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.
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 3-4 hours paddling the river, participants will end their journey at the Highway 7 bridge, next to Hackberry Bunkhouse & Kayak Rentals, where they will be assisted by volunteers, to get out of the river and shuttled back to Boggy Slough.
Several traditional elements of the event will continue, such as lunch on the grounds of Boggy Slough and providing participant with a souvenir t-shirt. However, the Authority will introduce some new, fun ideas in 2024. This includes contests and games, including a t-shirt design contest, allowing a limited number of vendors and food trucks to set up at Boggy Slough, and prioritizing conservation and education-based practices, including the Authority’s Stash Your Trash litter campaign.
“It’s important to get people out on the river, so that they understand what there is to lose if we don’t take care of our natural resources. The Neches River is a gem hidden in our own backyard behind the big pine curtain here in East Texas. A lot of people, especially younger generations, have never gotten out on the river and some don’t even know that it exists. Of course, we don’t want the Neches to suffer from negative environmental impacts from overcrowding and litter, but I think it’s important that everyone should experience the river at least once,” said Kimberly Wagner, the Authority’s executive manager of communications.
No experience is needed to participate in the event, however, anyone under the age of 18, must have a legal guardian present. Life jackets are highly recommended. Safety checkpoints will also be located at several locations along the paddling trail.
Registration for participants will open in early spring 2024.
The Authority is currently seeking volunteers and sponsors for the event. A volunteer guide and a sponsor information packet can both be found on the Authority’s website or via the contact information below. A series of volunteer committee meetings will take place before the event, beginning in October 2023.
The Angelina & Neches River Authority is located at 2901 N. John Redditt Drive, Lufkin, Texas, 75904. For more information, call the Authority’s Central Office Facility at (936) 632-7795, email recreation@anra.org, visit www.anra.org, or find both the Authority and the Rendezvous’ event pages on Facebook.
On August 11, 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 August 15, 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.
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 11, 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.
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.
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
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.
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.
Good afternoon Prairie Grove:
It’s officially summer. It’s hot and it’s dry, and lots of folks are spending time outside using water. Unfortunately, just like last summer, that means we’re exceeding the capacity of the system to supply water.
Over the past week, the storage tanks at the Sherwood Forest well have been starting each day about a half foot lower than the day before – and the problem is accelerating.
As we’ve said before, even without this increased usage, the well is unable to supply enough water for needs during the day, but it is generally able to recover overnight when usage is low. Unfortunately, as daily demand increases, it has outstripped the ability of the well to fully replenish the tank levels overnight.
Unless we all begin immediately practicing the protocol in the Stage 5 Drought Contingency Plan that was implemented in the Summer of 2022 (which has remained active), then we will almost certainly have a system shutdown before the weekend is over.
We’ve provided a graph of the Ground Storage Tank levels over the past two weeks (blue line). Based on this pattern and expected demand, we’ve projected (orange line) that levels will likely bottom out very quickly over the weekend. Once the system drops below eight feet (red line), we’ve reached the critical point and we must shut down the system to allow it to fully recover.
PGU Emergency Operations 2023-06-16 both with legend - Copy
We have partially closed the outgoing valves from the plant to approximately 15% of normal levels to attempt to slow the demand, but that will not be enough. It will take your help as well.
Some things we MUST all begin doing immediately to prevent the system going into emergency operations mode, which will include temporary shutdowns of the system as we have seen over the past few years, include:
- Stop all unnecessary outdoor water usage, such as car washing, landscape irrigation, pool filling, and other recreational activities
- Conserve water indoors by taking short showers, turning off water when not in use (such as when brushing your teeth), and
- Check for leaks, running toilets, and any other unintentional water use
The full Drought Contingency Plan can be found here: https://www.anra.org/conservation-recreation/water-conservation-drought-contingency-planning/regional-water-planning/
We know you want to fill up your pool and you need to water your plants, but unfortunately, as you all are very well aware, the current system is simply unable to handle the demand. This is one of many issues that we will be able to put behind us once the system upgrades are completed, but it’s still a problem for today.
What about the temporary line from Diboll that we have previously discussed as a stopgap until the full upgrade project is in place? That plan has been ready to go for some time, but has been delayed due to difficulties in obtaining landowner permissions to run the line.
We had hoped to have the line in place before the summer demand, but in order to control costs and protect the line from vehicles, it needs to run cross-country on the private property to the north of Sherwood Forest Circle. We have been diligently attempting to contact the land owner to obtain a temporary easement for many months, but despite multiple communication attempts, including phone calls from ANRA’s attorney, we have yet to receive a response to have that conversation. At this point, we are very close to being forced to initiate eminent domain procedures, which can take significant amounts of time and which typically leaves everyone involved very unhappy. This is not how we prefer to approach these issues, but it may be a necessary step in order to provide PGU customers with the water that you all need.
We want to THANK YOU in advance for your understanding and participation in these conservation measures. By conserving water, you’ll help provide a better chance that all PGU customers will be able to continue to have access to water for essential purposes.
Our staff is continuously monitoring the situation and we will continue to post updates on the Prairie Grove Facebook page, our website at www.anra.org, and via the Text Notification System, throughout the weekend. If you would like to sign up for the Text Notification System, please text “PGU” to (800) 282-5634 and follow the prompts.