FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE OCTOBER 31, 2003
Save the Lake Meeting Scheduled
Saturday, November 22 (3:00 pm)
Location: Maricopa Ranch Resort located at 12915 Highway 306.
Canyon Lake—Friends of Canyon Lake will host an important Town Hall Meeting at 3:00 pm, Saturday, November 22, at the Maricopa Ranch Resort at 12915 Highway 306, next to Roy’s Restaurant.
Jim Blackburn, noted attorney for FOCL, will brief the audience on the Federal lawsuit that FOCL recently filed in San Antonio. Everyone interested in saving Canyon Lake and the Guadalupe River should attend this very important meeting, stated organizers.
FOCL is a grassroots organization of over 1,000 residents and business owners. The organization’s leaders have challenged plans by the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority and the state to divert at least 90,000 acre/feet of water each year from the lake and the river, while also increasing the amount of partially treated wastewater GBRA discharges into them.
FOCL members fear the combined impact of these actions will prove to be an ecological disaster. To prove or disprove this point, the group has been calling for a comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement. However, GBRA and the Corps of Engineers have refused to perform this routine assessment.
At the meeting, Mr. Blackburn will discuss the background and reasons for the Federal complaint, the issues the complaint addresses, what future steps can be anticipated, and the importance of a well-organized community response.
Blackburn has significant experience in Texas water-related litigation, and believes Federal regulations, as well as Texas laws, have been violated. He’ll discuss this with meeting attendees on the 22nd of November and answer their questions.
Friends of Canyon Lake have a website to describe their many concerns, at www.friendsofcanyonlake.com and FOCL members can be reached by email: foclake@yahoo.com or by calling (830) 899-6642.
In the meantime, FOCL organizers are asking for renewed donations from business owners and residents to keep up the legal effort.