Council finds another ally in water fight

The Fort Stockton City Council is looking for allies in its battle against Fort Stockton Holdings.

They found another one recently when the board of the Rio Grande International Study Center in Laredo voted unanimously to support efforts to protect Pecos County groundwater as part of a larger campaign to protect the Pecos River watershed.
Tuesday night, the Council reciprocated, passing Resolution 10-111R, which commits the City of Fort Stockton to joining forces with RGISC in its campaign for a moratorium on the transport of water from the Pecos and Rio Grande watersheds.

The resolution also asks, in concert with RGISC, for a hydrological study of the groundwater flows of the Edwards-Trinity Aquifer to determine impacts.

“It's being said that water is being wasted and going down into the Pecos River,” Fort Stockton Mayor Ruben Falcon said. “Well, south-southeast of us, there are millions of people that rely on that water from the Pecos River and the Rio Grande. There is a beneficial use for this water.”

The Council's action follows a presentation by Jay Johnson-Castro Sr. of RGISC at Council two weeks prior. Johnson-Castro proposed the city join RGISC in the building of an alliance to protect the entire Rio Grande watershed, which extends into several Mexican states and as far north as Colorado.

RGISC, which is a nonprofit organization headquartered at Laredo Community College, and the city plan to jointly write the International Boundary and Water Commission, the Texas Water Development Board, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the Comision Internacional de los Limites y Agua.

The city and RGISC also plan to contact several congressmen whose districts lie on the U.S.-Mexico border, including U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (D-Texas), who represents the 23rd District.

The alliance also hopes to gather input from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Division, the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife, among other agencies and organizations.

Among other business, the Council:

>> approved the consent agenda, including the accounts payable of $384,046.44

>> approved Ordinance 10-102, which allows for the inclusion of a portion of Beverly Square Addition to the city

>> approved Ordinance 10-103, which closes, vacates and abandons a portion of East 13th Street between Gatlin and Schlegal streets

>> tabled Ordinance 10-104, which would amend Chapter 2 of the city's Code or Ordinances to change the time of Council meetings; Councilwoman Brenda Tipton, who was absent from the meeting, is seeking to move Council meetings to an earlier time, according to Falcon; several councilmembers said such a time change may be problematic and Councilman Billy Espino said he would like additional time to reflect on moving Council meetings to an earlier time

>> received a presentation from Charlie Spence, a recruiting specialist out of Midland for the U.S. Census Bureau; Spence said the Census Bureau is looking to hire about 150 people in Pecos County for the decennial census; Spence said the jobs are expected to begin in April and will pay $13.25 per hour and offer 50 cents per mile for mileage reimbursement; employees must be 18 years old and must be U.S. citizens

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