Pipeline hearing reset for Oct. 29

<br>WAYNE, Okla. (AP) _ Opponents of a proposed water pipeline will have to wait until later this month to lodge their protests. <br><br>A meeting scheduled for Monday was postponed after the man tapped

Tuesday, October 1st 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

WAYNE, Okla. (AP) _ Opponents of a proposed water pipeline will have to wait until later this month to lodge their protests.

A meeting scheduled for Monday was postponed after the man tapped to hear their complaints didn't show.

Oklahoma Water Resources Board officials told the group of about 200 that former Justice Don Barnes was involved in a traffic accident last week and couldn't attend.

The agency hired Barnes to serve as a hearing examiner and listen to protesters wanting to testify during a future hearing.

Opponents are trying to stop the possible sale of 816 million gallons of water to Oklahoma City-based PESA LLC, which has been contracted by seven central Oklahoma cities to pipe water to their communities.

PESA would build an 88-mile, $200 million pipeline from the Arbuckle-Simpson Aquifer to communities in Canadian County that are part of the Central Oklahoma Water Resource Authority.

The authority is a Title 60 public trust formed last year to find a long-term water source for El Reno, Yukon, Mustang, Calumet, Okarche, Union City and Canadian County.

The 500-square-mile aquifer is the main water source for Ada and Sulphur. It also feeds the Blue River, which provides water for Durant, along with several creeks and rivers near the Chickasaw National Recreation Area.

Water board officials didn't know about the accident until the meeting started, said Mike Mathis, chief of the water boards planning and management division. Those attending were upset.

``There is no excuse for us to have not been told about this in advance,'' said Bob Drake, chairman of the Arbuckle Master Conservancy District. ``There's such a thing as a phone. It is expensive for all of us to come all the way up here. But we'll still be back.''

Residents from areas surrounding the aquifer, a water-bearing stratum of permeable rock, sand or gravel, stayed after the meeting and formed a group to fight the pipeline.

``We don't want the aquifer drawn down and our springs reduced,'' said Earl Brewer, a resident who was appointed to head the group. ``We're concerned that water taken out would exceed the recharge rate.''

Many area residents want further study to see what effects the pipeline might have on the area, Brewer said.

Previous studies show there is no danger to the areas water supply, PESA officials have said.

``There hasn't been a scientific study for 25 years,'' state Rep. Paul Roan, D-Tishomingo, said. ``My whole area depends on this water. If you dry up the Blue River, you make a desert out of this area.''

The hearing was rescheduled for Oct. 29.