We can’t say it was unexpected, but the San Antonio City Council voted unanimously today for the Vista Ridge $3.4 billion water grab. BUT, hold your horses! The Vista Ridge contract contains a provision that San Antonio Water System can walk away at any time, for any reason, within 30 months of the signing of this contract, with minimal penalties. What that means, folks, is that we CAN pull Vista Ridge down!!! Today begins the beginning of the unraveling of the Vista Ridge deal as our grassroots efforts have captured very important media attention! Read this Texas Tribune report and consider leaving a comment there and sharing it. We promise you, Vista Ridge will not stand — if we, rural and urban Texans — stand together, just like we did today. We are proud of each and everyone of you — many not in this picture nor even in the Council chamber today — who stood up with us to say no to harming our communities and our aquifers. We will be back soon with some ideas to kick around. Just keep those letters coming in — it’s on the home page of our website. We need to keep multiplying our numbers. PS Please reserve Saturday, November 22, to spend the day with us figuring out how we’re going to get the legislature to listen to citizens come January 2015.

The good news is that rural and urban Texans are standing up to the growth lobby that wants our water, our land and our money — no questions asked. TONIGHT — Farmer’s Branch, 7 pm! Our own Calvin Tillman will debate the propagandists for the fracking industry . It’s at Brookhaven College Geotech Institute, 3939 Valley View Lane, Farmers Branch. Will you come with us this Thursday (early morning) to San Antonio? Vista Ridge is on the agenda early — the meeting starts at 9 am at the Municipal Building, 114 W. Commerce. (Contact us now if you’re coming, call 512-213-4511!) The ugly news and we stand corrected: We have the recording from SA Mayor Ivy Taylor on KTSA-550 AM radio. Listen to what she says in response to Michele Gangnes’ question from Lee County:  Click to listen to Gangnes v. Taylor . Call in any weekday to KTSA’s Trey Ware Show (5 to 9 am) — correct #:  210-599-5555, the Mayor is on the show on Wednesdays starting at 8:30 am, but it’s hard to get through. TO DOs for YOU! Followed by good news and really good news! The real good news!  Our own Michele Gangnes has her own terrific op-ed in Sunday’s San Antonio Express-News opposite City Councilman Joe Krier’s piece, Krier, for decades was CEO and President Greater San Antonio Area Chamber of Commerce. The really really good news! We went to San Antonio on Friday night to speak with a great group of folks at the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center. One of them is a former San Antonio Councilwoman and community activist — Maria Antonietta Berriozabal — a genuine stateswoman. She wrote to us after reading Michele’s editorial on Vista Ridge. I n my opinion, the process is fast tracked because there is a history in San Antonio that when the people are well informed, especially about their water, people come together from every corner of our beloved city. They become engaged. They organize. They speak out. They have a history of winning against incredible odds…but there is something different in Vista Ridge. As Ms. Gangnes correctly offers in her great oped of today, there is a new Texas urban-rural connection of voices. More people are beginning to see that our local issues are part of a major growth period in Texas where, as we know, water and energy will continue to drive the growth. It may just be that the Vista Ridge Pipeline will be fodder for statewide organizing. No telling what can be done by good organizing crossing all kinds of social, political and economic lines.

San Antonio interim Mayor Ivy Taylor –on Wednesday’s KTSA-550 AM radio show — said she hasn’t received any complaints about the Vista Ridge water grab! Really? STEP ONE: Call the Mayor’s COMMENT LINE NOW!  210.207.2280. Ask her to hold her horses (the real estate lobby) on Vista Ridge before she harms two aquifers and her own ratepayers! STEP TWO:  Generate thousands of letters to the Mayor and Council here: SIGN AND SEND HERE and SHARE IT STEP THREE:  Reach tens of thousands of San Antonians on Facebook Click here to LIKE, COMMENT and SHARE SAN ANTONIANS! PLEASE CALL YOUR DISTRICT CITY COUNCIL REP TOO CALL 210.207.7040 with the same message! Here’s the Council’s contact page . (If you don’t know your rep, they will tell you who they are. Remember them for the future!) SINCERE THANKS TO Barret Lyne and Terri Hall ! Soil scientist, Dr. Barret Lyne of Brazos County, drove the pipeline route down to San Antonio, alerting officials along the way — he got surprising support! Terri Hall ( Texas TURF ) sent out a powerful message comparing Vista Ridge to the Trans-Texas Corridor and is helping reach out to voters in North San Antonio. CLICK HERE to visit our new Vista Ridge Page — there’s lots more you can learn and do. We’re uniting rural and urban Texas, with your (and Taylor’s unintentional) help — thank you all and thank you Mayor! #SanAntonioWaterGrab #SimsboroAquifer #KTSA #EdwardsAquifer #TerriHall

Bastrop County Judge Paul Pape, an aquifer guardian. Did you see today’s opinion-editorial by Bastrop County Judge Paul Pape? Way to go Judge! The League of Independent Voters is calling two special and urgent meetings. One for Bastrop County and one for Lee County: This Saturday, Oct. 18, 2 pm-3:30 pm, at the Bastrop Library (1100 Church Street, Bastrop). Next Tuesday evening, Oct. 21, 6:30-8 pm, at the Giddings Library, 276 N Orange Street. Please pass this along and bring your neighbors! San Antonio Water System (SAWS) may be pulling a fast one. Tomorrow, SAWS is calling a special meeting of their own to “tweak” the $3.4 billion Vista Ridge contract they already signed! Remember, the Vista Ridge project involves a 142-mile pipeline to move 50,000 acre-feet per year of groundwater from our area aquifer (the Simsboro formation of the Carrizo-Wilcox aquifer) in Burleson County to San Antonio! That portion of the Simsboro only recharges by 2,000 acre-feet-year, according a UT study in 2012. Please continue to ask folks to sign our letter to the San Antonio City Council and add their own comments: Click here If you know folks in San Antonio (or these additionally affected counties — Milam, Burleson, Comal, Hays and Bandera counties) please get them to sign the letter too and include their own comments. Use the share buttons on this page to spread the word, won’t you? And, feel free to comment below.

Bill Bunch of Save Our Springs Alliance speaks with Lee County landowners, Gary and Dorothey Gerdes at his side Join our 9 am conference call tomorrow (Saturday, October 11) to get active in the League of Independent Voters of Texas. Reply to this message for call instructions or call us! Urban and rural Texans are joining together to fight San Antonio Water System’s Vista Ridge water and money grab. Here’s Austin’s Bill Bunch of Save Our Springs standing with Lee County landowners, Gary and Dorothey Gerdes, before the San Antonio City Council on Wednesday night. Together, we hit the press jackpot — see links below. KSAT-TV : I love seeing Henry Urban (Lee/Bastrop County) standing in the background with our sign, while the Chamber of Commerce “growth lobbyist” speaks:  click here San Antonio Express-News : Charlotte Gilman (Bastrop County) and Rose & Gene Fritsche (Lee County) are right there:  click here Texas Tribune : Hilde Sides (Lee County) is in the spotlight! click here KENS : I like their opener in this piece. Judy Martens (Burleson County) got a great quote! click here FOX-TV News : SAWS talks about the rate increases, which is a critical issue to all San Antonians:  click here San Marcos Mercury News : message from San Antonians — slow this down, not for growth — that is what’s driving this deal folks: click here KTBX Talk Show : Our own Michele Gangnes v. SAWS Chief of Staffer. Michele was her usual well-spoken and informed self: click here

This picture was taken in Giddings last February at a crowded meeting of the Lost Pines Groundwater Conservation District. Hundreds of people were there to support the District’s conservative approach to protecting the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer, and its coveted, very slow to recharge Simsboro formation. This aquifer has become the most endangered groundwater in Texas . In the Lost Pines GCD (Bastrop and Lee counties), one private water marketer, Forestar Real Estate Group, is suing for 45,000 acre-feet and another, End Op L.P., is pushing for 46,000 acre-feet from the Simsboro. The picture has been used by Forestar Real Estate Group’s attorney, Ed McCarthy, and San Antonio Water System CEO, Robert Puente, to chastise both the rural supporters of Lost Pines GCD and the District itself.   The citizens were dismissed as “water hoarders” who live over a “drought proof” aquifer and don’t want to share. Nothing could be further from the truth about those who have led the fight for protection of groundwater, and its critical contributions to surface waters (rivers, streams, bays and estuaries) for generations to come. The problem for central Texans is political. That is, some of the political leadership that should serve them is more willing to serve the real estate lobby that cannot seem to get enough people to move to Central Texas fast enough. State Representative Lyle Larson’s opinion-editorial last Friday disingenuously called for “ending the water wars”, while calling those who are fighting to stop his “models of regional cooperation”, like the $3.4 billion SAWS Vista Ridge Project, “un-Texan”.  At the other end of the pipeine, Lee and Bastrop counties’ State Representative Tim Kleinschmidt of Lexington sold the water from his family land to Forestar Real Estate Group. What they have not told their constituents is that the Post Oak Savannah Groundwater Conservation that serves Burleson and Milam Counties has over-permitted its portion of the same aquifer that serves the Lost Pines . Nor have they told them about the University of Texas Report in 2012 that determined the deep recharge of the Simsboro in Burleson County is only about 2,000 acre-feet per year. The Vista Ridge project being rushed by SAWS will take 50,000 acre-feet per year from the Carrizo-Wilcox, with most of the water coming from the Simsboro. Central Texans are also not being told of the risks the Vista Ridge project poses to the fast recharge Edwards Aquifer, another equally critical aquifer – particularly its sensitive recharge and contributing zones in Hays and Comal counties. Instead, the state representatives that serve San Antonio and some of the rural counties have become part of the problem. Respected San Antonio hydrogeologist and former Edwards Aquifer Authority Board member, George Rice, has been studying proposed Central Texas groundwater projects. He weighs in stating, “We know that all the Carrizo-Wilcox groundwater removal projects on the drawing board in Burleson, Lee and Bastrop counties will reduce the amount of groundwater that discharges to the Brazos and Colorado rivers. As a result, the amount of water flowing in these rivers will be reduced with as yet unknown effects. In my opinion, the Vista Ridge project should not go forward until SAWS has thoroughly investigated all of the effects that this project will have on water, and the people and ecosystems that depend on it, including the bays and estuaries along the coast.” Bill Bunch of Save Our Springs Alliance in Austin has long been involved in the region’s water sustainability, especially in efforts to protect the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone. Bunch wrote to SOS members throughout the region last Friday, “If approved, San Antonio will be delivering yet more water to feed growth over the Edwards Aquifer in northern Bexar, western Comal, and eastern Medina counties. SAWS has already sought to mitigate the financial blow of the proposed deal by selling portions of the water to feed growth in the US 281 corridor, over the Edwards Aquifer recharge and contributing zones, in Comal and Hays counties…Rather than reduce groundwater pumping in the Hill Country, importing water to the Edwards contributing zone often leads to increased groundwater pumping (to supplement the very expensive imported water)… Increased groundwater pumping from the upstream Trinity aquifer reduces inflows to the Edwards and the Blanco and Guadalupe rivers. The new development served by the imported water adds urban runoff pollution and increases flooding and erosion downstream.” For Bunch’s full statement go here . About that picture – it is a very simple statement by the people of the Lost Pines that they are unwilling to endanger their water supply to pay for unbridled growth. They are hoping that others across the Edwards Aquifer and its recharge zone join them in ending the Texas Water Wars by protecting our precious groundwater and surface water . All of our lives depend on it. ‫Citizens from across the affected areas are just beginning to be alerted about how this project affects them and are being urged to come to San Antonio City Hall this Wednesday, October 8, at 6 pm for the first public hearing on Vista Ridge‬.

Stop the Vista Ridge $3.4B Water Grab! Click here to hear San Antonio interim Mayor Ivy Taylor on KTSA-550 AM explain (badly) why she doesn’t have to listen to the “environmentalists” complaining about Vista Ridge . Call Taylor at 210.207.2280 , then, if you live in San Antonio, call your Council District Member at 210.207.7040 This is a woeful tale of two aquifers — the great Simsboro formation of the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer underlying Burleson, Milam, Lee and Bastrop counties AND the great Edwards Aquifer and recharge zone in central Texas. They “belong” to the people who live over them, not water profiteers and politicians trying to get ahead. Share this tale of two aquifers with your friends. Get them to sign the letter and get ready for coming rounds with the central Texas real estate growth lobby, y’all! Go to our Vista Ridge page for updates and background . We want to visit your community if you are affected by this project. Invite us!

Sorry for all the confusion about the trip to San Antonio. We are NOT going today, we’re going next Wednesday as we now have a full hearing NEXT WEDNESDAY, OCT. 8TH, at 6 pm at SAN ANTONIO CITY HALL, 114 W. Commerce. Parking is available next door in the Frost Bank building. So, dear Texans, wherever you are – if you value your water and your wallets – show up! We will hook you up with a ride in your area or our bus to San Antonio to Remember the Ogallala! Just reply to this message or call us! There’s lots of hide-the-ball going on with this $3.4 billion shakedown of San Antonio ratepayers and the priceless Simsboro aquifer east of Austin. This hearing was announced last night by the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce during the San Antonio City Council’s “open mike” session. It’s funny how they knew about it, but we didn’t. There are risks to this kind of behavior by San Antonio’s business “leaders”. It is becoming clear that this too-risky $3.4 billion/50,000 acre-feet deal AND the draining of the slow-recharge Simsboro aquifer in Burleson County, is the Chamber’s deal. And if ( or should we say when? ) it goes south, and San Antonio ratepayers are left holding the bag, they cannot say we didn’t warn them. We brought with us to San Antonio yesterday two landowners, Gary and Dorothy Gerdes of Giddings, Texas. They own land over the Simsboro — the most endangered groundwater in Texas. Also on the trip was Michelle McFaddin , an environmental and public finance attorney with 27-years experience. From 2007-2013, she was the lead attorney for infrastructure loans at the Texas Water Development Board. Read McFaddin’s fair warning of potential default she delivered last night here . Then read Linda Curtis’ fair warning about politicial consequences of the Vista Ridge deal here . The true irony is that the raid on the Simsboro (with a recharge rate in Burleson County of just 2,000 acre-feet — read this ) is through yet another “public-private partnership” with yet another Spanish corporation. This time it’s Abengoa. The last time it was CINTRA — for the Trans-Texas Corridor. CINTRA is fixing to default on the State Highway 130 toll road just east of Austin. Be in San Antonio NEXT WEDNESDAY at 6 pm! Let’s urge the San Antonio City Council to slow down for a full public vetting of the Vista Ridge Project — before they vote on it on October 30th. They need to know that you give a damn about the Chamber’s reckless folly. Call us to reserve a seat, hop a ride with others or tell us you’ll meet us there! Did we tell you we still can use a few of your hard-earned dollars? Give on our secure website or send us a check to help get the pigs out of our trough!

For Immediate Release: September 30, 2014 Is it a take AND pay water “deal”, a Trans-Texas Water Highway or both?  San Antonio Water System’s unanimous vote yesterday to rush a $3.4 billion deal for a 142-mile water pipeline from Burleson County, began hitting a few road blocks when two public finance attorneys showed up in opposition to the project. SAWS Chair Berto Guerra delivered a 15-minute monologue extolling the virtues of SAWS’  Vista Ridge “deal of the century”, but then reduced public comment from the standard five minutes to two minutes because there were “so many” speakers. There were nine. Michele McFaddin is an environmental/natural resources attorney with more than 27 years of experience and was the former lead attorney for infrastructure loan programs at the Texas Water Development Board between 2007 and 2013. McFaddin now represents the League of Independent Voters, which has been fighting a virtual siege of private water marketers on the slow-recharge aquifers east of Austin. McFaddin said today, “SAWS has indicated that Abengoa-Vista Ridge accepts the regulatory risk of making 50,000 acre-feet of groundwater available but has neglected to mention that it has pay for the water AND reimburse Abengoa for its financing, design, construction, treatment and operational costs. Allowing a foreign company to finance, build and operate this project rather than financing and implementing this project itself does not benefit SAWS or San Antonio ratepayers if (1) Abengoa does not possess an investment grade rating for purposes of financing (unlike SAWS which has an excellent investment rating); (2) is in questionable and deteriorating financial condition according to its own regulatory filings with the SEC; and (3) will be implementing this project through a subsidiary that is a Delaware-based limited liability company. This project is a clear example of a public/private partnership gone awry.” Michele Gangnes , a founding board member of the League of Independent Voters and a Lee County landowner who lives over the Simsboro, also has 32-years’ experience as a public finance attorney. After hearing Interim San Antonio Mayor and SAWS Board member, Ivey Taylor, ask serious follow-up questions, Gangnes said, “Mayor Taylor seems open to hearing our concerns. She gave us hope she will call a full public hearing to do just that. Shifting the risks of a firm water supply to Abengoa and Blue Water but also promising to buy 50,000 acre-feet of very expensive water whether San Antonio needs it or not has consequences. San Antonio ratepayers could be put at serious risk of both uncertain supply and unaffordable rate increases if the San Antonio City Council fails to opt for lower interest rates by either financing the project on its own or with state assistance. Better yet, if the economic and environmental sustainability of the project is as questionable as the undertones San Antonio citizens are hearing, the city should abandon the project altogether and focus on desalination and other strategies.” Linda Curtis , Executive Director of the League and longtime independent activist known for bringing together environmentalists with tea party Republicans, said, “Not long after a united citizens movement across partisan lines successfully stopped the Trans-Texas Corridor, we started calling plans to pipe large exports of water from the Simsboro the ‘Trans-Texas Water Highway’. Little did we know that today we would be fighting Abengoa, yet another Spanish company that, just like CINTRA, is being met with open arms by local power brokers who operate just like Governor Rick Perry. Let’s hope this project – as it stands today – meets the same fate.” Media is invited to reach the 5-minute comments offered to SAWS in writing from McFaddin posted here and Gangnes posted here .

PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE ABENGOA VISTA RIDGE/SAWS/BLUE WATER DRAFT CONTRACT Prepared by Michele G. Gangnes Resident Landowner, Lee County and Licensed Attorney Founding Board Member, League of Independent Voters of Texas Vice President, Neighbors for Neighbors (September 29, 2014) My name is Michele Gangnes. I own land and groundwater in Lee County, and I have been a water activist since the day after SAWS signed the Alcoa water contract on New Year’s Eve, 1998. I am a founding board member of the League of Independent Voters of Texas, I am a licensed attorney, and I have practiced law with a specialty in municipal and corporate finance for about 32 years of my 36-year law practice in the Pacific Northwest. I do not serve as legal counsel to the League, and I’m no expert on Texas public finance, but I have been eligible for inclusion in the so-called “Red Book” of public finance counsel since 1987. I also devoted some time to reading this contract. I share Ms. McFaddin’s concerns and would amplify them on the subject of take or pay contracts. My ex-husband devoted about 8 or 9 years of his life as a securities fraud litigator to unwinding the multiple take or pay contracts that were directly responsible for the famed multi-billion dollar Washington Public Power Supply (aptly named “WPPS”) default. Those contracts were hastily signed, too. Take or pay may be Abengoa’s favorite contract, but why did SAWS expose its ratepayers to paying for more water than they need? SAWS obviously had the superior negotiating position in this contract. The City of Hutto was recently advised to raise water rates by 20% in one year to accommodate a take or pay water supply without enough customers. I can only conclude you have become part of the municipal gravy train of special interests that feed off of growth in places without water of their own. Someone said to me last night, “There is nothing creative about what SAWS is doing in bringing water to lure in growth — they are failing to realize they look just like Los Angeles all those years ago.” Your take or pay contract with our water is an insult to rural Texans — you are already looking to offload excess water, and you are using our water to do it. You will have joined the ranks of Central Texas water speculators. Instead of telling ratepayers you are risking their water bill, you say you have minimized or even eliminated their risk in this contract. And then you show them an impressive slide about “re-delivering” $2300/acre-foot water to others through an ERCOT-style, Trans-Texas style water pipeline running up and down IH-35. Good luck with that. But I suppose any number of water speculators and special interests will help you do it. Do you realize that your paltry 3% of the population who are selling you water in 1 million acre Burleson and Milam counties don’t even begin to counter the resentment in our counties toward San Antonio — for the second time in 15 years? (And by the way, Alcoa closed its doors and left just like we told you they would.) You put yourselves, the enrichment of water speculators, your aquifer and your urban sprawl ahead of people who choose to live differently than you do but need and deserve water for their future generations as much as you do. Do you realize that right across the ”street” as far as the aquifer is concerned, water marketers want at least 75,000 acre-feet from Lee County and another 16,000 from Bastrop County to compete in your “take or pay” market along IH-35? Or are you planning to help your competitors develop their markets with your short-term water? And did you know that concerns about potential contamination of our precious Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer from the fracking uptick in Burleson County are apparently leading the Post Oak Savannah Groundwater Conservation District to institute a water quality monitoring system for the aquifer. That’s a water treatment issue for you to consider! Don’t take more than you need —- don’t rush into a contract whose upside to San Antonio is certainly not clear if you don’t have time to read it. And shame on you if you do vote on it without reading it, carefully. Thank you for allowing the League of Independent Voters to make public comment on behalf of its statewide membership. THE LEAGUE OF INDEPENDENT VOTERS OF TEXAS Michele G. Gangnes 512-461-3179 mggangnes@aol.com

PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE ABENGOA VISTA RIDGE/SAWS/BLUE WATER DRAFT CONTRACT Prepared by Michelle A. McFaddin, Attorney at Law (September 29, 2014) My name is Michelle McFaddin. I am a licensed attorney retained by League of Independent Voters of Texas. Between 2007 and 2013, I was employed by the Texas Water Development Board as the lead attorney for the federal and state water and wastewater infrastructure loan programs. In that capacity, I assisted SAWS in financing its Brackish Groundwater Desalination Project through the state Water Infrastructure Fund program. In my experience, SAWS is a sophisticated borrower with staff that is knowledgeable and experienced in implementing large-scale, complex projects. I obtained a copy of the 581-page September 25, 2014 draft contract, related appendices and reference documents on Friday and my reaction is simple – why isn’t SAWS financing and implementing this project itself using the heavily subsidized financing options available through either state infrastructure loan programs or through the market at rates significantly lower than those proposed by Abengoa. I feel confident that the Board must have asked itself these same questions over the weekend. SAWS is effectively in control of the project Although the risk of project financing, design and construction as well as ongoing operation of the groundwater wells, water treatment facilities and transmission line appear to have been allocated to Abengoa affiliates, in reality: SAWS is required to reimburse Abengoa for the costs of financing and designing this project up to $40,100,000 even if Abengoa can’t obtain financing or is unwilling or unable to perform its obligations pursuant to §4.6(a) and Appendix 18 of the draft contract; SAWS is required to reimburse Abengoa for all reasonable costs of operating and maintaining the Project facilities pursuant to Art. 17 and Appendix 19 of the draft contract; Although it may appear that construction and operational risks have been transferred to Abengoa, in fact SAWS retains significant control over project implementation which suggests to me that the Board has concerns about whether Abengoa has the ability to perform under this contract. SAWS has (1) an option to purchase the initial securities (bonds) used to finance the project; (2) the ability to purchase project assets at any time after closing; (3) the ability to force the design/construction contractor as well as the operating service provider to follow its instructions rather than Abengoa’s at any time without cause; and (4) the ability to terminate the Agreement at any time prior to closing unless there is an offering of securities pending and thereafter if Abengoa defaults on its obligations; SAWS has not in fact shifted all of the risk to Abengoa. SAWS still bears the risk that (1) groundwater cannot be produced up to the baseline amount of 50,000 acre-feet per year; and/or (2) that the groundwater will require extensive treatment before it can be used by SAWS – and the raw water permitting and treatment costs are not factored into the cost of water under this agreement; these are hidden costs that may be significant. SAWS or a newly-created Municipal Water District or Regional Utility Authority can obtain financing for this project at significantly lower cost SAWS and/or an MWD or Regional Utility Authority could obtain heavily subsidized financing through the TWDB’s tax-exempt water infrastructure loan programs – saving 200-300 basis points. In order to qualify for funding from the state water infrastructure funds, the project needs to listed on the 2017 State Water Plan. There is no need to get listed on the State Water Plan in order to obtain funding using Texas Water Development funds although the interest rate for DFund loans is typically higher. Currently, the interest rate for tax-exempt financing under the Water Development Fund (DFund) program is 3.18% as opposed to the max. 6.04% rate proposed by Abengoa. SAWS borrowing costs will be substantially less than any rate charged under this draft contract since Abengoa’s credit rating is two levels below investment grade. A private entity like Abengoa may not be eligible for or credit-worthy enough to qualify for tax-exempt financing. Its proposed financing options are 1) the issuance of private activity bonds – if these bonds are even available, the actual feasibility of PAB financing is not addressed; 2) the issuance of corporate bonds that do not have any investment grade rating requirements, perhaps like the “Green” Euro bonds issued by Abengoa recently – it should be noted that this offering was not fully suscribed at an interest rate of approx. 5.5%, half of the offering had to be sold at 6.5%, suggesting that SAWS will be looking at the max. 6.04% interest rate; or 3) through the issuance of municipal bonds. Abengoa’s eligibility for tax-exempt financing through the issuance of municipal securities is questionable. If a private partnership is required to finance and implement this project either because of political concerns or because SAWS already has too much outstanding debt, why contract with Abengoa to finance and implement this project? Abengoa is a risky choice because Abengoa’s ratings with Moody’s, Standard & Poor and Fitch are not of investment grade and have been consistently downgraded over the past 2 years. According to Abengoa’s most recent annual report to the SEC, it already has a high level of indebtedness (11,975 million Pounds total with only 581 million Pounds left for additional corporate borrowing). It is not clear whether the recent “Green” Euro offering used up some of this remaining borrowing capacity. Its SEC Form 20-F report also indicates that Abengoa has generated significant negative cash flows in the past three years and its liabilities at the end of these fiscal years have exceeded its tangible assets. Should Abengoa default on its obligations under the contract, SAWS only recourse will be to take over the project since any judgment rendered by a U.S. Court based on breach of contract or securities fraud may well not be enforceable in a Spanish Court of law. Texas residents have recently experience significant difficulties with another Spanish company that was brought in to finance and construct another infrastructure project, the Texas Tollways project; the bonds issued to pay for Texas Tollways are in trouble; there has been talk of possible default and ongoing service-related problems. Bottom Line – does San Antonio need these kinds of problems with its future water supply? Conclusion SAWS has indicated that Abengoa-Vista Ridge accepts the regulatory risk of making 50,000 acre-feet of groundwater available for the next 30 years but neglects to mention that it has to reimburse Abengoa for its financing, design, construction, treatment and operational costs. Moreover, SAWS still has the risk that it will not be able to acquire 50,000 acre-feet/year of useable quality groundwater whether or not Abengoa risks the lost revenue. SAWS argues that by executing this agreement, it will cap interest rate exposure but neglects to mention that the maximum capped rate of 6.04% under this Agreement is significantly in excess of the tax-exempt interest rates that would apply if the project were being financed through the TWDB’s water infrastructure loan programs (3.18% today for the DFund program) and even the market-based taxable rates being used by the TWDB. SAWS suggests that it is imperative that it sign a contract to ensure that it obtains up to 50,000 acre-feet/year of water right now for possible delivery as soon as 2019 but has not demonstrated that it needs this entire amount by 2019. SAWS has time to work with the TWDB and, if needed, the legislature to get the project onto the 2017 State Water Plan if it wants to avail itself of the state water infrastructure fund rate subsidies. Moreover, it has the time to create a water district or regional utility authority to obtain tax-exempt project financing and to implement this project if it does not want to bear the risk of project financing and implementation. SAWS has argued that it benefits its ratepayers to have a private, third party build the well-field infrastructure, pipeline and related treatment and transfer facilities rather than implementing this project itself but is it advantageous if (1) the third party does not possess an investment grade rating for purposes of financing (unlike SAWS which has an excellent investment rating); (2) the third party is in questionable financial condition according to its own regulatory filings; and (3) the third party’s American subsidiary is a Delaware-based limited liability company? The whole reason to create a limited liability company is to LIMIT LIABILITY. There is no reason for SAWS or the City of San Antonio to rush forward to commit to a 581-page contract that was only released late last week – not with the questions, concerns and issues that you no doubt had when you reviewed the draft contract over the weekend as well as those that have been raised during the public comment period this morning. Thank you for this opportunity to present public comment.

THIS EVENT IS CANCELLED. WE ARE NOW TRYING TO GET A FULL PUBLIC HEARING ON THE SAWS DEAL — BE SURE TO SIGN UP TO GET OUR EMAIL ALERTS!~ We were in San Antonio on Monday to witness (SAWS) unveil a $3.4 billion contract for 50,000 acre-feet of Simsboro water. Yes, that’s the same aquifer Lee and Bastrop counties have been fighting to protect– for years. Even according to the Post Oak Savannah Groundwater Conservation District (the one that’s been handing our permits like candy) says the aquifer recharges only 12,500 AFY,. Meanwhile, water profiteers and hydrologists-for-hire keep calling the Simsboro “drought-proof” — just like they said 50-years ago about one of the world’s largest aquifers, the Ogallala, now dying in West Texas. Folks, the SAWS contract was 522-pages still in DRAFT on Monday . But, SAWS is still planning to ram through this $3.4 billion complex contract this coming Monday! Then it will go to the San Antonio City Council for approval on October 30th. The Vista Ridge consortium, (Spanish-based Abengoa and Bue Water Systems) will require at 140-mile pipeline to move the 50K AFY from Burleson to San Antonio. Like a car salesman, SAWS Chairman Berto Guerra calls it “the deal of the century.” So, what’s the big hurry and what’s the big worry? A lot. San Antonians will be forced to pay at least a 16% rate increase just the first year. Landowners along the 140-mile pipeline will face eminent domain land seizures. Communities north of San Antonio will be sold water for 5-10 years until San Antonio “grows into” this massive 50K AFY contract, then they can be cut off! Folks around the Simsboro in Burleson, Milam, Lee and Bastrop counties (and Brazos County that depends on the Simsboro) are looking at aquifer depletion. We need YOU NOW folks. Will you stand up to this water theft? We need you to be at San Antonio’s City Hall on Thursday, October 2 at 5 pm. PLEASE RESERVE A SPOT ON THE BUS NOW! We also need donations to cover our bus costs. STARTING FROM GIDDINGS AT 2 PM NEXT THURSDAY, October 2nd. We’ll be back between 9-10 pm. JOIN US ON SATURDAY’S CONFERENCE CALL AT 9 AM. CONTACT US FOR DETAILS. We can also use donations to pay for the bus. Give on this secure website, or send us a check to League of Independent Voters, PO Box 651, Bastrop, TX 78602, but email us to let us know it’s on the way:  info@independentleaguetx.org (or call 512-535-0989)