NOTE: Today most people only know that Caney Creek Reservoir and Caney Lake State Park is considered one of the jewels of Sportsman’s Paradise, as the state is called. Few remember the countless trials, tribulations, pitfalls and roadblocks that had to be overcome or the role that Woody McDonald played in changing the woods into water. This week – Tenneco Troubles!
The year was now 1981, a full fifteen years since the first talks began about building a lake in Jackson Parish had begun. A recap of the “tortoise like” progress made to date, showed that virtually every positive step that was taken was immediately met with a setback that killed any momentum that had been gained.
There had been enough setbacks and controversies to make even the most stalwart backers question whether the completion of Caney Lake would come to fruition and even turn on the one who had first spearheaded the effort.
Undaunted in his passionate quest and despite having to fend off the frivolous claims of wrong-doing, Woody McDonald ignored the backhanded banter and continued to keep the pressure on the powers that be in Baton Rouge. At least now his pleas were finally being received warmly again after years of falling on deaf ears from the previous administration.
Newly elected Governor, Dave Treen, acted like he was solidly behind seeing the lake finished and even went public in saying so. Two more “home grown” influencers were providing great help as well. One was a newcomer to the political circles while the other was an old hand, now in a new and even better position to help.
The newcomer was Representative Jamie Fair, who resided in nearby Lucky. Fair had won the district seat previously held by Jonesboro native E. L. “Bubba” Henry.
“Jamie was a big help to us during Treen’s administration,” recalled McDonald. “He really took the bull by the horns to help us get things done in the House.”
The old hand in a new position was “Bubba” Henry. After nearly a decade of being one of the loudest voices on the stage of the political arena, the Jonesboro native was now working “behind the scenes” as the Commissioner of Administration in the Treen regime.
“It seemed like every week I was either driving or flying down to Baton Rouge during those days,” reflected McDonald. “I won’t deny it was tiring, but I really didn’t mind all the travel and meetings as things were starting to come together again.”
Then there came the day that was incredibly ironic as to how the progress of the lake had been over the last decade and a half. In one respective it was a glorious day. Word came down that a major financial hurdle had been cleared when the state Bonding Commission had extended a line of credit to the Public Works Department. This cleared the way for the letting of bids for construction of the dam, estimated to cost around $8 million dollars.
“I remember after getting the call that the money had been approved thinking that we had finally gotten past the last hurdle,” laughed McDonald. “I was feeling sky high, then just a few hours later I got another call that brought me back to earth really quick.”
That call was from Representative Fair who told McDonald the bad news that federal Judge Newman Scott had reversed a 1980 decision regarding the amount of money that Tenneco Oil Company should be paid.
In the first decision it was ruled that Tenneco would be paid $740,000.00 to anchor the four gas pipelines that crossed the lake bed. The oil company had countered by filing suit that in order to make the lines safe and secure they would need to replace the pipes with a stronger double walled pipe and re-anchor them.
Their countersuit claimed they should be paid $3.4 million, which the Judge agreed to, along with an additional one percent inflation factor for the months since the first ruling. It was a crippling blow, so devastating, that Fair stated that if the decision stood the lake project would dead in the eyes of the state Division of Administration.
“Looking back, I guess we shouldn’t have been surprised, as this was the way it had always gone,” chuckled McDonald. “Sure we were disappointed and apprehensive about what was ahead but it just meant we had more work to do.”
McDonald, Fair and Henry got the “ball of resolution” rolling by setting up a meeting between Tenneco officials, representative from the Attorney General’s office, Department of Public Works officials and the local lake commission. Additional help surfaced in the form of State Senator Charles Barham of Ruston and Jackson Parish District Attorney Leon Whitten who joined the local coalition in the meetings.
Eventually an agreement to pay Tenneco Oil $ 2.9 million was hammered out, ending the dispute. It also cleared the way for the next phase in the construction of the lake, building the dam, back on track.
Next week – Dam it man!