AUSTIN – LCRA plays an important role in helping Texas address critical water and energy needs, according to Kathleen Hartnett White, the newest appointee to the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) Board of Directors.

Gov. Rick Perry in July appointed White, a resident of Rosanky, to represent Bastrop County on the 15-member Board. Her term will expire Feb. 1, 2013. The Board oversees activities of LCRA, which delivers electricity, manages water supply and protects water quality for the lower Colorado River and its tributaries.

White is director of natural resources for the Texas Public Policy Foundation. She served a six-year term as Chairman and Commissioner of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). She is a member of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers associations, Texas and American Hereford associations, American Legislative Exchange Council and Texas Water Conservation Association. She is also vice chairman of the Texas Water Foundation, a board member of the Texas Natural Resource Foundation and a past member of the Texas Water Development Board.

“As Chairman of TCEQ, I was involved in many of the state’s water and power issues,” White said. “It will be a privilege to focus on LCRA projects to help address these issues in Central Texas.”

White noted that the state and Region K, which includes the entire lower Colorado River basin, have excellent plans to meet future water needs but must begin implementing those plans. She also said tremendous growth in electric demand is expected in Texas, and LCRA will play a role in addressing those growing energy needs.

“This region of Texas is rich in natural resources and growing, thriving communities,” White said. “Whether through community services, water or power, LCRA is interwoven on many levels in the community where I live.”

White received bachelor’s and master’s degrees cum laude from Stanford University. She studied for a doctorate on a Danforth National Fellowship at Princeton University and law on a Regents Fellowship at Texas Tech University. She replaces Bobby Steiner of Bastrop.