What makes you qualified for this office?  Name three main reasons you believe you’re the best candidate for this position?

Broad technical background in math/geology/geophysics.  MCHD Board for 8 years, 3 as Chair. President of Data Management Company

In your opinion, does Does Montgomery County have a water resource or regulation problem?  Why?

Water Resource:  No.  Regulation Problem:  Possibly

Is this position currently fulfilling its obligations?

There is clearly a public perspective as well as Texas government position that it is not.  This is the reason that an elected Board has been called for.

What are the 3 largest challenges currently facing this position/office and your road map to address them?

An enormous learning curve.  I have been meeting with some current members and researching much pertinent information for background.

Who has ownership of the land below and the air above and how far of each?  Is groundwater considered a person’s private property under the Texas Constitution?

Applying the rule of capture, landowners in Texas have vested property rights in the groundwater extracted from their land. The “rule of capture” says that a landowner who first extracts or “captures” a natural resource from beneath his property has ownership over it. This rule applies to groundwater, oil, and gas, even if that resource moves from one property to another due to the extraction process.

Article XVI, Section 59 of the Texas Constitution gives the State the right to protect natural resources within the state. It gives the State the ability to regulate how landowners extract and use resources captured on their property. It does not remove other constitutional protections for the property owners.

Texas Real Estate law defines land as the earth's surface extending downward to the center of the earth and upward to infinity including things permanently attached, such as trees and water.  

Are you familiar with the enabling legislation and any subsequent legislation regarding the LSGCD creation, powers, authorities, duties, etc.?

Yes.  HB2362, 77th Legislature, authorized creation of LSGCD.  Briefly, the mission was to conserve and protect groundwater resources in Montgomery County and develop a system that ensures groundwater supply will remain sustainable.

What aquifer or aquifers does LSGCD regulate?

The Jasper, Evangeline, and Chicot aquifers as well as the Catahoula Aquifer as an alternate,

How much subsurface water is contained under Montgomery County, as determined by Texas Development Water Board in their TERS(Total Estimated Recoverable Storage)  Report 2014?

Montgomery County part of Gulf Coast aquifers:  180,000,000 acre-feet of total storage in "confined" and "unconfined" aquifers.  The recoverable amount of groundwater is in the range of 25 - 75%, including fresh, brachish and saline waters.  The recoverable amount does not take subsidence, degradation of water quality on pumping or interaction with surface water into account.

What impact does the LSGCD have on our water bills?

Answered above

Who is endorsing you and what is their relationship to you?

No publicly announced endorsements currently.

Should an aquifer be regulated based on its physical boundaries, or based on the boundaries of political subdivisions of the state?

Legislation creating the Districts based on political boundaries is a reasonable choice even though there maybe and certainly is communication among adjacent aquifers along the political boundaries.

What special interest groups have you belonged to or attended meetings of? Include business, social, civic, educational, environmental or any other cause for which you have advocated or supported with time or money.

Rotary Club of Conroe (member and Board), HEART of Montgomery County, SEG/EAEG/AAPG (past member)

What impact does the LSGCD have on our water bills?

LSGCD accounts for less than 1% of the total bill; SJRA for about 40%.  It is my understanding that whereas the City is refusing to pay the mandated increase, the amount charged to customers has not changed.

List all individuals/groups you have represented or lobbied for before any governmental entity during the past five years.

None

Do you support fair and equitable rules for all owners of the common reservoir?  Do you believe that a “common reservoir” is the same as an “aquifer” or “aquifer subdivision”?  Explain.

Muy definition of common reservoir is one that is not bounded by political subdivisions, e.g., county lines, but is limited by its geology.

Under this definition, an aquifer or subdivision would be considered to be a common reservoir.

I support exitable rules for all owners of the common reservoir

What are the top 3 areas where the budget for this office needs to be adjusted?

Salaries and legal eat up a very sizable portion of the budget; after that, each line item has low impact.

Do you support using zero-based budget practices for every governmental entity, elected and appointed?

In principle

Will you vote to limit budget increases to a factor based on population growth and inflation? Explain.

If zero-based budgeting is practiced, the target is not to raise the budget but lower it.  Using population growth and inflation as justification for determining a budget invites increases.  If the government entity depends on taxes, the objective should be to lower tax rates as population grows; if it depends on fees or other revenue sources, the objective should be to seek efficiencies to lower those fees.

Note:  MCHD began it's committment to lower tax rates while I was on that board; it has continued to lower tax rates annually for about 15 years

Will you vote to award any contract with less than three qualified bidders?

Ideally.  However, in my experience, I have learned that there are alternative methods of awarding contracts such as Construction Management or Construction Management at Risk. 

If three bidders are used, the bids must be conforming to the specifications and must be the best value to the government entity

Have you ever been convicted as result of arrest? Ever had any tax liens? If so, give start & resolution dates?

No

Should two local government entities force residents to pay billions of dollars for infrastructure development without a vote?

No.  Elected officials have the responsibility as representatives of the voters.  Asking for a vote, in addition to it being expensive, is a way for an elected official to shirk his/her duty and risk his position.

Do you support the new board engaging an independent third party to conduct an audit of LSGCD operations and make the findings public?

Yes.  Independent audits are necessary for all government bodies in order to assure the public that fiduciary responsibilities are being followed.

Do you oppose the use of public funds, other than for needed infrastructure, to subsidize the cost of private facilities such as stadiums, arenas, hotels and other such entities?

Yes.

What political party have you affilated with over the last twenty years? Do you believe in that party platform(all of it or % part - if %, please describe what you disagree with?

Republican Party.  Can't disagree with the aspirational planks in the platform although I'd prefer emphasizing local (Texas) issues and especially ones that are achievable through legislative activity.

What actions should the LSGCD take to implement change that would result in lower water rates for consumers?

I don't pretend to have an answer - that will be the result of a newly elected board, all having separate ideas on how this can be accomplished.  However, there seems to be quite a lot of room between the 180,000,000 acre-feet of total groundwater (TERS Report) and the 64,000 acre-feet withdrawal rates recommended by USGS to suggest that more scientific studies can be done. 

One direction for additional studies is, for example, the possibility that there might be other recharge mechanisms based on the physics of fluid flow (fluid flows from high pressure to low pressure regimes).  This implies that recharge could occur from deeper aquifers crossing boundaries.

Another observation is management of peak and drought demand for water.  The District's management plan is to have a well informed public that can adapt to best management practices. Yet, in 2015, a year with excessive rainfall, the District managed the lower demand by INCREASING rates.  Adam Smith must have been spinning in his grave!.

In 2009, the LSGCD mandated a 30% reduction on water withdrawal from underground aquifers.  On what scientific data was that decision based on?

Based primarily on a a series of studies conducted by the USGS on hydrogeology, water-level altitudes, groundwater flow and subsidence in Gulf Coast Aquifers, in particular the Chicot, Evangeline and Jasper . The studies used test wells to measure water-level changes and subsidence and geochemistry to estimate recharge rates.  One conclusion that lead to the 30% reduction was the 64,000 acre-feet per year withdrawal of groundwater recommended by the USGS reports.

When and how was the LSGD created?  What are the duties? Where is their authority derived?

The District was created in 2001 by the 77th Legislature, House Bill 2363, and confirmed by voters in the same year.

Duties:  preparation of management plans, control and prevent waste of groundwater,, methods of irrigation and the publishing of such plans for the owners of land within the District