Eagle Ford Shale Conference to be held Feb. 29-March 2

Recognizing the extraordinary pinnacles and pitfalls the Eagle Ford Shale represents for the twenty-four counties it lies under, a consortium of community leaders and stakeholders is planning its inaugural conference to develop sustainable models of long-term development.

Organized by the Eagle Ford Consortium, “Creating a Sustainable Pathway” will be held in San Antonio Feb. 29 – March 2, 2012 at the Omni Hotels Colonnade.

“Our communities realized that we’d been in a reactive mode to the challenges the Eagle Ford brings,” explains Leodoro Martinez, Jr., Executive Director of the Middle Rio Grande Development Council and Chairman of the Eagle Ford Consortium.  “We wanted to learn from the lessons of historic boom towns that later went bust, and instead take a proactive, sustainable approach that will let communities make the most of current opportunities while building for the future.”

The interactive, working conference is attracting experts and decision makers from the 24 counties within the Eagle Ford Shale formation, which, in the United States, cuts a crescent-shaped swatch from Maverick and Webb counties along the U.S./Mexico border north and north east to Camp Wood county.

Representatives from city, county and state government, education and workforce development organizations, the housing industry, environmental groups, community-based organizations, the financial industry, energy interest groups and landowners will tackle pressing infrastructure, workforce development and related issues affecting the area.   Says Martinez, “This is the first and largest gathering we know of that brings together such a comprehensive representation to share experiences, plan for immediate needs and begin crafting models of what our future might look like.”

Confirmed speakers include Mayor Julian Castro, San Antonio; Judge Nelson Wolff, Bexar County; Daryl Fowler, county judge, Dewitt County; Ford Patton, city manager, City of Kenedy; Francisco G. Ponce, county judge, Dimmit County; Larry Dovalina, city manager, Cotulla; Paula Seydel, manager, Dimmit County Chamber of Commerce; Darrell T. Brownlow, Ph.D., San Antonio River Authority board of directors; Judge Joe Luna, Middle Rio Grande Foundation chairman and Thomas Tunstall, Ph.D., director of the Center for Community and Business Research at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Institute for Economic Development.

A highlight of the conference will be the presentation of an updated economic impact study by the UTSA Institute for Economic Development.  Other topics include regulatory oversight, education and workforce development, advances in drilling and hydraulic fracturing, economic development and infrastructure development.

A pre-conference session on February 29 will focus solely on housing issues and opportunities. “This is a community-driven initiative to share best practices and build a plan that will take us successfully through the drilling years and beyond,” says Martinez, adding, “Anyone who has an interest in the development of the region should attend this conference.”