AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) – Community members in the West Hills neighborhood and surrounding area are set to meet Tuesday evening with a representative from Amarillo Country Club, according to organizers, to discuss reported instances of some residents receiving proposals for the club to lease property groundwater rights.
Organizers announced on social media the neighborhood meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Don Harrington Discovery Center. The meeting is intended to “give property owners an opportunity to hear directly from ACC about the proposal, why the additional water rights are being requested, and how the agreements may relate to ACC’s groundwater use and permitting.”
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During a Panhandle Groundwater Conservation District meeting in August, the ACC was reported to be in violation of the PGCD rules regarding permit requirements and contiguous acreage tracts for the use of its groundwater wells. PGCD General Manager Britney Britten said the ACC was found during the summer to have been actively pumping two wells not part of its operating permit. The ACC received fines for both wells and was asked to give a progress report at the next board meeting, but also reported it was in the process of working with the City of Amarillo to obtain a larger water line to its property.
In September, multiple people took to social media and posted photos of letters they said had been sent to them by the ACC due to their homes’ location within a 100-acre block of property near the country club. The letters allegedly offered proposed 50-year groundwater rights leases for $500, so the ACC may “add acres to our groundwater rights to satisfy the District.”…