Lake Texoma Update, LTA Meeting 7-21-10, EJP

Federal judge dismisses Texas lawsuit in water fight between states

A federal judge Friday dismissed a northern Texas water district's lawsuit (Tarrant Regional Water District) against the Oklahoma Water Resources Board that attempted to force the board to give the district access to surface and stream water in southeastern Oklahoma. In an eight-page order, U.S. District Judge Joe Heaton granted a motion by Attorney General Drew Edmondson's office rejecting the lawsuit that was filed in January 2007 by the Tarrant County Water District, which serves rapidly growing Fort Worth, Texas, and nearby communities.

The lawsuit, which also named the Oklahoma Water Conservation Storage Commission, challenged the constitutionality of a moratorium on out-of-state water sales adopted by the Oklahoma Legislature. Water district officials indicated they will appeal the decision to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.

State Sen. Jerry Ellis, D-Valliant, an outspoken opponent of out-of-state water sales, said the ruling will help keep the region's water where it is to create jobs for local residents. "Growth will go where the water goes, that's a fact," Ellis said. "I want to bring the jobs to the water and not the water to the jobs." Last month, Ellis, whose southeastern Oklahoma district is separated from North Texas by the Red River, opposed the Water Resources Board's decision to transfer the state's water storage contract for Sardis Lake to Oklahoma City, a decision also opposed by many southeastern Oklahoma residents and American Indian tribal leaders. Ellis and others said the region has one of the highest unemployment rates and lowest per capita income rates in the state. "We've got a beautiful part of the country down here. We just need to bring more jobs here," Ellis said.

The Tarrant water district is seeking to divert more than 130 billion gallons (per year) of water from river basins just north of the Red River and provide it to the region's growing population, which is expected to hit 4.3 million by 2060. The water district filed permit applications in 2007 to capture water from three river basins in south central and southeastern Oklahoma before it enters the Red River and takes on too much salt to be drinkable.

Notes: The three Oklahoma River Basins that flow into the Red River and Lake Texoma are Cache and Beaver Basins (near Lawton, OK) and the Kiamichi Basin in Southeast OK that flows into the lower Red River below the Denison Dam on Lake Texoma. These and other current and proposed projects will remove excessive water and chlorides from the Red River Basin and its tributaries.

EPA delays E15 decision until fall

The Environmental Protection Agency will delay until the fall a decision on whether more ethanol than the current 10 percent limit can be blended into gasoline, according to media reports. The EPA had been expected to render its decision this month. Growth Energy, an organization representing the nation's ethanol producers, has petitioned the EPA for a waiver to allow ethanol blends of up to 15 percent.

An EPA statement, provided to Dow Jones Newswires, said more testing still needs to be conducted on cars to see how they run on a 15 percent ethanol blend. EPA said preliminary results "look good," and Department of Agriculture officials called that good news for the ethanol industry.

Many boating industry organizations, including the NMMA and BoatU.S., have been urging the EPA to base its decision on sound scientific data, and contend that higher ethanol levels could cause serious damage to boat engines. E10 has led to the disintegration of fiberglass fuel tanks, the gumming up of fuel lines, and piston and valve failure. These problems have raised concerns among boating safety advocates.

http://www.tradeonlytoday.com/home/504871-epa-delays-e15-decision-until-fall

EPA Requests Feedback on Performance Standards on Marine Sanitation Devices
As discussed by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials at the American Boating Congress this past May, the agency is now calling for comments on marine sanitation devices (MSDs). Specifically, EPA seeks input regarding vessels operating on navigable waters that use sewage treatment devices; technical information on the performance, effectiveness and costs of vessel sewage treatment devices, including performance testing data; suggestions on what, if any, changes to the performance standards might be appropriate; and information on monitoring, record keeping and reporting or vessel sewage discharges. To join NMMA’s task force on MSDs or provide input on NMMA’s pending comments, contact Cindy Squires at csquires@nmma.org; 202-737-9766. Read more about the rulemaking here.