On May 10, 2024, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) approved controversial Water Use Permit No. 13404 — a proposal by the City of Wichita Falls to construct and maintain a dam and reservoir known as Lake Ringgold in neighboring rural Clay County. Texas Conservation Alliance (TCA) issued the following statement:
“Unfortunately, TCEQ has approved the permit for an unnecessary reservoir which, if built, would saddle North Texans with a half-billion-dollar burden, force fellow Texans from their private property and cause irreparable environmental damage,” said Janice Bezanson, Senior Policy Director for TCA.
In December, Administrative Law Judge Christiaan Siano, who conducted a lengthy contested case hearing on the issue, recommended that TCEQ deny the permit.
“The purpose of the contested case hearing is to determine whether the law was followed,” continued Bezanson. “After reviewing thousands of pages of testimony and documents, and listening to cross-examination in a seven-day trial, the judge found that the City of Wichita Falls did not follow the law in a number of ways. I’m puzzled that the Commissioners would ignore and dismiss the judge’s findings. Why have a contested case hearing if the decision-makers are just going to ignore the results?”
Today’s outcome is by no means final. There is the possibility of a legal appeal, and Wichita Falls must also obtain a federal permit. However, the decision is still a devastating blow to the Texans in the Texoma Region of the state who have been battling against Lake Ringgold for years, and it could put at risk some of the rarest wildlife habitats in Texas.
Opponents of the reservoir permit, which include landowners, conservationists, hunting and cattle-raising organizations, and the county government where it will be built, presented evidence showing that the City of Wichita Falls does not need the water from Lake Ringgold. Even the Wichita Falls city manager admitted in a 2019 memo to the City Council that Lake Ringgold is “obviously” bigger than the city needs.
“The laws regarding permits aren’t just for the convenience of the entity applying for a water rights permit,” concluded Bezanson. “They’re also for the protection of the public. This decision fails to protect many members of the public—the water ratepayers who foot the bill, the ranchers who will be forced off their land and out of their homes, and all Texans, who are the ones who own the water that TCEQ is allocating.”