- 8 -
exercised the option. On March 18, 1993, the TNRCC granted an
amendment to petitioner’s certificate, authorizing the change of
use for the 35,000 acre feet subject to the option from
agricultural to municipal and industrial use. In February 1994,
the option agreement was amended to extend the period in which
Corpus Christi could exercise the option for 2 additional years,
to increase the monthly payments to $25,000, and to increase the
option payment to $450 per acre foot. In November 1996, Corpus
Christi notified petitioner that it intended to exercise the
option. Upon notification of Corpus Christi’s exercise, the
option agreement required petitioner to obtain amendments to its
certificate from the TNRCC authorizing an interbasin transfer of
the 35,000 acre-foot portion of petitioner’s water to various
other basins for Corpus Christi’s use. The option agreement
provided that Corpus Christi could either close the sale or
withdraw from the transaction upon petitioner’s acquisition of
the amendment to its certificate.
As of the valuation date, petitioner had not yet submitted
an application for an amendment authorizing the interbasin
transfer. However, the LCRA had made it known by the valuation
date that it planned to oppose the Corpus Christi transaction.
In fact, at that time the LCRA had a policy of vigorously
opposing any transfer of water out of the Colorado River Basin
and was a politically influential organization. Its mission was
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011