August 22, 2024
August 22, 2024
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Notice to Proceed: North Angelina County Regional Wastewater Facility Project

The Angelina & Neches River Authority has issued a Notice to Proceed for a construction project for its North Angelina County Regional Wastewater Facility. Project Name: Regionalization of the Angelina County Fresh Water Supply District No. 1 (District) Wastewater Treatment Facility Community Served: Rivercrest and Duncan Slough communities State Agency Administration: Texas Water Development Board Project Funding: Project was wholly or partially funded with State Revolving Funds funding through the EPA Project Description: The project consists of decommissioning the existing Angelina County Fresh Water Supply District No.1 WWTF, installation of lift stations with associated line work to transfer flow to the ANRA’s North Angelina County Regional Wastewater Facility (NACRWF), and improvements to the chlorination and disinfection system at NACRWF as an additive bid option. Water Quality Benefits: Regionalization of the project will take the District’s wastewater treatment plant offline and reroute that flow stream to a modern regional wastewater treatment facility. The wastewater treatment plant being offline and decommissioned is located approximately 300 yards from the Angelina River.
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July 29, 2024
July 29, 2024
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ANRA to Host Annual Texas Clean Rivers Program Steering Committee Meeting

The Angelina & Neches River Authority (ANRA) will host its annual Texas Clean Rivers Program Steering Committee Meeting at 1:00 p.m. on July 30, 2024, at the Texas Forestry Association, located at 1903 Atkinson Drive, in Lufkin.  An online option will be available to those unable to attend in-person. The meeting will feature presentations from ANRA staff, Texas Water Resource Institute staff, Keep Nacogdoches Beautiful Director, Ashley Villarreal, Texas Conservation Alliance Community Conservation Coordinator, Jose Lopez, The Citizen Nac Building and Booking Manager, Sam Hernandez, and Independent Filmmaker, Curtis Craven.  ANRA’s Clean Rivers Program Coordinator, Andrew Henry, said, “This meeting is a chance for the public to get involved and voice their concerns about water quality in our basin and learn about what we’ve been doing, where, and what is planned for the future.” Attendees will have opportunities to ask questions, discuss water quality issues and potential solutions, and learn about ways that they can further become involved in decision-making, regarding these issues and solutions. “Without stakeholder (public) input, ANRA must decide which watersheds to prioritize and conduct work in, and while we do our best to ensure we monitor and remediate the areas in our basin with the greatest need first, this has a possibility of not aligning with the priorities of the public. With stakeholder input, we can prioritize areas the public wants to see action in. Our stakeholders have the ability to steer ANRA toward water quality improvement projects they want to see done,” Henry said. The Texas Clean Rivers Act of 1991 was enacted by the Texas State Legislature to ensure the comprehensive regional assessment of water quality in each river basin through a local, watershed-based approach. As a partner in the Texas Clean Rivers Program (CRP), the Angelina & Neches River Authority is the lead […]
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May 22, 2024
May 22, 2024
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Sunset Advisory Commission Invites Public Input on the Angelina & Neches River Authority of Texas

The Sunset Advisory Commission is reviewing the mission and performance of the Angelina & Neches River Authority of Texas (ANRA) and welcomes public comments on ideas to improve its operations and services. The Texas Sunset Act requires the Sunset Commission to periodically review ANRA and recommend whether to change state law to improve the authority’s efficiency and effectiveness. The Legislature ultimately will decide whether to adopt Sunset’s statutory recommendations. The Sunset Commission also may adopt management directives for ANRA that do not require statutory change. The Sunset process has three stages. First, Sunset staff will evaluate ANRA, seek public input, and issue a report recommending solutions to problems found. Second, the Sunset Commission will hold two public meetings: a hearing on the staff report and the authority, and a decision meeting to adopt recommendations to the Legislature based on the report and public comments. Third, the Legislature will convene in January 2025 and will consider Sunset’s statutory recommendations in a Sunset bill for ANRA. Here are several ways to provide comments and suggestions to Sunset staff on ANRA’s mission, operations, and services: • Send an email to sunset(a)sunset.texas.gov• Submit comments online at www.sunset.texas.gov• Send a letter to Sunset Advisory Commission, Attn: ANRA, P.O. Box 13066, Austin, Texas 78711• Call (512) 463-1300 to speak to Andrew McConnell, project manager of the ANRA review Please provide your comments by September 12 to ensure Sunset staff can fully consider your input while conducting their review. Comments submitted before the staff report is published in November 2024 will remain confidential. Stay informed! Visit www.sunset.texas.gov to sign up for email alerts on the Sunset staff report and the Sunset Commission’s public meetings on ANRA.
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May 13, 2024
May 13, 2024
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24th Annual Neches River Rendezvous Cancelled Due to Unsafe River Conditions

The 24th Annual Neches River Rendezvous, which was scheduled to be held on May 18, 2024, has been cancelled due to unsafe river conditions. The Neches River Rendezvous is a family-friendly 10-mile paddling adventure down the Neches River. This is the first year that the Angelina & Neches River Authority was scheduled to host the event. It was previously hosted by the Lufkin/Angelina County Chamber of Commerce. Held for the first time in 1997, it quickly became a popular annual event, with up to 300 people participating, however, due to Covid-19, weather conditions, and supply chain issues, the event had not been held since 2018. “With unpredictable weather patterns in East Texas, it’s tricky trying to schedule a date for an event of this nature. There’s a short window of opportunity to host this event between weather extremes, flooding events and high heat indexes, so timing this event has proven to be challenging. By the time river conditions improve to a safe level, it will likely be too hot to hold the event, especially since most participants are novice paddlers,” Kelley Holcomb, the Authority’s general manager said. “While we are disappointed that we have to cancel the event in our first year, safety is our first priority.” At the time of this release, the National Weather Service Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Services indicated that it could be weeks before river depth and discharge velocities decrease to safe enough levels for recreational activity. Both the event launch area, the Neches River at Anderson Crossing, between Houston and Cherokee counties, and the takeout area, the Neches River at Highway 7, in Angelina County are experiencing discharges of 20,200 cfs (cubic feet per second). To put that into perspective, between the launch and takeout areas, the river is flowing at about 151,096 gallons per […]
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March 14, 2024
March 14, 2024
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Registration for Neches River Rendezvous Opens March 18th

Registration for the 24th Annual Neches River Rendezvous will open on Monday, March 18th.  The Neches River Rendezvous is a fun and family-friendly 10-mile paddling adventure down the Neches River and will be held on May 18, 2024.  This is the first year that the Angelina & Neches River Authority will host the event.  It was previously hosted by the Lufkin/Angelina County Chamber of Commerce beginning in 1997, and it quickly became a popular annual event, with up to 300 people participating, however, due to Covid-19, weather conditions, and supply chain issues, the event has not been held the past five years. The Rendezvous will be limited to 100 paddlers for the first year that the Authority hosts the event in 2024, but depending on the available supply of vans, trailers, kayaks, and canoe rentals needed for the event to be successful, the Authority hopes to increase the number of participants back to 300 paddlers within the next few years. On the day of the event, paddlers will park at International Paper’s North Boggy Slough Conservation Area and will then be shuttled upriver, where volunteers will assist them in launching their kayaks and canoes in the river.  There will be four staggered launch times to avoid overcrowding.  After a leisurely 3-4 hours paddling the river, paddlers will end their journey at the Highway 7 bridge, next to Hackberry Bunkhouse & Kayak Rentals, where they will be assisted out of the river and then shuttled back to North Boggy Slough, where they can purchase a meal from one of several food trucks that will be on-site.  No experience is needed to participate in the event, however, anyone under the age of 18, must have a legal guardian present.  Since safety is the top priority of the event, life jackets must be […]
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December 13, 2023
December 13, 2023
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Community Workshop Invitation

Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Opportunities in East Texas January 9th, 2024 – Lufkin, Texas Water Finance Exchange (WFX) and RSAH2O, in partnership with T.L.L. Temple Foundation, Communities Unlimited, and the Angelina & Neches River Authority, are hosting an invitation-only workshop, Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Opportunities in East Texas, of public and private sector leaders to discuss the needs and opportunities to support communities in need of financial and technical assistance for water and wastewater infrastructure. This one-day workshop will focus on the water infrastructure and economic development challenges of rural communities in East Texas. We would like to extend an invitation to attend this workshop, which will be held in the Pitser Garrison Convention Center in Lufkin, Texas. The address for the event is 601 N 2nd Street, Lufkin, TX 75901. The workshop will be on January 9th, 2024 beginning at 9:00am. A draft agenda for the workshop can be found below. Speakers and panelists will include state and federal agency officials, community representatives, and other thought leaders in the water and wastewater sectors. This workshop will be an intimate conversation of 50-75 water sector leaders, communities seeking to address sustainable water management needs, and public officials. The informational exchange will identify primary challenges facing smaller and underserved East Texas communities, outline financing opportunities, and generate ideas for collaboration going forward. Registration Instructions
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October 4, 2023
October 4, 2023
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Neches River Rendezvous Sponsorship Information Guide Now Available

The 2024 Neches River Rendezvous Sponsorship Information Guide is now available! Visit https://www.anra.org/…/neches…/sponsorship-information/ so that you can download a PDF of the guide and use the fillable form on the Sponsorship Agreement page. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at recreation@anra.org or 936-633-7507. We look forward to providing an excellent experience for all of our sponsors because without you, there’d be no Rendezvous!
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September 23, 2023
September 23, 2023
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ANRA to Host Neches River Rendezvous in 2024

The Angelina & Neches River Authority will host the 24th Annual Neches River Rendezvous, a fun and family-friendly 10-mile paddling adventure down the Neches River, on May 18, 2024. The Lufkin/Angelina County Chamber of Commerce first held the Rendezvous in 1997, and it quickly became a popular annual event, with up to 300 people participating, however, due to Covid-19, weather conditions, and supply chain issues, the event has not been held the past five years. The Authority, a long-time sponsor of the Rendezvous, was approached by the Chamber in 2022, about possibly hosting the event in the future.  “It’s a perfect opportunity and perfect timing,” said Kelley Holcomb, the Authority’s general manager.  “At the time we were approached, we had just begun to expand our conservation and recreation education and outreach program and I can’t think of a better way to fulfill the conservation part of our legislative mission.” The Rendezvous will be limited to 100 paddlers for the first year that the Authority hosts the event in 2024, but depending on the available supply of vans, trailers, kayaks, and canoe rentals needed for the event to be successful, the Authority hopes to increase the number of participants back to 300 paddlers, as it was in it’s prime. In May 2023, all rights to the Neches River Rendezvous were legally transferred from the Chamber to the Authority.  Over the summer, the Authority has been busy planning details and securing logistical elements required to host the event.  As has been traditional in the past, the staging area for the Rendezvous will be at International Paper’s North Boggy Slough.  Participants and volunteers will park and register at Boggy Slough and will then be shuttled to the launch location upriver.  There will be four staggered launch times to avoid overcrowding. After a leisurely […]
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May 22, 2023
May 22, 2023
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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!
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