Permit Request Dropped for Planned East Texas Reservoir

JACKSONVILLE (AP) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has withdrawn a request for a federal permit to build an East Texas reservoir that’s been in the works for nearly 40 years. The Lufkin News reported Sunday that the Corps last month withdrew the permit application for the proposed $387 million Lake Columbia Regional Water Supply Reservoir Project. Corps officials cited relative inactivity for three years in the project managed by the Angelina and Neches River Authority. Lake Columbia is proposed for the Mud Creek flood plain, a tributary of the Angelina River, with the dam southeast of Jacksonville. ANRA in 1978 began planning what was then informally called Mud Creek Reservoir. ANRA’s general manager, Kelley Holcomb, remains optimistic about the project and says “in no way is this the end.”