Presenter: Ann Bright

Commission Agenda Item No. 15
Action
Easement Request at the J.D. Murphree Wildlife Management Area (Jefferson County)
May 2006

I. Executive Summary: This item concerns a request for the recommendation by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission (Commission) to the Board for Lease for Parks and Wildlife Lands to issue a right-of-way (ROW) easement to allow Entergy Gulf States, Inc. (Entergy) to place transmission lines across the J.D. Murphree Wildlife Management Area in support of the Golden Pass Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) regasification facility along the Texas Coast. The transmission lines will also serve the Sempra LNG regasification facility if that facility receives its Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) permit and is built.

II. Discussion: The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department currently owns and operates the J.D. Murphree Wildlife Management Area in Jefferson County. The J. D. Murphree WMA is a 24,250-acre tract of fresh, intermediate and brackish marshes within the prairie-marsh zone along the upper coast of Texas. The WMA is highly diverse in coastal wetland communities. Vegetative communities are found within the area indicative of freshwater, intermediate, brackish and to a small extent saline wetlands.

GoldenPass LNG (an affiliate of ExxonMobil) and Sempra LNG are planning to construct regasification facilities along the Texas coast. Entergy applied to the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) for a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity (CCN) to supply electric power to the Golden Pass LNG facility via a 230 Kv transmission line and related transmission facilities. The planned easement route would be approximately 1400 linear feet long and approximately 200-300 feet wide and would run along the eastern boundary of the J.D. Murphree WMA. The route of the transmission line is shown in Exhibit A. Staff intervened in the PUC proceeding and has been working with Entergy, GoldenPass, Sempra and PUC staff in an effort to minimize harm to wildlife as a result of the transmission line.

III. Recommendation: Staff recommends that the Commission adopt the following motion:

"The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission authorizes the Executive Director to recommend that the Board for Lease for Parks and Wildlife Lands issue a right-of-way easement to Entergy Gulf States, Inc. for the construction of transmission lines across the J.D. Murphree Wildlife Management Area along the route described in Exhibit A."

Attachments - 1

  1. Exhibit A – Map of Easement Route

Commission Agenda Item No. 15
Exhibit A

Map of Easement Route

This image is a representation of where the proposed energy transmission line lies in relation to JD Murphree Wildlife Management Area

For help in interpreting this map, please contact Dennis Gissell.