17 Jun 6/17 Tar Sands/Fracking Press Conf. 3pm Calling on Lt.Gov. Dewhurst & Speaker Straus for Interim Study on Eminent Domain Abuse

Cross-Partisan Coalition Calls on Lt. Governor and House Speaker for Interim Study and Full Public Hearings on Eminent Domain Abuse Starting in East Texas, to include Public Safety Concerns Related to Potential Water Threats from Tar Sands Crude and Hydraulic Fracking

Original Source from IndyTexan: http://www.indytexans.com/2013/06/14/media-advisory-monday-june-17th-3-pm/

WHAT:  An unlikely coalition of leaders from across the partisan divide are starting a door knocking campaign to urge Lt. Governor Dewhurst and House Speaker Straus to call for an Interim Study on Eminent Domain Abuse following the close of the current Special Session.  Rumors abound that the Governor will call yet another Special Session in July, this one with eminent domain on the Call.  This would waste taxpayer dollars as consensus is unlikely because affected Texans have yet to be heard.

WHEN:  Press Conference is on Monday, June 17^th at 3 pm, just following door knocking.

WHERE:  Outside the Capitol Grill, Capitol Extension, E1.002 (3 pm)

WHY: We believe a consensus on real eminent domain reform is impossible without FULL PUBLIC HEARINGS in the affected areas of Texas (not Austin).  The Lt. Governor and House Speaker are empowered to call for an Interim Study.  This should begin immediately following this Special Session in the areas where land was seized by TransCanada for the Keystone XL pipeline, before any hearings took place whatsoever.  Hearings that did take place were limited to the parties and excluded critical issues such as the potential harm from a spill over one of the largest Texas aquifers, the Carrizo-Wilcox that serves 10-12 million people and countless farms.  If the aquifer is polluted, the aquifer is dead and so would be Texas farming and our economy.  In addition, these hearings should address hydraulic fracking’s excessive use of potable water in the midst of our severe water shortage.

SPEAKERS:  (and possibly more)

Julia Trigg Crawford, Lamar County farmer

Debra Medina, We Texans

Jim Hightower, former Texas Agriculture Commissioner