Groundwater Board Member Resigns in Potential Conflict of Interest 

Greg Ritchie

Messenger Reporter

EAST TEXAS –  As the hundreds of people piled into Jacksonville City Hall for the Neches and Trinity Valleys Groundwater Conservation District (NTVGC) meeting, there was one face missing on the dais. Board member Donald A. Foster had been replaced, suddenly, although there was no public word or explanation. As the meeting progressed and local residents proved more informed than officials expected, the truth suspected by many was revealed. 

The Messenger had reported Foster is leader of Andrews and Foster Drilling, an Athens-based company rumored to have been chosen to dig the dozens of commercial wells for the Redtown Ranch and Pinebluff water projects. We asked NTVGC General Manager Penny Hanson about this situation, and while she confirmed Foster would get the contract to drill, she said no voting had yet taken place, so there was no conflict of interest. 

As events unfolded, it became clear Foster had resigned only two days before the June 19 meeting – with no public reason given we could find. One of the speakers during the public comments section provided what she claimed was evidence of a conflict of interest on the board. 

While The Messenger can confirm some of these facts, but not yet all, these comments are presented as this one resident’s opinion, a lady from Leon County, who described herself as, “a landowner, a wife, a mother and a private well owner in Leon County.”

“We raise animals, we grow our own food, and like so many of our neighbors, we depend on the Cariza Wilcox Aquifar. No city hookup, no backup supply. The water beneath our feet is everything,” she said.  “It’s literally our lifeline. And now, you’re considering permits that could ultimately extract about $15 billions of gallons of that water every year. Not for us, not for the people living and working on this land, but for outside developers and hedge funds chasing profit in places that didn’t plan for their own water needs.”

The resident pointed out Foster had left the board shortly before the big meeting transpired and accused him of not properly removing himself from the process from the beginning. 

“Donald Foster served on this groundwater board until two days ago, when he resigned. He did file a conflict of interest affidavit as required by law, but here’s what’s most troubling. In meeting minutes dating back months and months, there is no documented record that Foster recused himself from discussions related to these permits. We know this board does document recusals when they do occur, because the minutes show it when other members have done so,” the resident explained. 

“Only in April, when the groundwork had already been laid, did Mr. Foster abstain from a vote, and that vote was to accept the permits as administratively complete,” she continued. “This board voted unanimously on July 18, 2024, the very same day Foster signed that conflict of interest affidavit, to engage a hydrologist to evaluate these very permits. That vote directly advanced the permitting process, unless Foster abstained, and again, there’s no record that he did.”

The allegations troubled many in the crowd, although not proven conclusively. 

“He participated in shaping a project that financially benefits his own company. That alone should disqualify these permits. Why did you, the remaining board members, not hold him accountable?  Why was there no record of his recusal, no objection, no pushback? At least not on the record in the minutes. When the conflict was clear, why did no one speak up?”

NTVGCD board members shifted in their seats, listening to the allegations. 

“When a man with financial interest stays in the room and no one stops him, that’s not just silence, that’s complicity. And your own motto says, ‘Protecting Anderson, Cherokee, and Henderson Counties,’ but approving these permits for these wells won’t protect them, it will drain their water, threaten their wells, harm their farms, branches, schools, and local businesses,” this resident concluded. “We are all here demanding of this board: prove that your mission means something. Prove that the people in this room matter more than the profits behind this project and deny these permits.”

Greg Ritchie can be reached at [email protected]