BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) - Wayne-Sanderson Farms has filed a lawsuit against the Neches and Trinity Valley Groundwater Conservation District, challenging permit applications that would allow for large-scale groundwater withdrawals from aquifers in East Texas.
The legal filing is the latest move in a growing dispute over proposed water exports from Anderson, Henderson, and Houston counties. The applications in question were submitted by Conservation Equity Management, Redtown Ranch Holdings LLC and Pine Bliss LLC.
According to the company, the plan involves pumping an estimated 15 billion gallons of water annually, approximately 50,000 acre-feet from aquifers that serve households, industries, farms, and ranches across the region.
“Wayne-Sanderson Farms has joined with thousands of East Texans in opposition to applications from speculative well drillers to pump 15 billion gallons of water out of the aquifer serving almost all of East Texas households, industries, farms, and ranches,” said Jeremy Kilburn, the company’s chief legal and compliance officer.
“As a continuation of that opposition, Wayne-Sanderson Farms and dozens of other stakeholders have filed a lawsuit seeking to invalidate the permit application due to the flaws and shortcomings of the review process employed by the district board,” Kilburn said.
Lawmakers hear 11 hours of debate over East Texas groundwater export plan
Lawmakers hear 11 hours of debate over East Texas groundwater export plan(KBTX)
In his statement, Kilburn added that “the volumes sought in the contested applications jeopardize our water supply and the long-term viability of the aquifer.”
“Water is the fuel for East Texas and its agricultural economy,” Kilburn said. “We can’t wait until irreparable damage has been done, and we won’t sit by while speculators attempt to take the water from right under the feet of East Texans just to monopolize water rights and profiteer off the water we rely on.”
Wayne-Sanderson Farms is one of the largest poultry producers in the country. The company contracts with more than 350 family farms and operates processing facilities in Bryan, Palestine, Waco and Tyler. It employs over 5,700 people in Texas and holds groundwater permits in Anderson County and other parts of the region.
Lawmakers hear 11 hours of debate over East Texas groundwater export plan
The lawsuit follows a legislative hearing held Tuesday by the Texas House Committee on Natural Resources, where Kilburn and others testified against the proposal. Lawmakers, including Committee Chair Rep. Cody Harris, R-Palestine, raised concerns about the scale of the project and the patchwork of groundwater regulations in unregulated counties.
Leon County meeting draws crowd pushing back against East Texas groundwater export plan
While Leon County is not within the Neches and Trinity Valleys Groundwater Conservation District, residents and officials there have expressed growing concern about the proposed project.
During a public meeting last month, Leon County Judge Byron Ryder stated the county is “adamantly against the Redtown project” and plans to actively participate in the state’s administrative review process. Local leaders and residents say the scale of the proposed withdrawals could have long-term impacts on aquifers that extend into neighboring areas, including those overseen by the Mid-East Texas Groundwater Conservation District, which includes Leon, Madison, and Freestone counties.
Leon County residents fear impact of proposed water wells in neighboring county
The Neches and Trinity Valley Groundwater Conservation District has not issued a public response on its website to the lawsuit as of Thursday afternoon.
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