shal duri , very fact is e In r. tabl the water to the Canadian Rive nage channel to the south leading Dry Creek which is a natural drai area will stand in water. months and after rainfall events, the We are contract and there is no turning lane. is to be constructed is a very small haulers and r wate the allow will The property on which the facility that site ance age to allow construction of an entr the nature of the cerned the tract lacks proper acre also concerned with the high traffic, are We . ness busi r thei t abou g goin of ns surface water to mea and safe ater a t ndw oris grou mot the be involved thus exposing the may s spill re whe s ance inst for l traffic and the potentia on. potential if not certain contaminati y as 83 trucks a day entering mission, the facility could see as man Com road Rail as motorTex the by it If granted, a perm ider the impacts to the safety of all erty. We ask that you carefully cons prop on for of e icati piec ll appl sma the very deny this and r ting and exis the groundwater/surface wate to rds haza l ntia pote the as well ist who travel this area as an entrance permit. all safety measures including but Overflow Energy bear the cost of that ask ld wou we ed, issu ever If a permit is how lanes etc. ble strips, construction of turning not limited to warning lights, rum Thank you in advance for consider [Signature] [Add Name & Address]

ing our concerns.

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THURSDAY 28 JANUARY 2016

NEWS PAGE

THE CANADIAN RECORD

Divided city council approves protest letter to TxDOT, protesting Overflow highway entrance Canadian’s city council members agreed in a split vote last Monday evening to submit a letter to TxDOT officials protesting the entrance permit application for the Overflow Energy Canadian N saltwater disposal well site near the intersection of US 60 and US 83 north of Canadian.

The request, which was placed on the agenda at the request of Underground Water Conservation District General Manager Janet Guthrie, was debated at length before councilman Joe Schaef’s motion to submit the proposed letter to TxDOT was seconded

by Jonathan Frederick and passed 3-1, with Lisa Ayala absent and Colby Waters casting the sole opposing vote.

The council had declined a request nearly two years ago to join the county commissioners, Economic Development Council board and a group of affected landowners in sending letters to the Texas Railroad Commission protesting approval of Overflow’s disposal well permit. The well is located adjacent to the municipal golf course and the Oasis Truck Stop and very close to both the Canadian River and the US 60/83 intersection about 3 miles north of town. Unlike the EDC and commissioners, however, the city is considered an affected property owner because of the saltwater disposal well site’s location next to the city-owned golf course.

Guthrie was unable to attend Monday’s council meeting due to a recent fall which resulted in a broken leg and surgical repair.

She did provide details about the Feb. 11 RRC hearing to consider the contested well site, along with maps and aerial photos of the proposed location and its proximity to the highway, to the golf course, to Salt Creek and to 15 water wells which are within a 1-mile radius of the property.

Manning said the saltwater disposal well location raises public safety concerns because the proposed highway entrance is very close to the golf course entrance, and could result in increased congestion from as many as 83 trucks a day which would enter and leave the site.

John Julian is among several landowners who have protested both the disposal well permit request to the RRC and the entrance permit request to TxDOT. He asked the council to write a letter to transportation agency officials out of a concern for public safety issues at the location. “That tract of land is in the natural drainage area of Dry Creek,” he said. “It’s probably not over 100130 feet in width, and so will take in all of that area.”

“I don’t see much room for an entrance there,” Julian said. “If it is accessed by the railroad track, that’s the worst-case scenario you could get there.”

Julian said he was advised by former TxDOT Area Engineer Kenny Corse to urge the city, county, EDC and Chamber officials to voice their concerns about the well location and the safety issues. “He said his superiors

An aerial view of the Oasis Truck Stop and US 60/83 intersection, looking south. The proposed Overflow saltwater disposal well site lies between the Oasis and the Municipal Golf Course, on a tract of land which abuts US 83 N. look at those [protests], and put more weight on that than on individual protests.”

Julian reminded the council that the potential for contamination of the groundwater, which is only 6-12’ deep at that location, and said, “Some of these photos show water standing on the ground there. The city is affected because you have three water wells there. It is a bad scanario in safety and potential contamination issues.”

“I would think that with the golf course being out there, and us promoting tourism, we wouldn’t want a disposal well on the edge of it,” Gober said, adding that the smell, the increased traffic and the safety issues were all a source of concern.

“I understand these issues, and I agree with many of them,” said Waters. “But what we are considering is prohibiting [Overflow] from partaking in this business which requires a permit. What I said before and what I’ll say again is there are any number of things that can happen on this property that do the same things you just described...that don’t require a permit.”

Waters suggested that if the property was so important, the city ought to discuss making an offer for it and trying to protect it.

“The traffic is an issue here. I agree,” Waters continued. “When I was a fireman, I went to a dozen crazy wrecks there.”

But, Waters insisted,“I’m against us making a stand against a property owner because the government agency won’t do what they ought to do. The gas station on this corner has had multiple violations for leaking tanks over the years...I don’t recall any discussion about that.”

Waters also pointed out that there were numerous safety issues at the intersection of US 60 and 83, 7 miles south of Canadian. “It took forever for something to happen there before TxDOT made changes.”

“How did that come about, Colby?” Julian responded. “It happened by people voicing their opinions, people writing letters and asking them to help us with that.”

“That’s what we’re trying to do now,” he continued. “We’re asking that before TxDOT lets them have an entrance permit...some-

thing needs to be done. There should be turning lanes. The company should be held responsible for it. That’s how we do that.”

“For me,” said Frederick, “I think it’s in our city’s best interest to make our voice heard about the safety issue. It really is a safety issue. And who is going to be servicing all the issues that could arise out there? This town.”

Waters suggested that the highway-entrance permit was really “a backdoor way” of fighting the disposal well. “It’s Obama politics,” he said, “where if you don’t get your way one way, you try some other way.”

Joe Schaef ended the debate with his successful motion to submit a letter protesting the entrance permit to TxDOT. The letter, which has been sent to TxDOT officials in Canadian, Pampa and Amarillo, reads: “Please accept this letter as a formal protest to the entrance application of Overflow Energy Canadian N disposal facility to be located at the junction of Hwy 83/60. The City of Canadian owns property adjacent to the proposed site and has operated a public golf

THE CANADIAN RECORD

NEWS PAGE

Survey of the Canadian North saltwater disposal well site proposed by Overflow Energy course for 23 years. We have observed over time the various scenarios in which accidents have occurred at the intersection of highways 60 and 83.

“The likelihood of increased truck traffic in this congested area raises concerns for the safety of motorists from our community as well as those traveling to visit our community. It is with that thought and concern that we ask the entrance permit be denied.”

In other discussion, Manning relayed information provided by City Attorney Angelique Weaver regarding the disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. The issue arose in response to a Record editorial critical of the council for its failure to disclose those interests when they may conflict with the public interests they are tasked with representing.

Section 176.003 of the Local Government Code requires a local government officer who owns or is related to someone who owns a substantial interest in a business entity to disclose that interest, and to abstain from any discussion, vote or decision involving that business entity.

Weaver advised that while city officials— unlike county officials—are not subject to the disclosure requirement, it would not be inappropriate to do so. She said the most common method of handling those conflicts is on a meeting-by-meeting, item-by-item basis when necessary.

The attorney also said that in some circumstances it may be prudent for an official to disclose a potential conflict even though it is not required by law, to simply avoid any appearance of impropriety. “If you are considering an item that affects a business that you have a substantial interest in,” Manning told the council, “you are required to file an affidavit.”

Manning provided a disclosure form designed by City Secretary Kimberly Sloat

that council members could fill out, and which could be kept on file at City Hall.

“Does everybody understand?” Mayor Rob Talley asked. “Just because you work in a particular field doesn’t mean there’s a conflict of interest...since that seemed to come up lately.”

Manning agreed, saying “Only ownership in a business or entity constitutes a conflict.”

“I’m kinda’ surprised this wasn’t our policy anyway,” Frederick said. “Did anybody know?”

“Conflict of interest is a little bit of a nobrainer,” Talley said. “We expect you to excuse yourself because of a conflict. That’s the way it’s always been done. We assume everybody that’s on here is an honest-enough person.”

The council considered an annual disclosure, but agreed with Councilman Bob Gober, who said, “It’s hard to do an annual one without knowing what’s coming up on an agenda.”

“I’d rather do it as each instance comes up,” said Frederick. “Why disclose information that doesn’t really need to be disclosed?”

No action was taken.

THURSDAY 28 JANUARY 2016

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THURSDAY 28 JANUARY 2016

NEWS PAGE

THE CANADIAN RECORD

Water district board debates settlement to protect water-quality monitoring at Overflow disposal well site The question before the county’s underground water conservation district board members last week was whether to stand firm against Overflow Energy’s contested saltwater disposal well permit application in next month’s case hearing before the Railroad Commission (RRC), or to offer a settlement agreement that would ensure the district’s ability to monitor water quality at the site.

The decision is one the board and general manager Janet Guthrie have struggled with since Overflow owner Duwane Skipper abandoned his first proposed well site at the intersection of US 60/83 and Lake Marvin Road to focus on another location across the road.

Both sites are located at busy intersections, where the addition of as many as 83 trucks per day accessing the disposal well will increase congestion and pose increased danger to travelers. Both sites are also precipitously close to the Canadian River, and would result in the disposal well being perched atop the area’s shallow groundwater, increasing the risk of contamination should a spill occur.

The new site, referred to as Canadian North, is also directly in the path of stormwater runoff of Dry Creek, a tributary that leads to the Canadian River, and within a mile radius of several water wells. The injection and operating permits for the disposal well, which

require RRC approval, have become the focus of protests by nearby landowners, and also face formal challenges from county commissioners, the economic development and water district boards, and other concerned citizens.

Guthrie told her board last Tuesday she is concerned that if the permit is granted despite those challenges, the district will lose its ability to negotiate groundwater monitoring agreements and more rigorous well construction standards with Overflow. The RRC is already saying they have technically- and administratively-complete applications for injection and operating permits, she explained, and Overflow is saying that by constructing the well to higher standards, they have addressed the water district’s concerns.

Guthrie said she had contacted the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to determine whether the disposal well’s location triggers anything in either the Clean Water Act or Safe Drinking Water Act. She is also awaiting a response from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) on whether the site’s location in a tributary would require further review and permitting by that agency.

“At this time, no application has been filed [with USACE],” she said. “I don’t know if [Overflow’s] tactical approach is to get the other permits and then go to the Army Corps, or whether there are exceptions for the oil and gas industry. I have not gotten my answer to that question.”

Board member Marty Carr said he assumed that in the area Overflow has proposed, “I would think they’d have to file a stormwater prevention plan. The Army Corps of Engineers will send somebody out to tell them how to do it. Depending on how the plan is written, they have to do periodic checks…and file water-quality reports.”

Guthrie said that issue is under review by the agency to determine if their jurisdiction reaches that tract of land, or not. Meanwhile, with the Feb. 11 RRC hearing rapidly approaching, “We are getting down to the nitty gritty, and need to decide how to proceed. We can go in and ask them to deny, but if we do not have good grounds for our request, they

The graphic above shows the locations of several water wells that are located within a onemile radius of the proposed Overflow North saltwater disposal well site will issue the permits. Then we won’t have a settlement agreement in place which requires annual water-quality testing.”

Guthrie said it was unlikely that—once permitted—Skipper would agree to the testing, and added, “I do not believe the RRC will require annual water-quality testing without a signed agreement.”

Beyond that, the next best chance to block the disposal well being built at that location is for TxDOT to require additional safety measures before granting the highway-entrance permit. Though no permit request has been filed by Overflow, the possibility has elicited similar protests, joined last week by Canadi-

an’s city council, which last week authorized a letter to TxDOT expressing concern for the safety issues at that location [see related story].

Guthrie’s board suggested she reach out to Skipper to determine whether he intends to go forward with his permit request and the contested case hearing. Whether or not the water district reaches a settlement agreement, Guthrie said, “There are other protests, and they still will go to hearing. I feel like we’ve got to get [an agreement] drafted, but I’m hoping for a clearcut ‘Oh, no, we can’t do it here,’ decision.”

THE CANADIAN RECORD

In response to protest letters

TxDOT clarifies its driveway permitting procedures TxDOT officials reported to The Record Monday morning that they have received numerous letters from individuals asking them to deny a driveway permit to Overflow Energy for a proposed saltwater disposal well site to be located near the intersection of US 60/83 north of Canadian.

In a Monday morning conference call with Record editor Laurie Ezzell Brown, TxDOT Public Information Officer Paul Braun and Area Engineer Wesley Kimmell acknowledged the concern expressed by letter writers for safety issues posed by increased industrial traffic and congestion in that area, but said they have not yet received a request from Overflow for a driveway entrance to the site. That request will likely follow the Texas Railroad Commission hearing to consider Overflow’s contested application to that agency for a saltwater disposal well permit.

The purpose of TxDOT’s call was to clarify the procedures they must follow when considering a driveway entrance request. “Technically, we can restrict access

NEWS PAGE through driveway placement,” Kimmell explained, “but we cannot deny a driveway permit to a property owner.”

When Overflow sought approval for a saltwater disposal well site at the entrance to Lake Marvin Road, local residents worried about the safety issues were advised by Kimmell’s predecessor, Kenny Corse, to express their concerns in letters to TxDOT. Many did, citing the danger that heavy industrial traffic in that area already posed to travelers, and pointing out that the addition of more oil field trucks would only increase that hazard.

Kimmell said this week, though, that Overflow never requested a driveway permit for that first site—and that reports that the request had been rejected were not true.

Overflow’s permit request to RRC for that location was withdrawn when owner Duwane Skipper decided to turn his attention to the other side of Hwy 60/83 and proposed a disposal well site on land adjacent to the Oasis Truck Stop.

But Kimmel said TxDOT cannot deny a landowner access to his property, adding, “We can force them to do things…to enhance safety. We can hold their feet to the fire…over the bridge and driveway spacing. But technically, we are required to approve a driveway permit request.”

Kimmell said TxDOT can ask for additional measures if the driveway request does not meet the agency’s safety requirements. Among those measures are provision of turn lanes, which he said are very expensive to build.

“The property owner must bear those costs,” he noted.

In addition, Kimmell explained that if the driveway entrance is requested for an industrial site, there is a separate form the property owner must fill out, providing information about the number and type of trucks that will

THURSDAY 28 JANUARY 2016

7

be accessing the site.

Above all, he said, “it is my obligation as an engineer to protect public safety. That is our No. 1 priority.”

We asked Kimmell whether the letters already submitted would be retained for consideration when and if Overflow does seek access. “The letters will remain on file and will be part of the driveway permitting process,” he assured us. “It is our mission to work with others to provide safe and reliable transportation solutions for Texas. TxDOT has a duty not to outright deny access to adjacent property without thorough justification.”

“We have and will continue to work with others, including concerned members of the public as well as adjacent property owners on access to adjacent property,” he added.

We also asked Kimmell whether there will be additional opportunity for the public to comment on a request from Overflow. He said there will be no opportunity for additional public comment, and no public hearing will be held. “TxDOT has an Access Management Policy, which is used as guidance in reviewing all requests for access driveways,” he explained. “There are many factors that are considered when reviewing requests for access driveways; many of these factors are still unknown to TxDOT for this particular case since we do not have a driveway request.”

In closing, he said, “TxDOT values integrity and has the responsibility to be consistent in applying the Access Management Policy. TxDOT cannot deny access in a location or business that is ‘unpopular’ but then bend the rules for a more favorable business.”

THE CANADIAN RECORD

NEWS PAGE

Overflow pulls permit request for Canadian N. Overflow Energy LLC has officially withdrawn its permit application for the Canadian North saltwater disposal well which was proposed for a site near the junction of US 60 and 83 north of Canadian.

In a letter dated Feb. 24 and addressed to the Hearings Division of the Texas Railroad Commission, Austin Attorney George C. Neale provided notice that Overflow Energy was withdrawing its application for a saltwater disposal well permit, and requesting that a hearing on the permit request scheduled for June 14 be cancelled.

The permit application had drawn fire from several affected Hemphill County land- and water well-owners in the area, as well as protest letters and challenges from county commissioners, the board of the Hemphill County Underground Water Conservation District (HCUWCD) and the Canadian/Hemphill County Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Council. Additional letters to TxDOT seeking to block the addition of truck access points to US 60/83 from the proposed site had also been submitted—the latest one from the city of Canadian, owner of the municipal golf course adjacent to the proposed saltwater disposal well site.

Water District General Manager Janet Guthrie expressed her appreciation to the governmental entities, the concern citizens and the adjoining landowners who participated in the numerous discussions, explorations and correspondence regarding the importance of public health, safety and our environment. “Your voice, your concerns and your unity were heard,” she said.

Canadian North was the second saltwater disposal well site proposed by Overflow Energy owner Duwane Skipper for construction near the Canadian River. The first one—for which the permit application was also withdrawn—had been located at the intersection of US 60/83 and Lake Marvin Road. Both attracted protests from the community, chiefly because of their proximity to the river and to the shallow water table in that area, and secondarily for the impact the industrial site would have on increasing traffic congestion at the busy intersections.

Glowing 2015-16 county audit report tempered by declining values Commissioners received a glowing audit report Monday from John Meriss, an accountant with Doshier, Pickens and Francis LLC, who pronounced the county “in tremendous shape,” with a 23.3-month reserve in unrestricted net assets.

Meriss applauded the county’s fiscal oversight, which has allowed commissioners to invest wisely in extensive capital improvements, while still securing its employee pension fund, which he said is 105 percent funded on future obligations. “That is fantastic news,” he said. “You are one of only two counties in the Panhandle that has done that.

Your retirement plan is working exactly the way you wanted it to. You’ve met your obligation.”

Likewise, Meriss said, nobody in the Panhandle has reserves as high as Hemphill County does. “You have built up enough of a cushion that if any catastrophe were to happen, you could handle it,” he said.

Meriss cautioned the court not to be sitting on too much in reserve, saying it could cause taxpayers to start questioning their tax rates, but also noted, “If you maxed out your tax rate, you could raise another $9.962 million in your general fund, and another $4.731 million in your road and bridge fund.”

Instead, he said, “You’re building up a reserve with low tax rates. You are handling your fiduciary responsibilities at the highest level, and managing taxpayers’ money the way you are supposed to.”

In one sobering note, Meriss warned that four taxpayers accounted for 21 percent of the county’s tax roll. “The fact that oil is about to crater should be a concern,” he said, “but nothing that you can’t weather.”

Judge George Briant offered a similarly grim note in court earlier this month when— in preparation for the budget planning process—he told commissioners that values in Hemphill County could drop in the next fiscal year by as much as 35 percent, from $2 billion to $1.3 billion. Briant said he would get the first preliminary tax valuations in April, and would have a clearer picture then.

But to drive home the point, he said, “If we were taxing at the same rate, it would generate just $6.3 million.” If values dropped that much, Briant added, it would require a 69-cent tax rate to generate the same $9 million that county taxes raised this year.

“As all that moves away from the oil and gas industry,” he said, “do you want to keep the same budget? It’s just something to be thinking about.”

THURSDAY 3 MARCH 2016

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