Need TCEQ Commissioners to take bold step to Protect South Texas Rivers and Bays

Fish, shrimp, oysters, wildlife, people, and businesses all need water. Striking the right balance in providing that water is not easy. Recently, our region saw an unprecedented example of a diverse group of stakeholders, the Edwards Aquifer Recovery Implementation Program, achieve a reasonable balance for management of the Edwards Aquifer. Continuing this success, another group of stakeholders, on which we serve, recently reached broad agreement on recommendations to protect the water flowing in our rivers and into our bays and estuaries.

A dedicated team of scientists and stakeholders have been working since 2009 using the best available information to develop environmental flow recommendations for the Guadalupe, San Antonio, Mission and Aransas River Basins and their associated bay systems.  The stakeholders presented a comprehensive report with flow standards that provide enough water to support fish and wildlife, including the shrimp and oysters that many of us like to eat and the fish we like to catch down at the coast, while also allowing for reasonable water supply development.  We also recognized the need for voluntary actions to help offset impacts expected to result from future use of some existing water rights and offered many innovative approaches that provide future certainty in the implementation of new water supply projects and protection of our rivers and bays.

The stakeholder committee did the job assigned by the Texas Legislature.   The stakeholder recommendations represent a hard-won compromise among various interests that can help us move beyond the water resource quagmires that have long plagued the region.  Most of the stakeholder recommendations were adopted unanimously, although there were a few key ones that were adopted by a 19-3 supermajority vote.  Those nineteen votes signified agreement among stakeholders representing a broad spectrum of interest groups: river authority, municipal, industry, agriculture, environmental, recreational, regional water planning, and groundwater conservation districts. Now these stakeholders and the many constituents and entities they represent need the Commissioners of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to adopt rules establishing environmental flow standards consistent with those recommendations.

Our regional economy and quality of life is greatly affected by the health of our rivers and our bays. We need adequate river flow to preserve water quality, support a variety of fish and wildlife as well as recreational fishing opportunities and maintain commercial fisheries, while also supporting businesses, cities and agriculture.  We are more fortunate than some areas of the State, our rivers and bays are healthier than many; however, South Texas is experiencing a population boom and the stakeholders felt a great responsibility to prevent any further degradation to these important natural resources.

Unfortunately, in moving from the stakeholder recommendations to the proposed rule language, TCEQ staff did not include major aspects of the recommended protections. Many of the stakeholder recommended protections for the San Antonio River and Mission River basins remain, but few protections for the Guadalupe River have been incorporated into the rules.  Seasonally-significant flow required to sustain and even improve the health of the bay and estuary systems have also been removed.    Fortunately, there is still time to improve these rules during the public rulemaking process at TCEQ, which runs from now until May 14, 2012. The TCEQ Commissioners then will adopt the final rules in August 2012.

We urge the TCEQ Commissioners to honor the full extent of the stakeholder recommendations and send a bold message that the State of Texas acknowledges our collective obligation to provide water supplies and to protect our rivers and bays – and the jobs they support – for future generations of Texans.

Suzanne Scott, General Manager, San Antonio River Authority
Con Mims, Chair, South Central Texas Regional Water Planning Group
Steve Clouse, Chief Operating Officer, San Antonio Water System
Jennifer Ellis, Senior Project Coordinator, National Wildlife Federation

Time for a Change

As a property owner in Calhoun County, it is time for a change of new faces at the County Courthouse, starting with the Sheriffs Department.

I have been a victim of burglary in the past and the actions of our chief law enforcement officer and staff were a joke at their best.

A Deputy will make the report, and some are sincere in their effort to enforce the law. The problem is the staff in the department. Once the report is received, the Chief Deputy will assign it to an armchair investigator …who will not visit the crime scene. After a delay of several months, the victim will receive a call that the case is assigned to her to investigate – this after evidence has been lost or destroyed!

The result of this investigation is that the thief did admit being on my property, but assured the investigator that he did not take anything of value (nice guy). Never mind that forced entry is a felony.

Now the Chief Deputy is a candidate for Sheriff. This is the same Deputy that thought it amusing the way the burglar broke in.

The voters have to change the direction of our Sheriffs Department. It is time to focus on enforcing the law and prosecute the criminal, instead of making a priority of traffic stops for the purpose of revenue for the County.

Tax dollars are wasted on the high salaries and ineffective law enforcement personnel and we, the voters, can and must change this with our votes.

Thank you,
Gary Boecher
Seadrift

Annual Freeport to Port O’Connor Toy Run

It was almost ten years ago that I first dreamed up the Freeport to Port O’Connor Toy Run and I never envisioned it would become such a wonderful experience for so many people. It now means so much to not only the children served but to the boaters that make the trip. Many have been with us since the very beginning. We have read with admiration the many letters to the Dolphin expressing local thanks for what we do. We have also received some wonderful recognition from the POC Chamber of Commerce. I felt that the one thing I have never seen is thanks to the many great people who make all this happen on your end.

To acknowledge everyone in POC who has helped us would be impossible as each year we find someone else stepping up in some needed way but these folks have consistently been our friends:

Marie Hawes and all the folks with the Adopt An Angel Program
Volunteers who load, transport, and sort the toys
The POC Chamber of Commerce
The Inn At Clarks
St. Christopher’s Marina
Josies
Hurricane Junction
POC Hardware
The Fishing Center
And finally…Alvin’s Liquor Store (can’t forget them!)

Each year our stay is made even more unforgettable by these friends and I felt it was time everyone knew how important they are to us. This year, come rain or shine, we will be back for the 10th Annual Toy Run and we look forward to the largest event yet. We are already soliciting donations of toys and money to buy toys and we hope to surpass the $100,000.00 mark. I know that there are other groups that are of national importance that make our donations look rather meager but none of them manage to put as many gifts into the hands of area children.

As a native of Victoria I started enjoying POC about 55 years ago and it has always been my favorite spot on the coast. That is one reason this all started and the primary reason I hope it will continue long after I am gone.

May God bless you all for being such great friends to the children and to our group.

Jerry Karnes

Golf

Unless you bring your own golf balls to hit at the POC driving range, please pickup the balls that you hit that I leave there for everybody’s use. Otherwise I will stop leaving them there for anyone to use.

P.S. I could sure use some help mowing!

G.B. Robertson

Dogs

We have a problem that could be solved if people would be good neighbors. The problem is that people let their dogs run loose and leave their mess in other people’s yards and also on the beach where children play.

I love dogs myself and wouldn’t dream of letting mine mess in other people’s yard.

I have been to other cities where the houses are jammed up close together and most don’t have fenced yards for their pets. I have observed people running or walking with their dogs on a leash. They carry plastic bags with them to pick up after their dogs and when they get home it is deposited in a garbage can.

Some of these cities have fenced in doggy yards for the dogs to get their exercise. They also pick up after the animals and deposit the droppings in a can provided by the community. This would be impractical here as we have no funds for such.

I suggest that our residents be good neighbors and stop their pets from running loose. There are places like the field behind the community center that would be ideal for our good citizens to take their dogs to get their exercise.

Kathy Harper

The Dolphin welcomes letters from our readers on any subject that is of general interest to our audience. Letters should be 300 words or less (with exceptions at the Dolphin’s discretion). Letters reflect the opinion of the writer, and not that of Dolphin Talk staff, and we retain the right to determine suitability for publication. It is the policy of this newspaper to promote area interests: therefore, complaints against local businesses should be directed elsewhere. Letters must be signed and include day and evening phone numbers, which will not be published. Your name will be withheld upon request, but anonymous material will not be considered for publication.

Letters to the Dolphin:
Dolphin Talk, P.O. Box 777
Port O’Connor, TX 77982
dolphin1@tisd.net