The Cross Section, Volume 22, Number 2, February 1976 Page: 1
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lIONLA Monthly Publication of the High Plains Underground Water Conservation District No. 1
Volume 22-No. 2 "THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR WATER"
Mailing List Update Reminder
As noted in the January, 1976, issue of The Cross Section, the District
is in the process of updating the mailing list of this monthly publication.
The purging of outdated and incorrect names and addresses is brought on
by increasing printing and mailing costs, as well as an increasing number
of returns from the postal service.
The deadline for notifying the District of address changes or correc-
tions in name is March 15. If you are interested in continuing to receive
The Cross Section, free of charge, please complete the stamped, self-
addressed post card inserted in the January issue of The Cross Section and
return it to the District as soon as possible.
If you do not have a post card, please write the District at 2930
Avenue Q, Lubbock, Texas 79405, and give us your correct name and
address and indicate if this is a new or old address. Thank you.
TWDB NAMES EXECUTIVE DIRECTORGeneral James M. Rose, Director of
the Division of Planning Coordination,
Office of the Governor, since August,
1973, was named Executive Director
of the Texas Water Development
Board (TWDB) on February 5. The
announcement was made jointly by
Governor Dolph Briscoe and TWDB
Chairman A. L. Black of Friona.
Rose, who assumed his new post
February 16, succeeds Harry Burleigh,
who resigned December 31, 1975.
Previously Adviser to Governor
Prior to his appointment to the
TWDB, Rose advised Governor Bris-
coe in the areas of State and regional
planning, energy, youth, water and the
military. He was a member of the
Governor's Advisory Council on Ener-
gy, the Governor's Task Force onFebruary, 1976
WEATHER MODIFICATION HEARINGS HELD
The Texas Water Development
Board (TWDB) held public hearings
in Plainview and Littlefield February
10 and 12, respectively, for the pur-
pose of gaining information from area
citizens regarding weather modification
activities in West Texas.
In both hearings, opposition to such
activities was obvious. Approximately
100 to 150 persons were present at
each of the hearings.
Plains Weather Improvement Asso-
ciation (PWIA), a non-profit corpora-
tion which has been modifying weather
from its Plainview base since 1973,
and Atmospherics, Inc., of Fresno,
California, and based in Littlefield,
both have applied to the TWDB for
new permits to suppress hail and aug-
ment rainfall in several West Texas
counties.
Previously, permits were granted on
an annual basis, with no provision for
long-term contracts. However, a 1975
law passed by the Legislature allows
the TWDB to grant four-year permits
for weather modification activities.
Opposition Wants Vote of Citizens
Most of the opposition was voiced
by farmers who felt that their rights
are infringed when the TWDB grants
permits for activities to take place over
their property without their consent.
Several representatives of county com-
missioners' courts asked that a vote
be taken in each of the counties in-
volved prior to the granting of permits.
The intent of the original 1967
Weather Modification Act was to en-
courage weather experiment operationsover hail-prone and often dry areas of
the State. According to that original
statute, the TWDB had no choice but
to issue yearly permits to any weather
modification company which proved
itself financially responsible and met
certain technical requirements.
Voting Right Stricken from Bill
A 1975 amendment to the Act at-
tempted to include provisions for a
vote, but that measure was stricken by
a Senate subcommittee after the bill,
with the voting right included, had
passed unanimously through the
House.
At the Plainview hearing, about 20
persons spoke against weather modifi-
cation, while only two persons, both
officials of PWIA, spoke for it. And,
in Littlefield, approximately 10 per-
sons opposed the permits (some of the
same persons who appeared in Plain-
view) and about 55 names were
entered into the record as favoring hail
suppression.
Said Don Bryant, Muleshoe farmer,
"Until a year ago, I was opposed to
weather modification; but, in the last
six months, I have done much study
and have reversed my opinion. With
weather modification, we could turn
West Texas into a tropical rain forest."
Modification Strictly Experimental
And, speaking for the opposition,
Nolan Harmon of Bula said, "Weather
modification activities are strictly ex-
perimental, not operational."
Others urged the TWDB to reject
-continued on page 3... WEATHERGENERAL JAMES M. ROSE
Youth Care and Rehabilitation and
chaired the Task Force's Support
Working Group.
Chairman of Water Task Force
Rose was also the Governor's Spe-
cial Advisor on Youth Affairs and the
Governor's Advisor on Military Mat-
ters. He also served as Chairman of
the Governor's Water Resource Con-
servation and Development Task
Force, which was created in Novem-
ber, 1973.
From 1965 to 1971, prior to joining
the Governor's Office, Rose was the
Assistant Adjutant General of Texas
for Air and directed the Air National
Guard in Texas. He has worked in
State government for more than 25
years in various other positions.
Career Government Employee
A native of Little Elm, Denton
County, Texas, Rose is an active mem-
ber of the First Baptist Church in Aus-
tin, former Treasurer of the West Aus-
tin Rotary Club, a member of the
Executive Board of the Boy Scouts'
Capitol Area Council and a member
of the American Legion.
The Executive Director and his wife,
the former Roxana Newton, have four
children: Linda, a secretary at the Uni-
versity of Texas at Austin; Randal,
Vice President of Business Develop-
ment, Forum Bank, Arlington; Mark,
Administrative Assistant to Senator
Peyton McKnight, and Melanie, a
sophomore at Southwest Texas State
University.
Briscoe also named Charles D.
Travis, the Governor's Budget Direc-
tor, to succeed Rose as Director of the
Governor's Division of Planning Co-
ordination.m.t
I
-- -
-AA
Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) Members John H. Garrett of Deer Park,
Chairman A. L. Black of Friona and George McCleskey of Lubbock listen to testi-
mony of proponents and opponents to weather modification activities in West
Texas. The TWDB held hearings in Plainview and Littlefield on February 10 and
12 for the purpose of gaining insight into public sentiment regarding the granting
of weather modification permits.-----------------
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High Plains Underground Water Conservation District No. 1 (Tex.). The Cross Section, Volume 22, Number 2, February 1976, periodical, February 1976; Lubbock, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1533011/m1/1/?q=%22~1%22~1&rotate=90: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.