A House bill designed to ensure public safety by protecting water quality at proposed Lower Bois d'Arc Creek Reservoir in Fannin County will be voted on by the Texas legislature next week. The bill would become effective immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all members elected to each house.
Fannin County Judge Spanky Carter traveled to Austin Tuesday, March 22, 2011, in order to testify before the House Committee on Natural Resources in regard to HB 935.
"I explained to the committee that Fannin County Commissioners Court has passed a resolution in support of HB 935 and I told them I felt this bill was important to protect water quality and to protect the best interests of the residents of Fannin County," Judge Carter stated.
"It is my understanding HB 935 has already passed a senate committee review," Carter added.
HB 935 would ensure water quality in Lower Bois d'Arc Creek Reservoir, a proposed 16,500-acre lake just north of U.S. 82 in Fannin County, by allowing Fannin County Commissioners Court to zone a 5,000-foot buffer around the impoundment. This bill would prevent on-site water treatment systems and other sources of contamination that would impact water quality in the lake. Zoning would encourage orderly development and use of an area that is of vital interest to Fannin County residents and of concern to the entire state.
HB 935 would provide the same protection for Lower Bois d'Arc Reservoir that has already been enacted for the proposed Lake Ralph Hall in southeastern Fannin County.
By comparison, the buffer zone surrounding Lake Cooper is 10,000 feet.
Although a similar bill was unsuccessful two years ago, Judge Carter anticipates a different outcome for HB 935.
"I feel like it will make it out of committee and get passed this time," Carter predicts.
