August 11, 2023

Notice Of Public Hearing Regarding The Proposed Issuance Of Bonds

ANGELINA AND NECHES RIVER AUTHORITY
INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

Notice is hereby given of a public hearing to be held on August 22, 2023, at 8:00 o’clock a.m., at the Angelina and Neches River Authority Administrative Office, 2901 N. John Redditt Drive, Lufkin, Texas, with respect to a plan of finance for multiple facilities located at or adjacent to 2001 Kurth Drive, Lufkin, Angelina County, Texas 75901, which facilities include solid waste disposal facilities and may also include sewage treatment and sewage disposal facilities (the “Project”).  The Project is currently owned by Jefferson Enterprise Energy, LLC, a Texas limited liability company (the “Borrower”).    The facilities proposed to be financed include the revitalizing of the Aspen Power Plant, an electrical power generation facility that uses solid waste such as wood and other agricultural waste to drive steam generators (the “Power Plant”).  The Borrower is developing the Project as a renewable fiber complex in Lufkin, Texas, to produce “green” products using renewable energy. The Project includes the Power Plant and a waste-to-pulp pulp mill (the “Pulp Mill”).   The Pulp Mill is designed to convert agricultural waste, including wood waste, vegetative waste products (“biomass”), excess sugar cane bagasse (“bagasse”) or energy sorghum into bleached, bone-dry pulp fiber. The Company anticipates that the Pulp Mill will produce 146,000 tons per year of pulp fiber meeting the quality specifications for use in manufacturing products such as paper towels, paper plates, napkins, paper cups, fiber containers and similar products. In addition, it is anticipated that a black liquor co-product could be produced at the Pulp Mill that may be thermochemically converted to sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) pellets for sale to the glass and soap manufacturing markets. The Pulp Mill will be powered by electricity from the Power Plant to produce a pulp that can be used to manufacture products such as paper towels, paper plates, napkins, paper cups, and other products.   The Project may also include facilities for the treating of sewage and the development of a specialty chemicals plant using electricity from the Power Plant along with waste brine water to produce sodium chlorate and other co-products.

The plan of finance will include the issuance from time to time of one or more series of bonds in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed $250,000,000 (the “Bonds”), which may include refundings thereof, by the Angelina and Neches River Authority Industrial Development Corporation (the “Issuer”).  Proceeds of the Bonds will be loaned to the Borrower or an affiliate thereof to finance or refinance the Project, including but not limited to, financing the costs of acquiring, constructing, rehabilitating, developing, improving and equipping capital improvements, equipment, land and infrastructure and pay related financing costs and to finance capitalized interest and working capital for the Borrower for the Project.

The Borrower, Jefferson Enterprise Energy, LLC, is a Texas limited liability company and is the current owner and operator(s) of the Project.  The Borrower’s headquarters are currently located at 9595 Six Pines Drive, Suite 6370, The Woodlands, TX 77380.

The maximum aggregate face amount of the Bonds to be issued in more or more series pursuant to such plan of financing is $250,000,000.   Such plan of financing is an addition to the outstanding bonds already issued by the Issuer for this Project, the proceeds of which have been loaned by the Issuer to the Borrower, and which outstanding bonds include the Issuer’s (i) $22,000,000 Solid Waste Disposal and Wastewater Treatment Facilities Revenue Bonds (Jefferson Enterprise Energy, LLC Project), Series 2020 Bonds, (ii) $35,000,000 Solid Waste Disposal and Wastewater Treatment Facilities Revenue Bonds (Jefferson Enterprise Energy, LLC Project), Series 2021A Bonds, (iii) $30,000,000 Solid Waste Disposal and Wastewater Treatment Facilities Revenue Bonds (Jefferson Enterprise Energy, LLC Project), Series 2021B-1 Bonds and (iv) $35,000,000 Solid Waste Disposal and Wastewater Treatment Facilities Revenue Bonds (Jefferson Enterprise Energy, LLC Project), Series 2021B-2 Bonds.

The public hearing will be conducted by Kelley Holcomb, who is a director and officer of the Issuer, or by an authorized representative and hearing officer appointed by Kelley Holcomb.

All interested persons are invited to attend such public hearing to express their views with respect to the issuance of the Bonds and with respect to the nature and location of Project. Questions or requests for additional information may be directed to attorney Lance Fox, Creighton, Fox, Johnson & Mills, PLLC, bond counsel for the Issuer, at 3535 Calder Avenue, Suite 310, Beaumont, Texas 77706, telephone 409-833-0062, fax 409-833-0084, or e-mail lcf@cfjmlaw.com.

Any interested persons unable to attend the hearing may submit their views in writing prior to the hearing to Lance Fox at the address, fax or email stated above or alternatively to the Issuer, Angelina and Neches River Authority Industrial Development Corporation, Attention:  Kelley Holcomb, General Manager, 2901 N. John Redditt Drive, Lufkin, TX 75904; Telephone: (936) 632-7795; Fax:  (936) 632-2564;  Email:  kholcomb@anra.org.

This notice is published and the hearing is to be held in satisfaction of the requirements of Section 147(f) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.

August 9, 2023

Notices of Non-Compliance with TCEQ Requirements

The following customer notice is required by the TCEQ as a result of the non-compliances associated with Disinfection Byproducts Monitoring. This customer notice has also been mailed directly to every active water customer of the utility.

June 21, 2023

Boil Water Notice Rescinded (June 21, 2022)

On June 17, 2023, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) required the Prairie Grove Utilities public water system (PWS ID Number 0030027) to issue a Boil Water Notice to inform customers, individuals, or employees that due to conditions which occurred recently in the public water system, the water from this public water system was required to be boiled prior to use for drinking water or human consumption purposes.

Prairie Grove Utilities has taken the necessary corrective actions to restore the quality of the water distributed by Prairie Grove Utilities used for drinking water or human consumption purposes and has provided TCEQ with laboratory test results that indicate that the water no longer requires boiling prior to use as of June 21, 2023.

If you have questions concerning this matter, you may contact Mr. Chris Key, P.E., Executive Manager, Utilities, Angelina & Neches River Authority at (936) 632-7795 or (800) 282-5634.

If you wish to contact TCEQ, you may call (512) 239-4691.

June 17, 2023

Boil Water Notice Issued (June 17, 2023)

June 17, 2023
To: Prairie Grove Utilities Customers (Public Water System ID # 0030027)
Subject: BOIL WATER NOTIFICATION

Due to low water pressures in the water distribution system, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has required the Prairie Grove Utilities public water system (PWS ID Number 0030027) to notify all customers to boil their water prior to consumption (e.g., washing hands/face, brushing teeth, drinking, etc.). Children, seniors, and persons with weakened immune systems are particularly vulnerable to harmful bacteria, and all customers should follow these directions.

To ensure destruction of all harmful bacteria and other microbes, water for drinking, cooking, and ice making should be boiled and cooled prior to use for drinking water or human consumption purposes. The water should be brought to a vigorous rolling boil and then boiled for two minutes. In lieu of boiling, individuals may purchase bottled water or obtain water from some other suitable source for drinking water or human consumption purposes.

When it is no longer necessary to boil the water, Prairie Grove Utilities officials will notify customers that the water is safe for drinking or human consumption purposes. Once the boil water notice is no longer in effect, Prairie Grove Utilities will issue a notice to customers that rescinds the boil water notice in a manner similar to this notice.

Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.

If you have questions concerning this matter, you may contact Mr. Chris Key, P.E., Executive Manager, Utilities, Angelina & Neches River Authority at (936) 632-7795 or (800) 282-5634.

If you wish to contact TCEQ, you may call 512-239-4691.

June 17, 2023

Prairie Grove June Update #1

Update Saturday 12pm:

Since our last post, we’ve been carefully monitoring the tank levels, and unfortunately, they’re sticking very close to the worst case forecast that we provided yesterday afternoon.

If current demand levels continue, the tanks will be below 7 ft at 11pm tonight. (Tanks are full at 17 ft, and are at 11 ft at the time of this message)

Safety’s built into the tank fill controls shut the system down once it gets too low.

Unless something drastic changes between now and then, our plan is to shut the system down at 9pm to allow it to recover overnight and have it back on at 7 am tomorrow morning for showers and the like. We will likely need to either shut it down again midday Sunday or overnight between Sunday and Monday, but we will make that determination after we see the demand Sunday morning.

The more we can conserve today, the better off we’re going to be. If any of your friends or neighbors are not on social media seeing these messages, please let them know whats going on, and everyone please, please discontinue any outdoor water use.

We’ll post an update this evening or as needed.

As always, we appreciate your understanding, patience, and help with these conservation measures.

May 22, 2023

Request for Public Comment – Clean Rivers Program 2023 highlights report

A draft of ANRA’s 2023 Clean Rivers Program Basin Highlights Report is now available for public review and comment.

The document is available on the CRP reports page at anra.org.

Comments will be accepted via email at crp@anra.org until 5 pm CST June 9, 2023

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

We appreciate your participation!

May 8, 2023

Notices of Non-Compliance with TCEQ Requirements

The following customer notice is required by the TCEQ as a result of the non-compliances associated with Disinfection Byproducts Monitoring. This customer notice has also been mailed directly to every active water customer of the utility.

Customer Notice TTHM Violations 2023-05-08

March 29, 2023

Prairie Grove – Water Main Break Update #4

Water Main Break Update #4
Wednesday – 3:45 p.m.
Good afternoon Prairie Grove!
Following the repair on Monday inside the water treatment plant, we have determined that a more permanent repair is going to be required in order to prevent future outages. The repair that was made on Monday revealed a significant amount of corrosion that required additional investigation to determine the extent of the damage. A quick repair was made in order to get water turned back on while we completed the additional investigation.
Without going into a lot of details, a section of buried galvanized water line that feeds a piece of treatment equipment that is no longer in service, has become so corroded that it must be replaced. That repair could take as little as an hour or it could take several hours, depending on how much pipe has to be removed to get back to solid uncorroded pipe.
Beginning tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m., the water system will be completely shut down to allow for the repair to be made. Best case scenario, the system will be down for less than an hour. Worst case scenario, the system could be down for 4 to 5 hours. ANRA will keep the community updated as the situation evolves.
The Boil Water Notice is still in effect. Additional details regarding the Boil Water Notice will be distributed tomorrow after the water system is pressured up again.
Thank you for you patience and please share this information with others who may not have access to social media. Let us know if you have any questions or concerns.
March 27, 2023

Prairie Grove – Notice of Water Main Break and Boil Water Notice

Prairie Grove – Notice of Water Main Break and Boil Water Notice
1am Monday:
Summary: A water main inside the Sherwood well property began leaking significantly sometime Sunday and we’ve had to turn the water off. In order to reduce inconveniences as much as we can, we’re going to turn it back on from 6 to 9 am before we dig it up to assess and repair. A boil water notice will be issued ASAP.
Full details: Around 9pm Sunday, our alarm system alerted us to low levels in the storage tanks at the Sherwood Forest well. A crew was sent to investigate, and they discovered the primary water main within the Sherwood Forest well property leaking significantly. Attempting a dig in the dark and without parts stores being open will likely just extended the outage rather than solving the problem so we’ve chosen to turn everything off for now to prevent it having a complete blowout before it can be repaired.
In order to minimize the inconvenience for you as much as we reasonably can, rather than starting a repair we can’t finish soon enough to be useful to you Monday morning, we’ll instead have someone on site at 6 am to turn everything back on so you all can hopefully have water to prepare for your day. From 6-9 the crew will watch the leak for signs of worsening. If it holds until 9am, we’ll wait until then to turn it back off and begin digging to assess and repair.
Because it will have been off all night, and will have to be off again during the repair, a boil water notice will be issued as soon as we reasonably can. Please treat it as though we’ve already issued the notice.
As always, we thank you for your patience and understanding, and we apologize for this inconvenience.
We’ll update you as soon as we know more.
December 27, 2022

Prairie Grove Utilities – Extreme Winter Weather Update #13

Update 7pm Tuesday:

Since 4pm, the demand has continued to be reasonable, so we’re going to leave the system on.
We intend to read meters tomorrow. Our crews have already looked at just about every meter in the system, but a full meter read will help us find any smaller leaks that might remain.
We hope to be able to lift the boil water notice at some point tomorrow as well.

Thank you again for your understanding, patience, encouragement, and good attitudes as we went through this at seemingly the most inconvenient time possible.

Have a good night, and if you spot the guys out reading meters tomorrow, wave at them and give them a thumbs up. They deserve it.