|
But It's OUR Land!
The Trans-Texas Corridor
isn't the only project for which Betty voted to allow others to take private property away from us. In 2007, she
also voted for HB 2983 and HB 2984, which permit certain entities to gain easier access to private property. This
is new information, folks, and I hope you read it, because it might affect your land.
Recently,
I received an email from someone concerned about something called the "Wolf Creek Fresh Water Development Project."
I was absolutely clueless about the project, never having heard of it before; however, I answer as many emails as possible,
and I wanted to give this writer an informed response. Below is the answer I emailed. I share it because the details
give us some insight into Betty Brown's priorities--and dangers some private property owners will face. I have left
out the writer's name and email address because all incoming information is confidential.
Dear ---,
Thank you for writing. I didn't know anything about the Wolf Creek Fresh Water Supply District (I
live in Henderson County, and it hasn't been reported here), but I did some research this afternoon, and I am happy
to share it with you. Apparently, it started when a millionaire named T. Boone Pickens bought rights to pump
and sell water from the Ogalalla Reservoir in the Texas Panhandle. He wants to build a pipeline to transport water to
a major Texas city. Since Dallas is closest, it would be cheaper to transport it to this area, but he will build the
pipeline to whatever area is willing to pay. Sounds okay, but there's a problem: in order to build the pipeline,
he needs a wide stretch of land running between the reservoir and the customers who will eventually purchase the water--about
300 miles long if it comes to the Dallas area. He can buy easements from owners willing to sell, but he has no power
of eminent domain to take land from people who don't want to sell--UNLESS he can establish a fresh water supply district,
because it has the legal right to condemn property. That's where Kaufman County comes in.
Two counties
are currently involved: Roberts County in the Panhandle and Kaufman (Wolf Creek). In state law, there used
to be some small protections for residents in the area of a proposed fresh water supply district. State law used to
allow registered voters to approve the creation of the district, and only registered voters in the district could serve on
the water district's board. The idea was that voters would act according to the impact such a district would have
on them, because it has the power to tax and issue bonds and that sort of thing. The laws changed during the last legislative
session in 2007.
Now, thanks to HB 2983 and 2984, landowners decide if the district can be created, and landowners
serve on the board--they do not have to live on the land, they just have to own it. People who live in San Antonio,
for example, can manage the district in the Panhandle or in Kaufman County if they own the property there. Neighbors
have absolutely no say on the issue. The people in Roberts County are finding they cannot vote for or against it, unless
their property falls within the district's boundaries; in their case the proposed district only includes land owned by
Pickens employees.
Here's the most disturbing part: since the fresh water supply district has
the power of eminent domain, once it is finalized, Pickens' employees can vote to condemn private property all along the
pipeline, from the Panhandle to Dallas/East Texas. A Pickens representative called the Kaufman County Wolf Creek area
"a backup" to the Roberts County plan, but if the Kaufman district is created (and I don't think county
commissioners have much say in the issue), both can be used to condemn property--yours or mine or whoever's falls
in their way.
Betty Brown voted for both changes in the law, which means she voted to make it easier
for Pickens and his people to condemn your property. We're not talking about a couple of square feet of property.
We're talking about a 300-mile long, 200-foot wide swath of land that will be bought/taken from property owners
so pipelines and electrical lines can be put in (Pickens owns an electrical power company also). If your land falls
into the area the district eventually decides to take, you will have no recourse. You would have to give up rights to
the 200-foot-wide path they cut out of your property.
Interestingly, Pickens donated $500 directly to
Betty's campaign in 2006; he also gave $250,000 to TLR, and they donated $96,000 to Betty in 2006. In 2007 she voted
for his bill. Now his employees are using that change in the law to justify the proposed taking of thousands of acres
of land. They say most people will want to sell--but it doesn't matter if they want to or not.. With the new
laws Betty voted for, they can force an unwilling landowner to give up his or her property, provided they have the authority
of a fresh water supply district like the one they are about to get in Roberts County and the one they're trying
to get in Kaufman County.
I'm sorry if this information is shocking to you. Until she refused
to answer my letter asking about her record, I didn't know much about Betty Brown, and I have been saddened by what I
have found. Saddened, and a little angered. I think a representative ought to fight to protect our rights, and
it is my opinion that Betty is doing a very poor job on that front. If she takes money from T. Boone Pickens, fine,
no big deal. But if she takes money from him and votes to compromise our land in a bill that benefits his company, I've
got a huge problem with that. I am supporting Wade Gent partly because he is opposed to the Trans Texas Corridor and
any other scheme that violates the rights of private property owners, and I can find no correlation linking his donors with
policy decisions designed to benefit them. He has been adamant about protecting property owners' rights, and I am
willing to give him a shot to undo some of this mess.
If you have specific questions about where Mr. Gent
stands, I encourage you to contact him. I don't know his contact information off the top of my head, but
there's a contact page on his website, www.wadegent.com.
Thank you for your interest in the upcoming election, and thanks for visiting
the website. I hope you find this informative.
Elicia
We're in this together. If they can take
your land, then they can take mine--and vice versa. The landgrab may occur far away or it may hit close to home, but
as current Betty-approved law allows, it can happen anywhere. Who knows where Pickens will eventually decide to build
his pipeline? Nobody, but we do know that now he has the authority to confiscate other people's land for the purpose.
And Betty voted for it.
Shame on her. For a lot of us, our land is the most valuable resource we've
got, and she compromises it for her political gain. It's disgusting to think about--and frightening.
Disgusting to think that our Representative would be so unconcerned about the effect her laws have on our property,
and frightening that because of her, we might have to sacrifice our land for T. Boone Pickens and his water line (currently)
to nowhere.
We don't need another yes-man at the Capitol, or in this case, a yes-woman. We need someone
who will look at the issues, and if a scheme jeopardizes our property, is willing to stare a powerful millionaire in the face
and say respectfully and firmly, "No--I will not cast a vote that hurts the people in my district. Period."
Betty Brown is not that person. She has proven absolutely incapable of such fortitude.
|