Wednesday, June 10, 2009

What part of 'NO' doesn't Dallas understand?

Just checking the most recent Google alerts in my email and I found a link to a story online in the Dallas Morning News regarding the City of Dallas' latest attempt to lay claim to someone else's water.

Seems that the City of Dallas and the Texas Water Development Board have now filed suit with the U.S. Supreme Court in an attempt to overturn the ruling from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that gave the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service the green light to move forward with a national wildlife refuge on the Neches River along Anderson and Cherokee counties. The appeals court ruling was in response to a lawsuit filed jointly by Dallas and the TWDB in an effort to use the same area of the Neches to build Lake Fastrill to supply Dallas' projected future water needs.

I guess I would feel a little differently if Dallas had a history of water conservation. It doesn't. Why is watering a lawn and washing an SUV more important than preserving hardwood bottomland? Wasn't the State of Oklahoma recently sued by Tarrant County and Dallas for water from north of the Red River? That's apparently supposed to go to trial in December. So when they might not be able to get what they want from Oklahoma they come back - again - to East Texas? If I paid city taxes to Dallas, I'd be getting pretty upset at the legal fees accumulating over these lawsuits. They need to use what resources are already available and learn better habits, like the rest of us.

No means no, whether it comes from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals or the State of Oklahoma. Move on.

1 comment:

  1. I agree! We have friends who live in the area that will be affected by this if Dallas "gets its way" I am reminded of the recent Cowboy stadium issues and think of those who were forced out of their homes(though I know the situation is different) it seems they don't give a hoot but only of their own needs or wants. Conserving natural resources and especially water should be high on the list of priorities for everyone, our existence depends on it afterall.

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