The following story has been updated to include responses from Sen. Adam Hinojosa
The City of Sinton announced on Monday it will not attend a proposed meeting with Corpus Christi city leaders regarding the Evangeline/Laguna Water Project citing concerns with transparency.
The meeting proposed for Tuesday, was set to be hosted by Sen. Adam Hinojosa, District 27, and was meant to bring city leaders from Sinton and Corpus Christi together to find a solution both parties could agree upon.
“Sinton and Corpus Christi are both vital parts of the Coastal Bend Region. Our goal is to provide a venue and facilitate discussion so that both Sinton and Corpus Christi may both benefit,” Hinojosa wrote in a press release on Tuesday.
However, the City of Sinton responded to the Senator's request saying no discussions will be had until, "the City of Corpus Christi (“CCC”) provides essential information and responds to a previously submitted proposal intended to resolve ongoing groundwater permit matters."
The press release continued, "Sinton expressed appreciation for the Senator’s willingness to assist in facilitating discussions. However, the City emphasized that meaningful dialogue cannot occur without basic transparency and engagement from CCC."
READ THE CITY OF SINTON'S FULL RELEASE HERE:
The City of Sinton announced today that it will not attend a proposed March 10 meeting regarding the Evangeline/Laguna Water Project until the City of Corpus Christi (“CCC”) provides essential information and responds to a previously submitted proposal intended to resolve ongoing groundwater permit matters.
Sinton, represented by legal counsel who also serves St. Paul Water Supply Corporation (“SPWSC”), is currently participating in proceedings before the San Patricio County Groundwater Conservation District (“SPCGCD”) concerning permit applications filed by CCC and Evangeline/Laguna LP. These applications relate to the proposed Evangeline/Laguna Water Project, which Sinton and SPWSC believe may significantly and unreasonably impact their groundwater wells, including potential declines in water levels and degradation of water quality.
In a letter responding to an invitation from Senator Adam Hinojosa, Sinton expressed appreciation for the Senator’s willingness to assist in facilitating discussions. However, the City emphasized that meaningful dialogue cannot occur without basic transparency and engagement from CCC.
More than two weeks ago, Sinton and SPWSC submitted a detailed proposal to CCC outlining a path toward resolving the pending permit issues. To date, CCC has not provided any response. According to Sinton’s counsel, this silence prevents the City from understanding CCC’s position, assessing whether progress is possible, or determining whether an impasse exists.
Additionally, Sinton reiterated concerns about CCC’s refusal to share critical hydrogeological and water‑quality data related to the Project. Despite repeated requests—most recently renewed after Sinton submitted its proposal—CCC has declined to provide the information, calling the request “premature.” Sinton maintains that such data is essential for any good‑faith negotiation, given the technical complexity and potential risks associated with the Project.
“CCC simply must be an open book with regard to the Project,” the letter states. “There cannot be good‑faith negotiations until CCC commits to sharing important information and follows through.”
Based on the lack of response and the absence of necessary technical disclosures, Sinton has respectfully declined to attend the March 10 meeting.
Sen. Hinojosa learned of Sinton's response from KRIS 6 News.
"Well, this is just the first time we've heard it right now," Hinojosa said. "This was an effort to bring everybody to the table face to face, get whatever they can laid out on the table and discussed and hopefully come to resolution, but that certainly wasn't a guarantee."
The senator continued, 'So the whole purpose of the meeting was to bring them together to provide information that was asked for in front of others like our office to make sure that, hey, everybody is negotiating fairly and equally and that all sides are getting the information that they have asked for. That was the hope and the goal was to bring them together to start talking about that correspondences can get construed in different ways and you know there's been different things said about that."
"I'm disappointed if Sinton's already decided that they don't want to come to the table, but we have given every opportunity that we can to try to bring the parties together too because Sinton has some very legitimate concerns, and it's very important to address those concerns, and Corpus Christi has some potential solutions that they're offering that may be able to answer those concerns and it may not be enough, but that's what the discussion is all about, is to try to get them to the table to work it out."
In February, the San Patricio County Groundwater Conservation District voted to send formal protests filed against the proposed Evangeline groundwater project to a preliminary hearing process.
As previously reported by KRIS 6 News, the City of Sinton and St. Paul Water Supply Corporation filed formal protests against Evangeline drilling and transport permit applications tied to Corpus Christi’s groundwater supply plans.
In the Monday press release, Sinton leaders write, "More than two weeks ago, Sinton and SPWSC submitted a detailed proposal to CCC outlining a path toward resolving the pending permit issues. To date, CCC has not provided any response. According to Sinton’s counsel, this silence prevents the City from understanding CCC’s position, assessing whether progress is possible, or determining whether an impasse exists."
Corpus Christi officials had described Evangeline as a critical future water source during drought conditions.
On Thursday, Lake Corpus Christi fell below 10% capacity, marking an historic low at the Wesley Seale Dam.
The combined lake levels are down to 9.9%.
Corpus Christi city officials are modeling how soon the region could reach a Level 1 water emergency. "Worst case scenario would be late spring or early summer," Zanoni told KRIS 6 News on Thursday.
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