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Staff -
Eagle Pass
Eagle Pass City Council has agreed to appeal against the ruling last week that gave the Railroad Commission of Texas, with a vote of 2-1, permission for the Dos Republicas company to operate coal mines in the northern sector of Maverick County on Thompson Road. The honorable Ramsey English Cantu, Mayor of Eagle Pass said he filed an appeal to state authorities asking that the case be reheard in order to provide the commission further proof and dialogue in reference to the renewal, extension and expansion of the Eagle Pass Mine. According to authorities, the city had 30 days to make the appeal and ask the Railroad Commission to reconsider their previous verdict which came back as a 2-1 split with David Porter of the Railroad Commission casting the lone vote against the expansion of what will be known as the Eagle Pass Mine. A point of concern for the commission was the adequate use of water needed for operation of the coal mine. Mayor Cantu reiterates that the major concern that the city has is possible environmental damage, such as the adequate disposal and usage of water, a dwindling commodity in the Texas region. The shortfall of water within our state has been a hot topic in Austin as politicians from both sides of the aisle understand the shortages of water within our state and have put this along with transportation infrastucure at the top of their lists of priorities. According to the project details, the company plans to extract the coal north of Eagle Pass and then transport it via railroad to a thermal power plant in Nava Coahuila, Mexico. A highly debated topic within our community as well as in Austin, with both sides making a good case for themselves. On one hand the local business community sees this as yet another opportunity for Eagle Pass to add jobs and economic growth and on the other side local officials and environmentalists have argued that the opening of the Dos Republicas coal mine has negative and long lasting effects on our environment and ultimately the health of our local residents.
A.D. Ibarra
-Eagle Pass
In an unprecedented decision impacting the make-up of the present Commissioner's Court which has been decimated by allegations handed down by the FBI and The Department of Justice US Attorney's Office Western District of Texas, County Commissioner of Precinct 4, Cesar Flores announced in a prepared statement that he is indeed stepping down from his position as County Commissioner effective March 15th in order to focus on his defense stemming from charges being brought before him in the ongoing investigations by the FBI in Maverick County.
Flores stated in his statement that in order to keep the best interests of his constituents in mind during this investigation, he will be stepping down prior to any further proceedings in District Court, something neither Rudy Heredia or Eliaz Maldonado who both face charges alleging they participated willingly in a kickback and bribery scheme as well as misappropriation of public funds.
Maldonado is presently free on bond and continues to perform his duties as an elected official, however Heredia is being held in a federal detention facility and is unable to fulfill his duties until he is cleared or is convicted for his alleged crimes which also include bribery and bid rigging, but was arrested for participating in a scheme to illegally introduce an amount greater than $10,000.00 undeclared into the US.
After much scrutiny and attacks from concerned citizens calling for the resignation of those commissioners who have been indicted and who face federal charges to step down, only Flores has taken the initiative of doing so which has gained the silent respect of the public for his decision to do just that while he deals with the legal situation facing him.
County Attorney Ricardo Ramos presently has filed two petitions calling for a District Judge to make the call which will give the power to the County Judge to replace any public official who may need to be replaced while the legal process takes its course which may take several months.
In the meantime, Commissioner Flores who has been in his elected office for almost ten years now, has taken it upon himself to relinquish his position willingly, responsibly and voluntarily and allow Judge David Saucedo to appoint an interim commissioner as of March 15th.
A.D. Ibarra
-Eagle Pass
As permission has been granted to the Dos Republicas Coal Partnership to begin operations in what has been projected as early as November of 2013, contrasting viewpoints continue to come forward from both sides of the controversial issue. The News Gram spoke to Rudy Rodriguez, official spokesman for the Dos Republicas Coal Partnership in an exclusive interview on Friday and he informed us that it was indeed a lengthy process. "When you have that much information to decipher, especially from the oil and gas companies that come to the commission almost daily, they've been very busy," said Rodriguez, "In our case, there were three weeks of testimony.