At today’s meeting of the Brown County Commissioners Court, much time was spent discussing a proposed new electrical line that might cross through Brown County.  The new line, proposed by Oncor, is called the Dinosaur-Longshore Transmission Line.  It would send 765kV of electrical power from Oncor’s “Dinosaur Switch,” three miles north of Glen Rose in Somervall County, approximately 250 miles west to the Longshore Switch, about four miles west of Forsan in Howard County.  Oncor’s web site says the new line would address “surging demand in high growth areas, including the record-growing West Texas region.”  The web site also says “These lines reduce grid congestion and planned outages, especially during extreme weather/demand.  That means more effective and efficient power delivery for homes and businesses.”

A number of citizens spoke to the Commissioners and objected to the planned power line, citing threats to health, safety, and property.  Dennis McBeth from Runnels County was the lead speaker for the group.  He said that the proposed power line “does not follow an existing utility corridor, but will create a new utility corridor…. The detrimental impact on wildlife, livestock and humans is difficult if not impossible to quantify, but we do know that clearing a continuous 200-feet wide strip, with or without the presence of some kind of an electrical field, will affect the habitat.  A massive powerline will not affect only the property that it is on but it will devalue nearby property.”

The Commissioners discussed and considered a resolution in opposition to the proposed power line, and approved it 4 – 0.  The resolution is shown below.

In other business:

*** Commissioners voted to re-instate the Burn Ban immediately.

*** Appointed Cliff Karnes as the County’s Grant Administrator.  This will be in addition to Karnes primary job as Emergency Management Coordinator.

*** Received the County’s 2025 Investment Report from Treasurer David Becktold.  According to Becktold, Brown County earned $743,071 in interest on County investments in 2025, an increase of 11% above the interest earned in 2024.

Resolution:

A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS COURT OF THE COUNTY OF BROWN, BROWN COUNTY, TEXAS, FORMALLY OPPOSING THE PROPOSED DINOSAUR-LONGSHORE 765 KV POWERLINE AS PROPOSED BY ONCOR CORPORATION, AD DECLARING THE POTENTIAL ADVERSE IMPACTS UPON THE COUNTY OF BROWN, TEXAS.

WHEREAS, Oncor Corporation has publicly declared that it is seeking approval from the Public Utilities Commission of Texas to construct the Dinosaur-Longshore 765 kV Powerline, the proposed Brown County route of which would cross privately and publicly owned land and various geographic  and infrastructure resources within the County of Brown, Texas; and

WHEREAS, the County of Brown would be materially affected by the construction of this powerline and otherwise adversely impacted by the proposed routes; and

WHEREAS, Oncor Corporation has made no effort to share detailed project plans with the County of Brown, nor has it considered the substantial physical, environmental and economic impacts that the powerline would cause to property and the residence of Brown County; and

WHEREAS, the County of Brown has a vested oversight responsibility to protect public property, capital improvements, and community resources from harm or uncompensated damage;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS COURT OF THE COUNTY OF BROWN, BROWNWOOD, TEXAS

PASSED AND APPROVED this 9th day of February, 2026.