Water Thoughts

Jay Evans, chair of the TSCRA water subcommittee, joins TSCRA Talk host, Kristen Brown, with an update on important topics for cattlemen and landowners concerning water. Evans starts by commenting that drought tends to put a spotlight on water and the need for clean, usable water. He talks about the Texas Produced Water Consortium formed during the 2019 Texas Legislative Session, which is focused on studies to use produced water, and the conversations around the ownership of the groundwater. 

Additionally, Evans discusses the Texas Supreme Court’s decision around jurisdiction to decide disputes over ownership of water rights, the proposed construction of Lake Ringgold and critical habitat. Closing out the episode, Evans talks about the United States Supreme Court’s decision to hear Sackett v. EPA, allowing the court to re-examine its decision from the Rapanos case in 1986; this could be the final say in the WOTUS definition and simultaneously take WOTUS out of the hands of the Executive Branch.