Perry keeps El Pasoan on water panel

El Paso Times staff
Saturday, August 11, 2001

Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Friday reappointed El Paso developer Joe G. Hanson as Rio Grande Compact commissioner.

The Rio Grande Compact Commission oversees the Rio Grande Compact, a decades-old interstate agreement that calls for Colorado and New Mexico to release a certain amount of water to Texas. The commission is made up officials from all three states.

The Texas commissioner is responsible for representing the Lone Star State in all matters relating to the flow of the river.

Hanson can now serve as Texas' commissioner through June 2007 if he is confirmed by the Texas Senate in the 2003 legislative session, said Kathy Walt, a spokeswoman for the governor. Until then, he will be acting commissioner.

Hanson could not be reached for comment Friday.

He is a former member of the Public Service Board, El Paso Water Utilities' governing body. He is chairman of Hanson Development Corp.

He is a graduate of the University of Texas at El Paso, is on the university's board of fellows and is a member of the University of Texas System's Chancellors Council.

His reappointment comes just days after the president of the Elephant Butte Irrigation District accused Hanson of ignoring the district's concerns.

Gary Arnold, a Las Cruces pecan farmer and president of the irrigation district, had written to Perry and other authorities complaining about Hanson.

New Mexico's portion of Texas' water is released from the dam at Elephant Butte.

The section of the Rio Grande from Elephant Butte to the Texas border falls under the jurisdiction of Texas and its commissioner, Hanson.

"My perception is that the current commissioner is just looking out for Texas and is not concerned about New Mexico," he said.