During a Nov. 24 special meeting, the High Plains Underground Water Conservation District (HPWD) Board of Directors voted 3-1 to adopt proposed revisions to the District’s rules.

This decision was based upon comments received at a public hearing held prior to the special Board meeting.

“The Board appreciates the four persons who provided in-person comments during the public hearing. Of these, two are agricultural producers, one is a city manager, and one represented a homebuilder,” said HPWD General Manager Jason Coleman. Each shared their opinions regarding the proposed rule revisions.

In addition, written comments were received from two agricultural commodity groups. Neither objected to the proposed revisions at this time.

“Most persons within the District will not see significant changes resulting from the revisions,” said HPWD Board President Lynn Tate of Amarillo. “As stated all along, the Board is addressing longer-term issues that may either be confusing or problematic. We want to make sure that the rules do no harm and that we leave the District in a better place that when this Board started,” he said.

The newly-adopted rules went into effect at the end of the Nov. 24 special meeting. The new rules document and summary sheets explaining each revision are available for viewing/downloading at https://hpuwcd1.specialdistrict.org/rules.

Tate thanked the HPWD County Advisory Committees for their feedback and recommendations during this rulemaking process.

Questions about the rule revisions should be directed to Jason Coleman at (806) 762-0181 or jason.coleman@hpwd.org.