Business

AMARILLO—The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is conducting travel surveys in our region. These surveys provide information about local travel patterns. Results of the survey will assist TxDOT and their partners when making decisions about transportation projects.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas—Texas A&M Forest Service awarded grants to 81 recipients to conduct prescribed burns this year. For the 2022 fiscal year, the agency has approved $522,950 in grant funds to private landowners in Texas with a goal to treat 18,250 acres.

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service offices in Ochiltree and Lipscomb counties will host the annual Northeast Panhandle Crops Conference for area crop producers on March 3. The conference will be held at the Ochiltree County Expo Center, 402 Expo Drive, in Perryton.

ALBUQUERQUE, NM—The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service seeks public comment on a draft habitat conservation plan (HCP) and draft environmental assessment covering potential impacts to the lesser prairie-chicken from oil and gas development in the Great Plains. The HCP would cover all activities associated with oil and gas development across the lesser prairie-chicken’s range in Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico.

AUSTIN—The Texas Railroad Commission issued a total of 820 original drilling permits in January 2022 compared to 512 in January 2021. The January 2022 total includes 713 permits to drill new oil or gas wells, nine to reenter plugged wellbores, and 85 for recompletions of existing wellbores. The breakdown of well types for original drilling permits in January 2022 is 198 oil, 79 gas, 497 oil or gas, 35 injection, and 11 other permits. In January 2022, Commission staff processed 532 oil, 92 gas, and 279 injection completions for new drills, re-entries, and recompletions, compared to 583 oil, 104 gas, and 66 injection completions in January 2021. In the Panhandle area, the RRC issued 12 permits to drill new oil or gas holes and processed nine new oil completions and two new gas completions during January. Total well completions processed for 2022 year-to-date for new drills, re-entries, and recompletions are 903 compared to 753 recorded during the same period in 2021. Detailed data on drilling permits and well completions for the month can be found at this link: https://www.rrc.texas.gov.

Canadian Water Well employee Ezequiel Cervantes was elected by his peers to the Texas Ground Water Association board of directors during their annual convention and trade show, which was held Jan. 26-28 in Frisco. Ezequiel was also awarded the prestigious Robert J. “Bob” Neely Award, which recognizes a pump installer or well driller who has performed above and beyond for the industry and the Association. The TGWA is an advocacy and educational organization which represents approximately 1,200 licensed water-well drillers and pump installers around the state of Texas. It is operated under a board of directors elected by the membership, and consists of the officers, 12 directors-at-large, and a chapter director from each local chapter.

AUSTIN—Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced last week that he would send cities, counties, transit systems, and special-purpose taxing districts $1.22 billion in local sales tax allocations for February, 16.4 percent more than in February 2021. These allocations are based on sales made in December by businesses that report tax monthly; October, November, and December sales by quarterly filers; and 2021 sales by businesses that report tax annually.

AUSTIN—Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar today said state sales tax revenue totaled $3.85 billion in January, 25.3 percent more than in January 2021. The majority of January sales tax revenue is based on sales made in December and remitted to the agency in January.

With Winter Storm Landon making its arrival in parts of the state and fast approaching in others, we want to be sure you have the appropriate resources to help keep the safety of your family, property and livestock a top priority throughout the coming days as plummeting temperatures and ice threatens much of Texas.

Texas winters are infamously fickle. Each year, weather conditions range from mild temperatures with high humidity to record-setting rain, sleet, and snow. Sometimes, Texas livestock experience all of these weather conditions within the same week, presenting them with health challenges.