Tarrant water officials still hope to settle lawsuit over Oklahoma water permit

By BILL HANNAbillhanna@star-telegram.com

FORT WORTH — The Tarrant Regional Water District still hopes to strike a deal with Oklahoma to pump water to North Texas before a December trial date, but not before the Oklahoma legislative session ends this week.

The water district sued Oklahoma in January 2007 and applied for permits from three river basins: the Cache, Beaver and Kiamichi. District officials hope to capture the water before it takes on too much salt when it enters the Red River.

At a meeting Tuesday, Wayne Owen, Tarrant Regional’s planning director, said that despite the lack of progress with Oklahoma legislators, district officials believe they are starting to sway public opinion, which they hope will lead to an out-of-court settlement.

The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City’s newspaper, urged lawmakers in an editorial Monday to strike a deal with Texas.

"Oklahoma has twice failed to get the Tarrant lawsuit dismissed and could very well lose at trial in December. If that happens, then Tarrant eventually would be able to apply for a permit and take the water it needs without opening its checkbook. There will be no swaying some members on this issue, but the Legislature ought to do all it can this session to make selling Oklahoma water a possibility."

Vic Henderson, the water district’s board president, said he is optimistic that a deal can still be struck.

"They need the revenue," Henderson said. "We need the water."

Not everyone is ready to sell water to Texas. The Tulsa World urged lawmakers in an editorial last week to "not give away the farm in haste based on a threat that may not be real."

In October, a federal appeals court in Denver ruled that the water district’s lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Oklahoma’s embargo on out-of-state water sales could proceed.

That followed a similar ruling from an Oklahoma federal judge in October 2007 that the district’s lawsuit could move forward.

Three other water Metroplex water providers — Dallas Water Utilities, the North Texas Municipal Water District and the Upper Trinity Regional Water District — have joined the litigation.

Hugo, Okla., has received a favorable court ruling to sell water to Irving.

At Tuesday’s water district meeting, the board also approved paying $286,000 to Robert Gathings for 0.3868 acre to be used in the Henderson Street bridge and White Settlement Road portions of the Trinity River Vision project.

The property was valued at $129,903, according to the Tarrant Appraisal District.

The location has housed a number of restaurants, most of them serving barbecue, including The Pit, Red’s and Bad to the Bone.

Most recently, The Pit was revived, but the latest incarnation closed last fall when a vehicle slammed into the restaurant.