If the state of Texas wants to continue to use surface water for
economic development purposes, it must also protect the environment, river
expert Andrew Sansom told State Impact last week.
His comments came on the heels of a federal court's finding that
the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality -- an agency charged with
safeguarding the state's natural resources --was responsible for the deaths of
23 rare whooping cranes.
The federal judge said the TCEQ's management of water flows into the
Guadalupe River caused salinity levels to rise by not allowing enough
freshwater into the river.
Whooping cranes are a protected species under the federal Endangered
Species Act.
Late Friday afternoon State Attorney General Abbot’s request to
stay the ruling on TCEQ water management was denied, according to The Aransas
Project, the plaintiffs in the case.
Sansom, head of the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment,
presented expert testimony for the plaintiffs in the lawsuit against TCEQ. He
is also editor of two Texas A&M University Press book series focusing on
Texas rivers and conservation leadership.
He told State Impact he hoped the decision would put a spotlight on the
issue of environmental flows as lawmakers debate funding for the state water
plan.
“I think that what we’ve seen in this ruling is a warning that if we
don’t get serious about protecting the environmental flows in our rivers and
streams, than we invite the federal government to become involved in the
management of surface water in every basin where endangered species are
present,” Sansom said.
TCEQ officials have said they are considering an appeal. In a
statement, the agency called the case "an unconstitutional attempt to use
the Endangered Species Act as cover for rewriting the Texas Water Code."
For more on whooping cranes --including a tableau of rare images taken
by National Geographic photographer Klaus Nigge -- check out Whooping
Crane: Images from the Wild.
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