Mertzon City Council and Irion County Commissioners Court Joint Meeting June 2 2026

Agenda Analysis | Meeting Review | Meeting Documents | Commentary | Last Meeting

AI generated image of a 199 foot tall 765 kV transmission tower similar to those being proposed in the 765 kV cases. One thing to note is that the installation of these towers relates only to transmission of electricity, not the generation of it.

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This is a joint meeting of the Mertzon City Council and Irion County Commissioners' Court, so you'll find both agendas below.

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A. Agenda Analysis

1. Presentation by Dan Byfield, Items 5 and 4: This is the same agenda topic as this meeting back on May 12 that was cancelled. The information I provided on that page is still pertinent to all the 765 kV cases. Mr. Byfield is the CEO of American Stewards of Liberty, a property rights nonprofit that is very active as an intervenor in the 765 kV cases. Also, see my Commentary below for more.

2. Meeting location: This will be in the District Court courtroom on the 2nd floor of the Irion County Courthouse.

3. Significance: In my now 7 years of closely watching local government in Irion County, to my knowledge this is the first joint meeting of the City Council and County Commissioners. You can read the City's resolution here at B2 and the County's resolution here to see their alignment on opposing 765 kV lines.

4. Joint meetings: A joint meeting isn't addressed in the Texas Open Meetings Act. So, what you see here with two agendas is the most practical way to approach it. Each governing body posts their own agenda announcing the time, location and topics of the meeting. There's no requirement that the agendas must be identical, and these are good examples of how agendas vary among governmental bodies.

   
   

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AI generated image showing a 200 ft tower for a 765 kV line with easement showing how much land has to be condemned. The easement is “perpetual”, meaning forever.

B. Meeting Review

1. Pending

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C. Commentary

1. A "Proposal for Decision" or "PFD" is the judicial recommendation by the Administrative Law Judge(s) the includes her recommendation to the PUC on whether to grant the license (the "CCN") to Oncor and LCRA. The first level of appeal for the first PFD in a 765 kV case is happening now in the 59029 case. The CCN case going through Irion County is the 59182 case, and a PFD hasn't been issued in it just yet. Here is the PFD in the 59029 case. Here is American Stewards' Exceptions to the PFD (the first appeal). Among other things, they say these lines aren't needed in the first place. Here is their Statement of Position in the 59475 case.
   

   Here is Delaware Basin's Exceptions to the PFD. (I include it because it goes into some details about how dangerous it is to be running a 765 kV line over pipelines, an argument I focused on in the 59182 case; it is being proposed for the 765 kV to go over two pipelines, a 42" and 48", carrying 6.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day on my property.
   

2. Here is my most recent pleading in the 59475 case.
   

3. Things to watch for in Irion County: The next important date will be when the ALJ issues the PFD in the 59182 case. That date starts a clock for the intervenors to file "exceptions" to it. Because of the 180 day limit, the deadline to file those exceptions is short - 10 days or so. The PUC has to decide the case by July 14, so the intervenors will have to move fast once the PFD is filed.
   

4. Pending

   
   

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Copyright 2026 G. Noelke