It is time again for the annual Milam and Burleson Counties Groundwater Summit.
The summit will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 18 at the Caldwell Civic Center at 103 W Hwy 21. The summit is free and open to the public with lunch provided.
Due to recent concerns regarding COVID-19 and related viruses, seating with social distancing will be available and the entire event will be available virtually as well.
The Legislative Panel at this year’s summit will be a very informative discussion. Some of the topics will be: the makeup and importance of water committees and the legislature, where do bill ideas come from and how a bill becomes law, Groundwater Conservation Districts (GCD’s) limited powers but how they can participate in the process and how the public can also participate in the process.
Another important part of the discussion will include how Texas Association of Groundwater Districts and Texas Water Conservation Association do legislative work and how Post Oak Savannah participates in this important process.
SARAH KIRKLE—Sarah Kirkle joined the Texas Water Conservation Association in January 2020 and directs TWCA’s policy and legislative efforts. She works with members to develop policy positions through TWCA’s legislative committees and to subsequently advance those policy initiatives through education and advocacy at the Texas Legislature.
She also oversees engagement in federal water issues, contributes to various communication efforts, directs conference programming, and serves as a resource for members and policymakers.
Kirkle was most recently director of policy and planning at Texas 2036, a think tank focusing on long-term policy changes needed to maintain the state’s economic prosperity by our state’s bicentennial in 2036 and beyond. There she helped develop the organization’s initial policy approaches across a range of policy areas, including education, infrastructure, health, government performance and natural resources.
Kirkle was a review director with the Sunset Advisory Commission, where she worked for nearly 13 years. There she used her broadbased knowledge of state government to positively impact the performance of state agencies, making government work smaller and smarter.
In her role at Sunset, she worked closely with members of the Sunset Commission and the legislature, state agencies and other stakeholders to make state government more efficient and effective. She oversaw multiple, simultaneous teams of analysts to provide policy direction and ensure high-quality analysis.
Kirkle also served as a member of Sunset’s executive management team to formulate policy and strategic direction for the office. At Sunset, she worked across most sectors of state government, but most extensively in natural resources.
Kirkle holds a master’s degree in public administration from the University of North Texas and a bachelor’s degree in agriculture from Tarleton State University.
In her spare time, she enjoys playing outside and attending festivals across small-town Texas.
ROBERT COOK—Robert L. “Robby” Cook III served on Texas House of Representatives beginning in 1996, and was subsequently re-elected for five successive terms. He served on numerous committees, sub-committees and task forces. He also served the National Conference of State Legislators and American Legislative Exchange Council.
Cook is a Public Policy Fellow of the 2002 University of Texas Center for Public Policy Dispute Resolution training program. He was chosen by his peers as the “Freshman Legislator of the Year” for his work during the 75th Legislative Session. He served on House Natural Resources, Land and Resources Management and Agriculture and Livestock committees.
Cook has been involved in most of the major legislative and policy changes Texas has seen in the areas of water planning and development.
During the 79th legislative session, he authored HB 1763, which altered the process by which groundwater conservation districts manage the aquifers in the state. Robby currently is a partner in the government affairs consulting firm Eichler & Cook LLC.
LEAH MARTINSSON—Leah Martinsson joined TAGD as the executive director in March 2019. She recently relocated to Texas from Colorado where she was a practicing water rights attorney for over 15 years.
In her legal practice, she has represented the interests of a wide range of water users from municipal water providers to agricultural well users.
In addition to obtaining new water rights and protecting existing rights for her clients, she also participated in Colorado’s statewide water planning process and associated water-related legislation.
She has also been active in Colorado’s efforts to develop alternative methods to permanent transfers of agricultural water to meet growing municipal demands, including the development and implementation of a temporary land fallowing – water leasing program.
Martinsson obtained her undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin and her law degree from the University of Colorado-Boulder.
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