GROUP LOOKS TO BLOCK LAKE SOMERVILLE LAND AUCTION

  

An organization dedicated to exploring rural issues is asking Washington County residents to contact U.S. Senator John Cornyn in order to block a petroleum lease auction that includes land around Lake Somerville.

Texas Rural Voices (TRV) says they are concerned about the potential environmental damage from oil and gas drilling in the area.

The Bureau of Land Management is planning to offer federally-owned property at three Texas Lakes for oil and gas leasing, which includes approximately 1.4 acres at Lake Somerville. In 2016, the agency planned to include that land in a lease auction but stopped the process after protests.

TRV says the exploration would involve the use of “highly toxic drilling fluids”, which could impact Brenham’s only water source.

TRV isn’t the only group to express concern over the possible sale. In November 2016, state Senator Lois Kolkhorst sent a letter to the Bureau of Land Management urging the agency to postpone any decision until the citizens and local officials in the area were given the opportunity to review and comment on the proposal.

Kolkhorst says that given that Lake Somerville supplies her hometown of Brenham with its drinking water, she feels that enhanced environmental assessments should be conducted before any land is considered for development.

While the period of public comment for the lease sale has closed, TRV is calling on residents to contact Sen. Cornyn at 202-224-2934.