{"id":922465,"date":"2026-07-09T05:17:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T05:17:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/922465\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T05:17:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T05:17:29","slug":"dallas-based-company-sues-east-texas-water-district-to-develop-high-capacity-water-wells","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/922465\/","title":{"rendered":"Dallas-based company sues East Texas water district to develop high-capacity water wells"},"content":{"rendered":"

HENDERSON COUNTY, Texas (KETK<\/a>) \u2014 A Dallas-area company, which is attempting to install dozens of high capacity water wells in East Texas, is suing a groundwater conservation district for their “deliberate scheme” to allegedly stop the company from drilling.<\/p>\n

As the fight for groundwater rights continue in Texas, the owners of Redtown Ranch Holding, LLC and Pine Bliss, LLC filed a lawsuit in federal court on Tuesday against the Neches and Trinity Valleys Groundwater Conservation District. This stems from a yearslong dispute, as they attempt to obtain permits to drill 43 water wells on their properties in Anderson and Henderson counties.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Controversial high-capacity well applications suspended by East Texas groundwater district \u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Since then, the plaintiffs have faced several obstacles after the district suspended their permits and allegedly blocked them from filing new applications under a new moratorium that was adopted in May.<\/p>\n

The Background<\/p>\n

In 2024, Redtown Ranch Holdings and Pine Bliss sought 43 permits from the state for high-capacity water wells on their properties, which span an approximate total of 11,500 acres across Anderson and Henderson Counties.<\/p>\n

Shortly after passing through a few application processes, the NTVGCD voted to suspend all 40 permits after numerous East Texas public officials began to speak out against the proposed wells<\/strong><\/a> and their potential impact on the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer, which supplies water for the ranches’ groundwater and much of the counties.<\/p>\n

Crockett City Administrator John Angerstein warned that those wells could extract up to 10 billion gallons annually from the aquifers.<\/p>\n

\u00a0East Texas officials express opposition to new high-capacity wells\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

“Yet none of this water is designated for our communities,” Angerstein told KETK News in 2025. “It is likely intended to support unchecked development and sprawl in other parts of Texas, presumably in the DFW metroplex or Hill Country, areas that have failed to plan responsibly for their own water needs.”<\/p>\n

The ranches are allegedly tied to environmental sustainability private equity firm, Conservation Equity Management Partners, which is run by Dallas businessman Kyle Bass, founder and CEO of the firm.<\/p>\n

According to the lawsuit, the groundwater conservation district suspended the permits to “appease” the interests of local farms, who allegedly see the two ranches as a “competitive threat.”<\/p>\n

The lawsuit names Sanderson farms, a large Texas poultry producer, and the Consolidated Water Supply Corporation as the local interests \u2014 both of which draw water from the same aquifer as the two ranches.<\/p>\n

In May, the district adopted a moratorium pausing all new groundwater use permits unless they fell under these exceptions:<\/p>\n

\u00a0East Texas groundwater officials outline proposed changes to safeguard supplies\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Moratorium’s limited exceptions:<\/p>\n