The Board of Directors of North Plains Groundwater Conservation District named former USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, Texas State Conservationist, Don Gohmert, as the district's 2011 Conservationist of the Year. Gohmert served as the state conservationist until 2010 when he retired from the NRCS after a 40-year career in natural resource conservation. The board chose Gohmert to receive the honor based on his encouragement and support during the beginning stages and throughout the development of the district's irrigation conservation demonstrations known as the "200-12 Project."
The North Plains GCD has joined forces with growers, researchers, irrigation engineers and the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service for demonstrations of agricultural water conservation that can save water in Texas, while extending the viability of the area's agricultural economy. The Texas High Plains Initiative for Strategic and Innovative Irrigation Management and Conservation (the Initiative) has been awarded a $499,848 Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) to perform the demonstrations over the next three years. The Initiative is designed to demonstrate strategic irrigation and crop system management technologies and practices that result in water savings across the region and best practices that are applicable nationwide in regions facing similar resource concerns.| Tue May 22 @ 9:00AM - North Plains Groundwater Conservation District Board Meeting |
Texas Supreme Court Ruling
North Plains GCD Perspective on Decision In EAA v. Day Case
Contact: Kirk Welch 806-935-6401 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Dumas-Last week the Texas Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in the Edwards Aquifer Authority v. Day case when the Court ruled that groundwater is owned by the landowner. The decision affirmed Senate Bill 332 that amended Chapter 36 of the Texas Water Code in 2011 to more clearly define groundwater ownership. The Court's ruling makes clear that the state can regulate groundwater production, which it has chosen to do through groundwater conservation districts, and provides that such regulation is essential to groundwater conservation and use across the state. "The Court's decision confirms North Plains Groundwater Conservation District's long held view that groundwater is private property. Because the district has used this view to develop and enforce its rules, we believe the decision will have little impact on landowners within the district," said Steve Walthour, North Plains GCD General Manager.
The Court focused heavily on the Edwards Aquifer Authority's ("EAA's") permitting system set out in its enabling act by the Texas Legislature. Under EAA's system, if a landowner who does not already hold a permit based on his or her historic use between 1972 and 1993, wanted to drill a well and pump the Edwards aquifer, the owner would need to purchase or lease all or part of another landowner's historic use permit before they could withdraw groundwater. Day originally claimed that 700 acre-feet of groundwater was used during the historical period, but could only prove that seven acres was irrigated directly from the well. The EAA's enabling statute required that Day should receive at least two acre-feet per irrigated acre or 14 acre-feet. Day wanted more water than the 14 acre-foot permit.
The Court's decision does provide that the landowners in the EAA v. Day case own the groundwater and may qualify for compensation based on a takings claim. According to case law a takings claim may occur when the regulation goes too far, so as to deprive the property owner of all reasonable use or value of the property. The Court does not address the merits of the takings claim because the lower court had not developed a sufficient record to do so. This means that Day will now go through another round of litigation to determine whether a taking by the EAA that requires compensation occurred and the amount of compensation, if any, is due Day. The claim will be subjected to the complex takings analysis test created by the Texas Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court discussed the test that will be used to determine whether an actual taking that requires compensation occurred and added that this review is based on the facts of each case and that all of the circumstances surrounding the EAA's groundwater regulation must be considered to determine whether the regulation is reasonable.
Created in 1955 by local residents and confirmed by the Texas Legislature, the North Plains Groundwater Conservation District is charged with the responsibility of conserving, preserving, protecting, and preventing waste of groundwater within its eight-county service area in the northern Texas Panhandle.
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District Honors Conservationists of the YearDistrict Honors Conservationist of the Year
"Don saw the vision of how the board wanted to be leaders in agricultural conservation, not just regulators," said Danny Krienke, North Plains GCD board member and president of the board when the "200-12 Project" was started. "Don agreed that this was exactly the kind of work that a groundwater conservation district should be doing and he encouraged us to seek funding through the NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) program," said Bob Zimmer, North Plains GCD board president. The district, along with the Texas Alliance for Water Conservation, Texas Tech University, and High Plains Underground Water Conservation District received a CIG in 2011 for almost $500,000 to be used to demonstrate water efficient agricultural practices over the next three years. After the presentation of the award Gohmert said he expects these demonstrations to have far reaching impact beyond the Texas Panhandle-Plains region. "I believe the idea that agriculture producers are important to the economy and our way of life and that they must be responsible for using only what they need to efficiently produce the crop is an approach with statewide, even worldwide implications," said Gohmert. "I wouldn't be surprised if this project ends up being one of the best CIG grants ever awarded by NRCS," he added. If applied throughout the Panhandle-Plains region, the water efficient practices of the "200-12 Project" could save as much as 580,000 acre feet of water annually. "Based on the Texas Water Development Board's 2009 Water Use Estimates, that annual savings could supply Amarillo and Lubbock for almost 10 years, while extending the viability of the region's agricultural economy," said Steve Walthour, North Plains GCD general manager. "A conservation initiative like this one has the potential to positively impact the future in a significant way and Don Gohmert was instrumental in making this happen," Walthour said. Conservation Initiative Receives Federal Funding
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