drill new water wells in San Patricio County<\/a>.<\/p>\nThe request involves 22 permits that would allow Corpus Christi to tap into the Evangeline Aquifer, eventually supplying the city with up to 24 million gallons of water per day. Supporters say the water is critical for long term growth, while opponents fear loss of local control and future curtailment.<\/p>\n
Emotions ran high during public comment, with several speakers clashing over time limits and the potential impact on the aquifer.<\/p>\n
During petroleum geologist Bill Parmley’s public comment, he was told by the board to wrap his presentation up. \u00a0That’s when someone in the audience told the board to let him talk.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet him speak. Why do you want to cut him off?\u201d the audience member said. \u201cHe\u2019s giving some good information that most of the people in San Patricio County don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Industry leaders also addressed the board, urging protestors to withdraw their objections.<\/p>\n
Paul Fritsch, Site Manager for Gulf Coast Growth Ventures, said Corpus Christi has shown it can responsibly manage the resource.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe asked that the City of Sinton and other protestants withdraw their protests of this project,\u201d Fritsch said. \u201cThe City of Corpus Christi has done a good job of demonstrating their commitment to protecting the aquifer and the neighbors in our county.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Sinton City Manager John Hobson told the board his opposition has not changed.<\/p>\n
Hobson also raised concerns about comments made by Corpus Christi City Councilman Eric Cantu during a recent Channel 3 News interview.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat desire to control was demonstrated yesterday when Councilman Eric Cantu stated the threat that if Corpus Christi enters curtailment, he will make sure that we on this side will be the first to go into curtailment and that we will feel the pain,\u201d Hobson said.<\/p>\n
Corpus Christi officials presented their case as well, arguing the permits are essential to securing the city\u2019s water future.<\/p>\n
In the end, the San Patricio County water district board declined to rule on the protests. Instead, members voted to let a judge decide whether the challenges to the permits will proceed.<\/p>\n
Despite the stalemate, both sides say negotiations are ongoing.<\/p>\n
Channel 3 News brought both city managers together, and they shook hands and each confirmed discussions continue.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are hoping in a couple of weeks that we will get something for Peter and his staff to review,\u201d Hobson said.<\/p>\n
Corpus Christi City Manager Peter Zanoni said the city is open to changes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe already have a baseline memorandum of understanding that our City Council approved, but we are open to readjusting it,\u201d Zanoni said.<\/p>\n
If no agreement is reached, the dispute could head to court, a process that could take up to two years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"City managers say compromise discussions are moving forward after 3 News brought the two sides together. CORPUS CHRISTI,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":154405,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[155,157,156],"class_list":{"0":"post-154404","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-corpus-christi","8":"tag-corpus-christi","9":"tag-corpus-christi-headlines","10":"tag-corpus-christi-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=154404"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154404\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/154405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=154404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=154404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=154404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}