Officials with Madison Bell Partners, an offshoot of Magnolia-based Navasota Energy, said last week they view the property owners as competitors and plan to file their own well-drilling permit applications within the next two months.

Madison Bell recently purchased about 97 acres on Strawther Road in the Cottonwood community and announced that it was studying the feasibility of constructing a power plant. The land is adjacent to 82 acres owned by Charles Strawther and 1,100 acres that belong to Kathryn and Jeff Farris and Angela and Jerry Fannin.

The Farrises, the Fannins and Strawther have filed drilling permit applications for 13 wells with a pumping capacity of more than 47 million gallons of water per day.

To operate a natural gas power plant, Madison Bell Partners needs to pump a maximum of 5 million gallons of water per day from the Carrizo-Wilcox aquifer, the same source the landowners are seeking to pump, company representatives said.

The self-replenishing aquifer, which provides water to 60 counties in Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana, can yield up to 500 gallons of water per minute, according to information published by the Texas Water Development Board.

But officials with Madison Bell Partners said last week it's unclear if there's enough water to go around and still provide long-range supply for homes in the area.

Madison Bell has not filed any paperwork in protest of the landowners' applications, but another company has.

High Prairie Water Supply Corp., a nonprofit rural water supplier, filed a complaint with the Mid-East Texas Groundwater Conservation District last month, citing the potential for "serious depletion of the aquifer available to our public water supply wells."

Jimmy Fite, the author of the protest letter and president of High Prairie Water Supply, said Friday he thinks the landowners' applications reflect "too many wells in a small area."

"We have water rights all over that part of the county," he said. "We feel like they're infringing on us."

High Prairie Water Supply is not involved in the Madison Bell project, Fite said.

Angela Fannin said last week her family has the right to extract water and sell it.

When asked whether she is seeking the permits to compete with Madison Bell Partners -- or block the company from having enough water to operate a power plant -- Fannin would say only that she is exercising a legal right to the water on her property.

"As an independent landowner, I have the right to drill for water and use it for agricultural or industrial purposes," she said. "I am a prompt taxpayer. I am a good steward of the land and plan to continue to be. The reality is that I am trying to protect my natural resources beneath the land that I own."

The applications are subject to approval by the Mid-East Texas Groundwater Conservation District, a Centerville-based agency created by the Texas Legislature to manage and protect water usage in Freestone, Leon and Madison counties.

Robert Gresham, general manager of the groundwater conservation district, said the board of directors is reviewing the applications filed by the Fannins, the Farrises and Strawther.

"Those are under evaluation," he said, explaining that the timeline for approving or rejecting the requests is uncertain.

Gresham said no permits have been submitted by Madison Bell Partners. However, he has met with some company officials, he said. He declined to comment on whether the company's proposal is viable or whether the landowners' applications would be impacted by Madison Bell's plans for a power plant.

"You're asking me for a conclusion rather than a fact," he said. "Someone in my position can't afford a personal opinion. I've heard all the street talk that you have. To what extent that has any bearing on how the district handles the request, I don't know."

The water conservation district recently hired Austin attorney Mary Sahs to review the agency's rules and make recommendations for change, Gresham said. But the action was not related to the Madison Bell project or the landowners' permit applications, he added.

"It happened to coincidentally occur around the same time," he said.

Dan Hudson, an owner of Navasota Energy, the parent company of Madison Bell Partners, said last week he views the landowners as "direct competition."

"We don't know what they're using the water for," he said. "They could be working with another power plant for all I know. Their applications don't say what they're going to use the water for."

Chandler Morris, Madison Bell Partners' vice president of asset management, said it's unclear whether there's enough water to provide for both the landowners and the power plant, without having a significant impact on long-term supply.

"That's part of what Mid-East will decide," he said. "They grant the permits."

Angela Fannin said the permit applications don't specify how much water the landowners plan to pump. Just because the capacity listed is 47 million gallons, that's not necessarily what would be extracted, she said.

The intent of the landowners, if they can find a buyer, is to sell the water, Fannin said.

Jeff Farris, who is Angela Fannin's brother, said he is approaching agencies -- such as the city of Bryan -- to gauge interest in purchasing the water if the drilling permits are approved.

"I'm asking if they are interested," Farris said. "No offers have been made."

Navasota Energy's Hudson said he's not currently protesting the landowners' plans because he's focused on managing his business and getting his power plant built -- but a protest could come in the future, he said.

"Until I get more information from them, I don't know how to respond or protest," he said. "I play with my cards face-up. Our applications, when we put them in, are going to be very clear."

Madison Bell has filed for air and water discharge permits from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Company officials have said they hope to start construction in early 2009.

• April Avison's e-mail address is april.avison@theeagle.com.

Comments

(Requires free registration.)

0 comment(s) found!