Business

Significant wildfire activity has increased statewide, and accelerated drying has elevated the potential for new wildfire ignitions. New wildfires will become increasingly difficult to extinguish if current temperatures and drying conditions persist into August as forecasted, according to Texas A&M Forest Service experts.

WASHINGTON—Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue designated 10 Texas counties as primary natural disaster areas. Producers in Carson, Gaines, Hutchinson, Moore, Oldham, Potter, Roberts, Sherman, Terry, and Yoakum counties who suffered losses due to recent drought may be eligible for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) emergency loans.

AUSTIN—The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) has extended the deadline to this Friday, July 17 for nominations of potential members of Texas’ first-ever regional flood-planning groups. The 15 regional planning groups, formed around river basin boundaries, will require 12 representatives of specific-interest categories, including agriculture, industries, river authorities, counties, municipalities, water districts, flood districts, electric-generating utilities, water utilities, environmental interests, small businesses, and the public. The planning groups will develop regional flood plans by January 2023, which will culminate in the inaugural state flood plan in 2024. Interested candidates can fill out a nomination form available on the TWDB website. The planning group will be named by early fall.

AUSTIN––The Texas Railroad Commission issued a total of 312 original drilling permits in June 2020, compared to 1,001 in June 2019. The June 2020 total includes 262 permits to drill new oil or gas wells, three to reenter plugged well bores, and 21 for recompletions of existing well bores. The breakdown of well types for those drilling permits is 72 oil, 24 gas, 187 oil or gas, 24 injection, and five other permits.

COLLEGE STATION—Texas A&M Forest Service is now accepting grant applications for the State Fire Assistance for Mitigation– Plains Prescribed Fire Grant through Aug. 15. The grant will provide $81,000 in total funding for prescribed burns.

WASHINGTON— The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is providing additional flexibilities for producers to file on acres with failed crops or crops that were prevented from planting because of extreme weather events. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is adding these flexibilities for notice of loss on both insured and uninsured crops to enable service centers to best assist producers.

AUSTIN—Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar said this week that state sales tax revenues totaled $2.67 billion in June, 6.5 percent less than in June 2019. The majority of June sales tax revenue is based on sales made in May and remitted to the agency in June.

The combined effects of the coronavirus shutdown and a slumping oil and gas industry have forced some changes to two of Hemphill County’s major annual events: Texas A&M AgriLife’s beef cattle conference, and oil and gas conference.

AUSTIN—On Tuesday, June 16, the Railroad Commission of Texas heard from the state’s oil and gas trade associations, environmental advocacy groups, and several oil and gas producers about the issue of flaring and how Texas can implement meaningful reforms to reduce flaring before oil and gas activity returns to previous highs.

Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced Wednesday he will send cities, counties, transit systems, and special-purpose taxing districts $690.4 million in local sales tax allocations for June—11.7 percent less than in June 2019. These allocations are based on sales made in April by businesses that report tax monthly.