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Texas General Land Office
Coastal Management Program
m Garry Mauro, Commissioner
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November 1994
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COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGIES FOR PROTECTING
TEXAS COASTAL WETLANDS
PROJECT REPORT
by
Thomas R. Calnan
Coastal Division
Texas General Land Office
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The Texas General Land Office is pleased to acknowledge the support of this project
by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6, under Cooperative Agreement
Number X-006760-01-0.
The map was prepared by Scot Friedman and Ron Florence, General Land Office.
The Texas General Land Office does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual
orientation, religion, age or disabilityin .employment or the provision of services. To request an accessible
format, call 512-463-2613 or contact us through RELAY Texas at 1-800-735-2989 or mail your request
to 1700 N. Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas 78701-1495.
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CONTENTS
Introduction 1
Coastal Wetland Types 1
Wetland Functions and Values 3
Status and Trends 3
Probable Causes of Loss and Degradation 4
Coastal Wetlands Conservation Plan 4
Background 4
Components of the Plan 8
Inventories 8
Restoration 9
Mitigation 11
Current state policies 11
Proposed state policies 12
Mitigation guidelines 12
Mitigation banking guidelines 12
Acquisition 13
Education 13
Local Government Participation 14
Interagency Coordination 15
Current 15
The CMP consistency review process 17
Relative Sea-Level Rise and the Sediment Budget 17
Freshwater Inflow 19
Current plans and studies 19
CMP policies 20
Nonpoint-Source Pollution 21
Long-range Dredging and Dredged-Material Disposal Plan 21
State Wetlands Conservation Plan 22
Scoping Process and Priorities 22
Section 401 Water-Quality Certification 23
Background 23
Public Involvement 23
Strengthening Section 401 to Protect Wetlands 24
Texas Coastal Management Program 26
Background 26
Coastal Coordination Council 26
Consistency Review 26
Public Involvement 27
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Coastal Wetland Protection and the CMP 28
Definitions 28
Goals and Policies 34
Goals 34
Policies for Specific Activities and Coastal Wetlands 35
Construction of electric generating and
transmission facilities 35
Construction, operation, and maintenance of oil
and gas exploration and production
facilities 36
Discharge of wastewater and disposal of waste
oil and gas exploration and production
activities 37
Construction and operation of solid waste
treatment, storage, and disposal
facilities 38
Prevention, response, and remediation of oil
spills 40
Discharge of municipal and industrial
wastewater to coastal waters 40
Nonpoint-source water pollution 42
Development in critical areas 43
Construction of waterfront facilities and other
structures on state submerged lands and
private submerged lands 47
Dredging and dredged material disposal and
placement 50
Development within Coastal Barrier Resource
System units and otherwise protected areas
on coastal barriers 59
Development in coastal parks, wildlife
management areas, and preserves 60
Transportation projects 61
Emission of air pollutants 62
Instream flows and freshwater inflows to waters
under tidal influence 62
Levee and flood control projects 67
Policy for major actions 67
Schedule 68
Summary 69
Literature Cited 70
Appendix A 72
Appendix B 73
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ILLUSTRATIONS
Tables
1. Statewide Causes of Wetland Loss and Degradation 5
2. Causes of Wetland Loss and Degradation in the Galveston Bay System .... 6
Map
Texas Coastal Management Program and Coastal Wetlands Boundaries 32
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COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGIES FOR PROTECTING
TEXAS COASTAL WETLANDS
Introduction
State concern about trends in coastal wetland loss is evident in the development of
new programs and the strengthening of current efforts to protect wetland resources,
including: (1) development of a Coastal Wetlands Conservation Plan (CWCP) that
includes both regulatory and nonregulatory components; (2) development of a State
Wetlands Conservation Plan (SWCP> that emphasizes landowner incentives and other
nonregulatory programs; (3} strengthening of the water-quality certification process
under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act to protect wetlands; and (4) development
of Coastal Management Program (CMP) goals and policies that provide enforceability
and consistency to the overaJI effort to protect, preserve, and restore coastal
wetlands. This comprehensrve strategy addresses most threats to coastal wetlands
by mobilizing both regulatory and nonregulatory programs from government and the
private sector.
Public participation and agency involvement have been key elements in the
development of each of the three programs. Inclusion of all interested parties was
an important part of the decision-making process. Initial steps in program development
generally involved the identification of issues critical to protection of wetlands.
Management recommendations from the general public, state and federal agencies,
local governments, regional agencies, universities, and interest groups were then
developed for each of the critical issues and incorporated into goals, policies,
regulations, or planning components of each program.
This report provides an introduction to Texas coastal wetlands and describes the
development and components of the CWCP and SWCP, wetlands protection in both
the Section 401 water-quality certification process and the CMP, and how
management recommendations were integrated into workable approaches to the
achievement of wetland protection goals.
Coastal Wetland Types
Saltmarsh. Typical species in the saltmarsh community include smooth cordgrass
(Spartina alterniflora), saltwort (Batis marilima), glasswort (Saticornia virginica and S.
bigelovii), saltgrass (Distichlis spicata), seashore dropseed (Sporobolus virginica), sea
ox-eye (Borrichia frutescens), and salt-marsh bulrush (Scirpus maritimus). Black
mangroves {Avicennia germinans) are significant components of salt marsh systems
in some areas along the central and south Texas coast. The broadest distribution of
saltmarshes is south of the Galveston Bay area, where they are common on the
bayward side of barrier islands and peninsulas and along the mainland shores of
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narrow bays such as West Galveston Bay. Although salt marshes occur on bay-head
deltas, the communities change rather rapidly to brackish, intermediate, and fresh
marshes up the river valleys.
Brackish Marsh. The brackish-marsh community is transitional between salt marshes
and fresh marshes. Among the dominant species in topographically higher areas are
marshhay cordgrass (Spartina patens), Gulf cordgrass [Spartina spartinae), saltgrass,
salt-marsh bulrush (Scirpus maritimus) and sea ox-eye. Brackish marshes are the
most extensive wetland communities in the Galveston Bay system (White and Paine,
1992). They are widely distributed along the lower reaches of the Trinity River delta,
inland from West Galveston Bay, in the inland system west of the Brazos River, and
along much of the lower reaches of the Lavaca and Guadalupe river valleys.
Intermediate Marsh. An intermediate marsh assemblage occurs on the upper coast
above Galveston Bay where average salinities are generally between those found in
the fresh and brackish-marsh assemblages. Species typical of this environment
include seashore paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum), marshhay cordgrass, Olney bulrush,
cattail (Typha sp.), and California bulrush (Scirpus californiensis).
Fresh Marsh. Environments in which fresh marshes occur are generally beyond the
limits of saltwater flooding, except perhaps locally during hurricanes. The freshwater
influence from rivers, precipitation, runoff, and groundwater is sufficient to maintain
a fresher-water vegetation assemblage consisting of such species as cattail, California
bulrush, three-square bulrush (Scirpus americanus), water hyacinth (Eichornia
crassipes), spiney aster (Aster spinosus), rattlebush (Sesbania drummondii),
alligatorweed (A/ternanthera philoxeroides), and pickerel weed (Pontederia cordata).
Fresh marshes occur inland along river or fluvial systems and in upland basins, both
on the mainland and on barrier islands. Inland from the chenier plain and upstream
along the river valleys of the Neches, Trinity, San Jacinto, Colorado, Lavaca,
Guadalupe, and San Antonio rivers, salinities decrease and fresh marshes intergrade
with and replace brackish marshes.
Swamps and Bottomland Hardwoods. Swamps are most commonly defined as
woodlands or forested areas that contain saturated soils or are inundated by water
during much of the year. In Texas, these are areas in which bald cypress (Taxodium
distichum) and water tupelo (Nyssa aquatica) occur in association with other species
of trees such as sweetgum (Liquidambar styracif/ua) and willows (Salix spp.).
Swamps occur principally in the entrenched valleys of the Sabine, Neches, and Trinity
rivers. The swamps grade at slightly higher elevations into river bottomland hardwood
forest or streamside woodland. Entrenched and nonentrenched river valleys to the
south are dominated by drier woodlands or forested areas.
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Submerged Aquatic Vegetation. Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) of the bay-
estuary-lagoon system occurs in relatively shallow (less than 6 feet) subtidal areas.
Five marine spermatophytes, including shoalgrass (Halodule wrightii), widgeongrass
(Ruppia maritima), turtlegrass (Thalassia testudinum), clovergrass (Halophila
engelmannii), and manatee grass (Syringodium f'Hiformis) occur on the Texas Gulf
Coast. However, only turtlegrass, widgeongrass, and shoalgrass have been reported
on the central and northern coast. Species of SAV that occur in river deltas and do
not tolerate long-term salinities above 6 ppt include Najas sp. and Vallisneria sp.
(Zimmerman et al., 1990).
Wetland Functions and Values
Coastal wetlands, an integral part of estuarine ecosystems, have tremendous biologic
and economic values. Texas wetlands serve as nursery grounds for over 95 percent
of the recreational and commercial fish species found in the Gulf of Mexico; they
provide breeding, nesting, and feeding grounds for more than a third of all threatened
and endangered animal species and support many endangered plant species; and they
provide permanent and seasonal habitat for a great variety of wildlife, including 75
percent of North America's bird species.
Coastal wetlands also perform many chemical and physical functions. Wetlands
temporarily retain pollutants such as suspended material, excess nutrients, toxic
chemicals, and disease-causing microorganisms. Marshes can filter nitrates and
phosphates from rivers and streams that receive wastewater effluents. Pollutants
associated with the trapped material in wetlands may be converted by biochemical
processes to less harmful forms, or they may remain buried and be taken up by the
wetland plants themselves and either recycled or transported from the area. Wetlands
help reduce erosion by absorbing and dissipating wave energy, binding and stabilizing
sediments, and increasing sediment deposition. Primarily because of their topography
or position in the landscape, wetlands can reduce, capture, and retain surface-water
runoff, thus providing storage capacity and overall protection during periods of
flooding. Wetlands also promote groundwater recharge by diverting, slowing, and
storing surface water, thus allowing infiltration and percolation of water into the
saturated zone.
Status and Trends
Estimates of coastal wetland acreage in Texas range from 611,760 acres of fresh,
brackish, and salt marshes in 1979 (TPWD, 1988) to approximately 1.0 million acres
of salt, brackish, fresh, forested, and scrub-shrub wetlands in the 18 CMP counties
in 1979 (Field et al., 1991). Wetlands are disappearing at an alarming rate. The
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) estimates that 35 percent of the state's
coastal marshes were lost between 1950 and 1979 (TPWD, 1988). The total loss of
marshes in the river deltas since the 1950's is about 21,000 acres, or 29 percent of
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the marsh area that existed in the mid-1950's (White and Calnan, 1990). From the
1950's to 1989, there was a net loss of 33,400 acres in the Galveston Bay system,
or 19 percent of the wetlands that existed in the 1950's (White et al., 1993). The
rate of loss, however, declined over time from about 1,000 acres per year between
1953 and 1979 to about 700 acres per year between 1979 and 1989.
Probable Causes of Loss and Degradation
Wetland loss results from both natural processes and human activities. Table 1 lists
the probable causes of loss or degradation for the entire state, and Table 2 lists the
causes and their relative importance for the Galveston Bay system. Between the
1950's and 1989, subsidence (primarily from groundwater withdrawal and oil and gas
production) and relative sea-level rise converted 26,400 acres of emergent wetlands
in the Galveston Bay system, or about 30 percent of the total gross loss (88,500
acres), to open water and barren flats (White et al., 1993). Approximately 5,700
acres of emergent wetlands in the Galveston Bay system were converted to upland
urban use (oil and gas facilities, residential development, etc.) between the 1950's
and 1989. White et al. (1993) also found that approximately 35,600 acres of fresh
or palustrine emergent marshes were transformed to uplands in the Galveston Bay
system between the 1950's and 1989. Approximately 33 percent of the gross loss
in emergent wetlands is attributed to the conversion of marshes to upland rangeland
and cropland. The percentage due to agricultural development is lower than the
national average, estimated at 87 percent from the mid-1950's to mid-1970's, and
54 percent from the mid-1970's to mid-1980's (White et al., 1993).
Subsidence is the overriding cause of wetland loss along the river delta marshes, such
as those of the San Jacinto River, which is near the center of maximum subsidence
resulting from groundwater withdrawal and oil and gas production in the Houston area
(White and Calnan, 1990). In the Neches River valley, a combination of factors,
including subsidence, relative sea-level rise, fault movement, channel dredging, spoil
disposal along levees, and impoundment of sediments along streams, has probably
contributed to wetland loss (White and Calnan, 1990).
Coastal Wetlands Conservation Plan
Background
The Texas Legislature recognized the many problems threatening the Texas Gulf Coast
by passing Senate Bill 1571 in 1989. This legislation designated the General Land
Office (GLO) as the lead agency for development of a comprehensive, long-term plan
for state-owned coastal public lands. This was the first substantial legislation
addressing coastal needs passed in Texas since 1973. After the passage of S.B.
1571, a Coastal Management Advisory Committee and a State Agency Task Force
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Table 1
Statewide Causes of Wetland Loss and Degradation
{Modified from TPWD, 1988)
HUMAN THREATS
Direct:
1.
Drainage for crop and timber production and mosquito control.
2.
Dredging and stream channelization for navigation channels, flood protection,
shoreline floodplam housing development, and reservoir maintenance.
3.
Filling for dredged spoil and other solid waste disposal, roads and highways, and
commercial, residential, and industrial development.
4.
Construction of dikes, dams, levees, and seawalls for flood control, water
supply, irrigation, and storm protection,
5.
Discharges of materials (e.g., pesticides, herbicides, and other pollutants) into
wetlands.
6.
Mining of wetland soils for peat, coal, gravel, phosphate, and other materials.
Indirect:
i
Sediment diversion by dams, deep channels, arid other structures.
2.
Hydrofogic alterations by canals, spoil banks, roads, and other structures.
3.
Subsidence due to extraction of groundwater, oil, gas, sulphur, and other
minerals.
4.
Erosion from boat wakes.
NATURAL THREATS
1.
Sea level rise.
2.
Droughts
3.
Hurricanes and other storms.
4.
Erosion.
5.
Biotic effects (e.g., muskrat, nutria, grass carp, and goose "eat-outs"|.
were organized to aid the GLO in putting together the management plan. In addition,
a Federal Agency Task Force was organized to help coordinate overlapping federal and
state interests.
In February, March, and April of 1990, the GLO held five public meetings along the
coast to determine which issues coastal citizens felt were most critical and should be
addressed first by the plan. Three issues emerged from the public meetings as being
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Table 2
Causes of Wetland Loss and Degradation
in the Galveston Bay System
(Modified from White et al., 19931
HUMAN THREATS
Direct:
1.
Drainage for crop production and expansion of upland range land. (Major)"*
2.
Dredging and stream channelization for navigation channels, flood protection,
coastal housing developments, and reservoir maintenance. (Moderate)
3
Filling for dredged spoil and other solid waste disposal, roads and highways, and
commercial, residential, and industrial development. (Moderate)
4.
Construction o1 dikes, levees, and seawalls for flood control, water supply,
industrial purposes, irrigation, and storm protection. (Major)
5.
Discharges of materials (e.g., pesticides, herbicides, other pollutants, nutrient
loading from domestic sewage and agricultural runoff, and sediments from
dredging and filling, and agricultural and other land development) into waters
and wetlands (Undetermined)
6.
Mining of wetland soils for sand, gravel, peat, and other materials. (Minor)
Indirect:
i.
Sediment diversion by dams, deep channels, and other structures.
(Undetermined)
2
Hydrologic alterations by canals, spoil banks, roads, and other structures.
(Undetermined)
3.
Subsidence due to extraction of groundwater, oil, gas, sulphur, and other
minerals. (Major)
4.
Saltwater intrusion resulting from indirect threats noted above. (Undetermined)
5.
Erosion from boat wakes.
NATURAL THREATS
T.
Subsidence (including natural rise of sea level). (Minor)
2.
Droughts. (Undetermined)
3.
Hurricanes and other storms. (Undetermined)
4.
Erosion. (Moderate)
5.
Biotic effects (e.g., muskrat, nutria, grass carp, and goose "eat-outs").
(Undetermined)
* Relative importance of causes shown in parenthesis.
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of primary importance to the coastal public: coastal erosion/dune protection, beach
access, and wetland loss. These issues were discussed in depth at a series of
consensus-building workshops held in the summer of 1990 with representatives of
business, environmental interests, and government.
The following general management recommendations for coastal wetland protection
were proposed in the workshops:
• Develop and adopt a State Wetland Conservation Plan for state-owned coastal
lands, to be drafted by the TPWD in coordination with the Texas Natural
Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC), the GLO, and other appropriate
local, state, and federal agencies.
• Adopt a goal of no overall net loss of wetlands and establish a policy
framework for achieving that goal.
• Use a "networking" strategy to improve coordination among existing state and
federal agencies with wetland permitting and protection responsibilities.
• Reduce nonpoint-source pollution of Texas bays and estuaries, adopting
standards developed by both state and federal agencies.
• Provide for adequate seasonal freshwater inflows to Texas bays and estuaries
to help decrease contaminant concentrations and maintain overall estuarine
productivity.
• Examine the effects of boat traffic in sensitive wetlands. The TPWD should
coordinate a public education effort to inform boaters of the sensitive nature
of wetlands and proper boating procedures.
• Prepare long-range navigational dredging and disposal plans.
• Distribute public education materials, to be produced by the GLO and the
TPWD, explaining the importance of coastal wetlands.
These recommendations, reached by consensus, were incorporated into S.B. 1054,
the Coastal Management Plan for State-Owned Wetlands Act. S.B. 1054, passed by
the Legislature in 1991, has now been codified in sections 14.001-14.003 of the
Parks and Wildlife Code. The Code states:
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[T]he department and the land office, in conjunction, shall develop and
adopt a State Wetlands Conservation Plan for state-owned coastal
wetlands. The Texas Water Commission and other state agencies and
local governments shall assist in developing and implementing the plan.
The department and the land office shall consult with federal agencies
in developing and adopting the plan.
The goal of the Coastal Wetlands Conservation Plan (CWCP) is no overall net loss of
wetlands. S.B. 1054 mandates that the CWCP govern state-owned coastal wetlands;
however, in order to meet requirements of the federal Coastal Zone Management Act,
the CWCP will also include coastal wetlands located on private lands adjacent to
state-owned wetlands.
Components of the Plan
The CWCP, which contains both regulatory and nonregulatory components, is a
comprehensive strategy for (1) determining the status and trends of Texas coastal
wetlands, the causes of declines in wetland acreage and quality, and ways to preserve
and restore the resource; (2) educating the public about the functions and values of
coastal wetlands and the need to protect them; (3) working with local governments
in wetland protection; (4) increasing coordination and cooperation among all state and
federal agencies that manage and help protect coastal wetlands; (5) researching
complex problems affecting wetlands, such as freshwater inflows and nonpoint-source
pollution; and (6) developing long-range navigational dredging and disposal plans.
When completed, the CWCP must be approved by the School Land Board and the
Parks and Wildlife Commission. Components being developed or soon to be
developed through a variety of funding sources are described below.
Inventories. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is using November and
December 1992 and February and March 1993 color infrared aerial photography to
update National Wetland Inventory (NWI) maps (scale 1:24,000) for coastal Texas.
Previous inventories were conducted using 1950's, 1978/1979, and 1989
photography. Wetlands will be delineated and classified according to Cowardin
(1979) on 496 U.S. Geological Survey 7.5-minute maps covering 21 coastal counties.
County atlases will be produced for each of the counties. These will include wetland
values and conditions, fish and wildlife utilizing the wetlands, lists of wetland plants
and hydric soils, status and trends information, wetland acreage statistics, and NWI
maps. The county atlases should be completed in 1996. In addition, the USFWS is
conducting a National Status and Trends study in coastal Texas. The goal of the
study is to produce comprehensive, statistically valid acreage estimates of wetlands
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losses and gains for the time period between the 1950's and the 1990's for the
coastal region as a whole. Draft status and trends information should be available in
the spring of 1995.
The TPWD and Rice University are also classifying and monitoring wetlands using
satellite thematic mapper imagery and applying the NOAA CoastWatch Change
Analysis Program protocol (Thomas and Ferguson, 1990). Information from the
digitized maps (scale 1:24,000) can be used for oil spill response or Natural Resource
Damage Assessment and should be completed by September 1995. In addition, the
TPWD has developed guidelines for sensitive wetlands that will provide the basis for
regulations regarding such coastal issues as oil spill prevention and response, natural
resource damage assessment, mitigation, and acquisition. The TPWD has used a wide
range of data-including data on fisheries, waterfowl, and wetland habitats-to identify
and assess sensitive wetlands. Both the USFWS and TPWD inventories will be used
to determine the status and trends of wetlands and to assess progress toward the
goal of no overall net loss of coastal wetlands.
Restoration. In addition to inventories for monitoring wetland status and trends,
inventories of mitigation or restoration sites within watersheds are also being
conducted. The GLO has identified sites for wetland restoration and creation in the
Dickinson Bay/Dickinson Bayou watershed in the Houston-Galveston area and is
developing demonstration-level restoration and creation plans for the sites. The use
of dredged material to restore and create wetlands in the Galveston Bay system is
being promoted by the Houston Ship Channel Beneficial Uses Group. In addition, the
draft Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan of the Galveston Bay
National Estuary Program (GBNEP) is promoting the development of a program for the
beneficial use of dredged material which includes funding mechanisms to meet the
added costs of handling and processing the material when nonbeneficial disposal is
eliminated. In the Galveston Bay area, the GBNEP established a restoration/creation
goal for wetlands of 15,000 acres within ten years.
Wetland restoration efforts are being expanded to other coastal watersheds, and a
number of coastal wetland restoration projects, studies, and plans are underway. For
example:
• The Galveston Bay Foundation (GBF) is developing a program to restore or
enhance approximately 15,000 feet of shoreline at nine different sites in the
Clear Lake drainage. Funding for the projects will come from several sources.
In addition, during 1993, over 100,000 square feet of marsh were added to the
Galveston Bay system by approximately 250 members of the GBF Volunteer
Conservation Corps (VCC). This was five times as much as the 20,000 square
feet the VCC planted in 1992.
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The TPWD, with funds made available under Section 1135(b) of the Water
Resources Development Act of 1986, is restoring the Salt Bayou Marsh in
Jefferson County to historical intermediate salinities. Planning is also underway
to restore wetland ecosystems within the lower Neches in Orange County and
Mad Island wetlands in Matagorda County. The TPWD also participates in
other wetland restoration efforts, such as the North American Waterfowl Plan
and Gulf Coast Joint Ventures.
The Bureau of Reclamation is conducting a demonstration project in Rincon
Bayou/Nueces River delta marshes. The project is designed to complement the
ongoing Nueces Estuary Regional Wastewater Planning Study sponsored by the
City of Corpus Christi, the state, and several local entities. The objective of the
project is to provide more frequent releases of fresh water and accompanying
nutrients and sediment to increase productivity in the Nueces-Corpus Christi
estuary. Work on the project should be completed in 1995.
The Texas A&M University Marine Advisory Service and the USDA Soil
Conservation Service initiated a project in 1989 with funding from the
Galveston Bay National Estuary Program to test shoreline erosion control
measures under different shoreline and environmental conditions. Smooth
cordgrass {Spartina afterniflora) was transplanted at six sites in Galveston Bay.
Transplant survival and fisheries abundance and utilization were documented
at the six sites.
The National Marine Fisheries Service's Galveston, Texas, laboratories received
funding from the Environmental Protection Agency to restore seagrasses in a
part of western Galveston Bay. The goal of the project is to create one hectare
(approximately 2.5 acres) of viable Halodufe wrightii habitat in West Bay. The
objectives are to determine survival and growth rates of transplanted
seagrasses and to obtain evidence of increased faunal densities above those in
neighboring nonvegetated substrates. Toward these ends, Halodule wrightii
was transplanted to two areas along western Galveston Island during late April
and early May 1994.
The Private Lands Conservation Program of Ducks Unlimited assists farmers
and other landowners in restoring or enhancing wetland areas on their
properties by fostering partnerships, providing management expertise, and
offering materials necessary to develop wetland habitat. In Texas, Ducks
Unlimited provides technical advice as well as cost-sharing assistance for levee
construction and water control structures. Landowners participating in the
program agree to hold water in harvested fields during the winter months to
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optimize habitat conditions for waterfowl and other migratory birds. The
structures allow impoundments to be drained in the spring for field preparation.
• An important new voluntary program for wetland restoration is the Wetlands
Reserve Program (WRP) administered by the Agricultural Stabilization and
Conservation Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. For fiscal year
1994, the program is funded at $66.75 million to enroll up to 75,000 acres in
20 states, including Texas. Under the WRP, permanent easements are
purchased from participating owners of farmed wetlands. The program
provides for the restoration and protection of farmed wetlands that were
converted to farmland prior to December 23, 1985; croplands adjacent to
eligible wetlands that are deemed necessary as buffer areas to protect the
functional values of the wetlands being restored; and riparian areas that link
eligible wetlands. Participating WRP landowners agree to accept no more than
fair market value of their land for agricultural use in return for a lump-sum
payment and cost-share assistance for implementation of wetland restoration
practices. Specified compatible uses are permitted on the restored acreage by
the landowner and successors.
Mitigation. The National Environmental Policy Act regulations define mitigation as: (1)
avoiding adverse impacts altogether by not taking a certain action or parts of an
action; (2) minimizing impacts by limiting the degree or magnitude of the action and
its implementation; (3) rectifying an impact by repairing, rehabilitating, or restoring the
affected environment; (4) reducing or eliminating impacts over time through
preservation and maintenance operations during the life of the action; and (5)
compensating for an impact by replacing or providing substitute resources or
environments. Wetlands mitigation is receiving greater attention as a means of
meeting the goal of no net loss of wetlands and the Clean Water Act's goal of
restoring and maintaining the nation's wetlands. Federal agencies, including the COE,
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the USFWS, routinely require
mitigation for adverse or potentially adverse impacts to wetlands.
Current state policies-The TPWD and GLO require mitigation for wetland
impacts; however, only the TPWD has a statutory requirement for mitigation,
and its policy covers only relatively large water resource development projects.
The Parks and Wildlife Commission seeks full mitigation for fish and wildlife
losses resulting from water resource development projects in excess of 5,000
acre-feet per year (TEX. WATER CODE §11.151). Mitigation measures include
improving lands to replace hunter opportunity loss and using fishery
management techniques (PARKS & WILDLIFE CODE §57.141). Mitigation can
include acquisition and management of fish and wildlife habitats or specific
measures such as improvement of spawning and nursery habitats. In
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determining whether to require an applicant to mitigate adverse impacts on a
habitat, the commission may consider any net benefit to the habitat produced
by the project.
The GLO has an unwritten policy requiring at least a 3-to-1 mitigation or
compensation ratio for all unavoidable adverse impacts to natural resources on
state-owned submerged lands, Mitigation is required for damage resulting from
such activities as dredging, filling, propwashing, oil and gas development, and
pipeline construction. Mitigative measures include revegetation of disturbed
areas, recontouring of land, replacement of oyster reefs, and habitat creation
in the form of scrapedown and/or planting and restoration. Mitigation for
impacts to state resources should occur on state land; however, if state land
is not available, private land may be used as long as a conservation easement
is granted to the GLO for access and control over the mitigation site.
The GLO reviews proposed projects to ensure that all steps are taken to avoid
adverse impacts. Unavoidable impacts are compensated for according to the
following preferred sequence for replacement of habitat loss: (1) on-site and in-
kind; (2) off-site and in-kind; (3) on-site and out-of-kind; and (4) off-site and
out-of-kind. Mitigation conditions are included in GLO lease or easement
contracts as a requirement for project approval.
Proposed state policies-State mitigation policies are included in the proposed
revisions to the Section 401 certification process and in the CMP. These
policies will help clarify mitigation requirements and unify mitigation planning
for damage to coastal wetlands.
Mitigation guidelines-Guidelines to avoid and minimize wetland impacts are
contained in the applicant orientation package provided by the COE to
prospective permit applicants. Guidelines for compensatory mitigation of
bottomland hardwoods, fresh and salt marshes, and seagrasses are currently
being developed by an interagency team of state and federal natural resource
agencies.
Mitigation banking guidelines-lnteragency guidelines for the development and
use of mitigation banks in the COE, Galveston District, were prepared in 1993
by state and federal resource agencies involved in evaluating bank proposals.
These general guidelines are designed to assist potential bankers in developing
acceptable mitigation bank proposals and will be used to help develop the
memorandums of agreement (MOAs) for each mitigation bank. The guidelines
include a definition section, prerequisites for approval of mitigation bank MOAs,
mitigation bank criteria and procedures during the early consultation process,
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bank location, evaluation of functions and values, components of a site plan,
transfer of credits, and bank time limits. Agencies participating in the
development of the guidelines include the COE, EPA, USFWS, National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFSI, TPWD, TNRCC, and GLO.
Acquisition. A comprehensive strategy for coastal wetland acquisition is being
developed. Texas can protect and manage coastal wetlands by acquisition; however,
state wetland acquisition efforts have been limited, primarily by a lack of funds for
purchasing and managing the resources. Also, although a legislative mandate exists
for guiding and prioritizing coastal wetland acquisition efforts, no plan has been
developed to help focus those efforts on the most important, scarce, and vulnerable
coastal wetlands. Both the EPA Gulf of Mexico Program and the Galveston Bay
National Estuary Program (GBNEP) have recognized the need to identify and rank
wetland habitats for acquisition. For example, the GBNEP Comprehensive
Conservation and Management Plan has a habitat protection goal of placing 15,000
acres of wetlands in public ownership within 20 years. Texas needs a strong coastal
wetlands acquisition program to complement any federal acquisition efforts.
Two state statutes provide authority for wetland acquisition. The Texas Waterfowl
Stamp Act empowers the TPWD to acquire, lease, or develop waterfowl habitat in the
state. The funds for such activities come from the sale of state waterfowl stamps.
Since 1981, the TPWD has used revenues from sales of Texas duck stamps and art
prints to buy, lease, and develop waterfowl habitats. In fiscal 1992, the agency spent
about $1.5 million for wetland acquisition (Fiscal Notes, 1993).
The Coastal Wetland Acquisition Act (TEX. NAT. RES. CODE Chapter 33, Subchapter
G) designates the TPWD as the "acquiring agency" for coastal wetlands. The GLO's
role is to work with the TPWD in certifying coastal wetlands most essential to the
public interest and assigning priorities for their acquisition. With funding from the EPA
Wetlands Program State Development Grants and assistance from the TPWD, the GLO
is currently developing a Coastal Wetlands Priority Acquisition Plan that will: {11 create
the framework, criteria, and guidance for identifying coastal wetlands on a regional
or watershed basis for state acquisition; (2) identify areas and/or acreages of coastal
wetlands by region or watershed for acquisition; and (3) identify possible funding
sources. The overall plan should be completed in April 1995.
Education. Education is vital in building public support for wetlands protection. To
increase public awareness of and appreciation for the state's wetland resources, the
GLO, in cooperation with other state and federal agencies and private organizations,
has developed a wetland outreach strategy as part of the CWCP's outreach education
program. The GLO is producing public outreach materials on (1) wetland functions
and values, (2) wetland status and trends, (3) regulatory methods to protect wetlands,
including the CWCP, the CMP, and the state and federal regulatory process, and (4)
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nonregulatory methods to protect, restore, and enhance wetlands. In 1992, the GLO
hosted wetland workshops focussing primarily on current wetland regulation. The
GLO held additional public workshops on coastal wetlands in Galveston and Corpus
Christi in November 1994 with guest speakers from both regulatory and nonregulatory
organizations. The focus of these workshops was the importance of wetlands and the
role of the CMP and other programs in protecting and restoring them.
The GLO produced a set of fact sheets covering Section 401 water-quality
certification, sources of information about wetlands, wetland types, coastal wetland
loss, functions and values, and wetland conservation and education in Texas. The
fact sheets and a complementary coastal wetlands poster were used in the November
1994 wetland workshops. A second coastal wetlands poster for use in public
education efforts is being developed by TPWD artists.
The Outreach and State Programs Section of the Wetlands Strategies and State
Programs Branch in EPA's Wetlands Division initiated the celebration of American
Wetlands Month each May to increase the public's awareness of wetlands and to
encourage people to become more involved in wetland protection efforts nationally as
well as locally. May has been officially proclaimed Wetlands Month in Texas by
Governor Ann Richards since 1992. In support of this initiative, the May issue of the
Texas CMP Newsletter will be dedicated to coastal wetlands each year.
The TPWD and GLO are developing a brochure, "Boating and Seagrasses," containing
information about the functions, values, status, and trends of seagrasses; boating
techniques to protect seagrasses; general boating safety practices; and seagrass
species, with drawings to help with identification. This educational brochure is
intended to help protect seagrasses from damage from boats operated in shallow bay-
estuary-lagoon systems.
In 1994-1995, the Texas Agricultural Extension Service developed a wetlands
protection handbook and complementary slide set for south, south central, and east
Texas. The handbook was developed for use by county extension agents and
pertinent state and federal agencies. It is arranged by topic and assembled in a ring-
binder so agency personnel can easily photocopy sections for farmers, ranchers, and
agri-businessmen.
Local Government Participation. Local governments play a critical role in wetlands
protection. The local level is where most of the decisions affecting development are
made, and local governments are often best equipped to address local wetland
resource protection concerns.
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Several local governments along the Texas coast are pursuing the development of
multi-objective wetland management plans. These local governments are seeking
guidance to ensure that their plans are consistent with the state's wetland protection
initiatives. In response to this need, the GLO secured a grant from the EPA Wetlands
Program for FY '95 to develop a model coastal wetlands protection plan for local
governments. The model plan is intended for the leaders and citizens of coastal
communities who are concerned about balancing development with wetland resource
protection. The purpose of the plan is to familiarize local leaders with existing
wetland protection mechanisms, offer new and innovative approaches for local
wetland protection, and provide guidance for selecting and implementing management
strategies which not only meet the community's objectives for wetland protection, but
are consistent with the state's no net loss goal.
Incentives for wetland protection by private landowners are also needed since most
Texas wetlands are privately owned. A program of public-private partnerships will
facilitate conservation by private landowners. The state must identify the needs of
the landowners, inform them of existing incentive programs at the local, state, and
federal levels, and impress upon them the value of preserving and restoring wetland
habitats. This program can be a critical component of any program developed to slow
or stop the loss of inland wetlands.
Interagency Coordination
Current-State agencies that either issue permits for activities or actions
impacting coastal wetlands or comment on applications for COE permits are the
TNRCC, TPWD, RRC, and GLO. Interagency coordination in the COE Section
10/404 permitting process begins with bimonthly joint evaluation meetings at
the COE District Office in Galveston, Texas. The evaluation meetings are an
opportunity for staff of the TPWD, TNRCC, GLO, EPA, NMFS, and USFWS to
evaluate and comment on projects affecting wetlands in the COE Galveston
District. The agencies may schedule on-site field inspections with applicants,
and, if necessary, determine mitigation requirements.
The COE, EPA, and U.S. Coast Guard have elected to participate with the
TNRCC and RRC in a joint public notice procedure to inform the public of both
the request for the federal permit and the concurrent review by the TNRCC and
RRC for the purpose of providing water-quality certification under Section 401
of the Clean Water Act. The RRC issues Section 401 certification for oil and
gas activities. This notice, initiating a 30-day public comment period, provides
information about the proposed action and the process for contacting the
TNRCC or RRC to request a public hearing on the issuance of a Section 401
certification. All information submitted to the TNRCC or RRC is considered
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with respect to applicable state water-quality standards (designated uses, water
quality, and antidegradation). The TNRCC or RRC may issue a Section 401
water-quality certification with conditions, a certification waiver, or a
certification denial.
The TPWD has primary responsibility for protecting the state's fish and wildlife
resources. It comments on all Section 10/404 permit applications submitted
to the COE and may provide comments to the TNRCC for use in evaluating
Section 401 water-quality certification requests. If the TPWD staff determines
that a wetland area has unique aesthetic or ecological qualities, spoil disposal
techniques that would adversely affect the area will be opposed and alternate
sites recommended. Ecological need will be a major determining factor in
making recommendations. Where the TPWD staff determines that detrimental
environmental effects can be minimized, the implementation of spoil disposal
techniques that result in minimization will be recommended. Ecological need
is a major determining factor in decision-making.
The GLO is the state agency responsible for the management of state-owned
public lands. This agency is proprietary, not regulatory, and assesses fees on
users of public lands. State-owned lands extend from mean high tide in bays
and lagoons to 3 marine leagues (10.36 miles) offshore in the Gulf of Mexico.
Activities covered by state easements or leases include floating piers, wharves,
docks, jetties, groins, breakwaters, artificial reefs, fences, posts, retaining
walls, levees, ramps, cabins, shelters, landfills, excavations, canals, channels,
and roads.
The GLO routinely participates in the bimonthly COE joint agency evaluation
meetings to identify proposed activities that may involve the use of state-
owned lands. The GLO obtains copies of the COE permit applications that
appear to include state-owned land and submits them to the GLO surveying
division for a formal determination. If it is determined that state-owned lands
are involved, the GLO sends the COE permit applicant an "Application Packet."
This informs the applicant that a state instrument is required for the use of
state-owned land in connection with the proposed project. The applicant sends
the completed application with the requested information to the appropriate
GLO field office. The field office reviews the application for accuracy and
completeness and notifies the applicant of any additional requirements. GLO
coastal field inspectors conduct an on-site investigation of the proposed
project, either independently or, more commonly, in conjunction with the other
state and federal agencies that take part in the COE process.
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The field report is basically an "environmental assessment" of the proposed
project that describes any impacts the project could have on state-owned lands.
The report provides recommendations on fee assessments, mitigation, and/or
project modification. Any project alterations, relocation, or mitigation
requirements requested are thoroughly coordinated with the applicant and other
state and federal agencies to ensure consistency.
An Interagency Quality Management Board (QMB) is currently coordinating an
effort by the Galveston District COE to improve the COE permitting processes.
The QMB is reviewing the current regulatory system, including the agency
input/decision-making process, regulatory overlaps and conflicts, the applicant
orientation process, the field review process, agency commitment of resources,
compliance monitoring and enforcement, endangered species monitoring, and
CMP consistency. The goal of the QMB is to assure resource protection and
public service by improving the effectiveness, efficiency, and predictability of
the COE regulatory processes and associated federal/state processes within the
Galveston District.
The CMP consistency review process--The CMP will strengthen current
interagency coordination for permits affecting coastal wetlands. Activities
affecting coastal wetlands are regulated by overlapping and fragmented
policies, goals, and authorities of federal and state agencies, which can reduce
the effectiveness of wetland management. The CMP will utilize existing
regulatory authorities governing the use of coastal wetlands. The central
concept is that networking and strengthening existing agency regulations will
provide strong protection for coastal wetlands.
The key to the success of a networked CMP is a high level of coordination
among the component programs. That coordination level will be achieved
through the state and federal consistency review processes and oversight of
the program by the Coastal Coordination Council. The state consistency review
process will provide a formalized method for reviewing all state agency and
subdivision actions that may affect coastal wetlands and for determining if
those actions are consistent with the goals and policies of the CMP. The
federal consistency review process will provide an additional level of
coordination for federal agency activities, federal development projects,
federally licensed or permitted activities such as the COE Section 10/404
permit, and any plans for exploration or development of, or production from,
any area leased under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.
Relative Sea-Level Rise and the Sediment Budget. In some areas of the coast, such
as the Houston-Galveston area (White et aL, 19931, relative sea-level rise has had a
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significant effect on coastal wetlands. Relative sea-level rise refers to a rise in sea
level with respect to the surface of the land, whether it is caused by actual sea-level
rise or land-surface subsidence. Relative sea-level rise has two components, a lesser
component of eustatic (global) sea-level rise that is estimated to be about 1.2 mm/yr,
and a more significant component of land-surface subsidence, which varies along the
Texas coast from approximately 5 to 13 mm/yr. Rates of relative sea-level rise are
considerably higher than this in areas where subsidence is caused or accelerated by
underground fluid withdrawal (groundwater and oil and gas), such as the Houston-
Galveston and Beaumont-Port Arthur areas. Up to 3 m (10 ft) of human-induced
subsidence occurred in the Houston-Galveston area between 1906 and 1987
(Gabrysch and Coplin, 1990). Between the 1950's and 1979, more than 1,389 acres
of bottomland hardwoods and marshes in the lower reaches of the San Jacinto River
area were displaced by open water (White et al., 1993). The lower reach of the San
Jacinto River is near the heart of the subsidence bowl in the Houston-Galveston area.
Through efforts by the Harris-Galveston Coastal Subsidence District to curtail
groundwater pumpage in the Houston-Galveston area, subsidence rates have
decreased in some parts of the area, from a high of 122 mm/yr (0.4 ft/yr) for the
period 1964 to 1973 to about 67 mm/yr (0.22 ft/yr) from 1978 to 1987. In the
Beaumont-Port Arthur area, saltwater intrusion through channels into freshwater areas
can also magnify the effects of sea-level rise by increasing tidal scouring of soils
where vegetation has been lost due to changes in salinity.
The effects of relative sea-level rise on coastal wetlands have been exacerbated by
river basin projects such as dams and freshwater impoundments that reduce the
volume of sediment transported to marshes. If there is insufficient sediment, marsh
sedimentation rates may not keep pace with relative sea-level rise, and the marsh will
eventually be replaced by open water. In the Trinity River area, rates of estimated
relative sea-level rise have outpaced marsh sedimentation rates, and vegetated areas
are being replaced by open water and barren flats (White and Calnan, 1990). Dams
and impoundments can also reduce flooding and prevent the overbank deposition of
sediments necessary for marsh maintenance. Reduced freshwater inflow and/or
increased tidal exchange can also allow saltwater intrusion, which can either kill fresh
and brackish marshes or alter plant community structure. Sea-level rise may not only
alter the geomorphology of coastal habitats, but also alter biochemical processes
when saltwater submerges marshes and uplands (Zimmerman et al., 1991). This
inundation can change the way marshes function as habitat.
The CMP defines relative sea-level rise as an adverse effect:
Adverse effects on critical areas are to be avoided to the greatest extent
practicable, and if they cannot be avoided, they are to be mitigated.
Adverse effects include detrimental alterations that increase losses of
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shore areas or other coastal natural resource areas from a rise in sea
level with respect to the surface of the land, whether caused by actual
sea-level rise or land surface subsidence.
The CMP contains two "encouragement policies" addressing relative sea-level rise and
the sediment budget:
• Local governments are encouraged to consider sea-level rise
(projected for 50 years) in designing and constructing new
development.
• Where effective, sediment bypassing is encouraged in the
construction and retrofitting of dams on rivers that flow into the
coastal area, and at new and existing jetties, groins, and other
structures that interrupt sediment transport to the coastal sand
budget.
Sediment bypassing systems intercept bcdload materials at or above the heads of
reservoirs and channel these materials around lakes to the river bed below the dams
(King, 1990). A draft action plan in the Comprehensive Conservation and
Management Plan for the Galveston Bay Estuary calls for exploring the feasibility of
remobilizing sediment impounded behind watershed dams and transporting this
material to the estuary.
Freshwater Inflow. Texas bays and estuaries provide diverse habitats with salinities
ranging from fresh to brackish in the river deltas and near river and stream mouths to
polyhaline or euryhaline near Guif inlets. These diverse conditions favor different
vegetation and organisms living in or adjacent to the estuaries.
Coastal wetland communities also show well-defined salinity gradients both from
north to south along the coast and within each estuarine system. Freshwater,
intermediate, and brackish-water marshes are most extensive along the upper coast
in the Beaumont-Port Arthur and Houston-Galveston areas, where freshwater inflows
are typically much higher than on the lower coast. Salt marshes are extensive south
of the Galveston Bay area. Within each estuarine system, freshwater marshes and
bottomland hardwoods occupy river drainages and deltas, grading into intermediate
and brackish-water marshes near the estuary. Saltwater marshes are most common
on the bayward side of barrier islands and peninsulas and along the mainland shores
of narrow bays.
Current plans and studies-In recognition of the importance of fresh water to
the state, including the bay-estuary-lagoon system, the Texas Legislature
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directed the TWDB to develop a Texas Water Plan as a guide to the
conservation and development of the state's water resources. The first Texas
Water Plan, adopted in 1969, called for an estimated 2.5 million acre-feet of
supplemental freshwater inflows annually to Texas' bay-estuary-lagoonsystem.
The TWDB regularly updates the plan to meet current water needs and
anticipated future needs. The plan currently emphasizes water supply,
treatment, distribution, conservation, and the collection and treatment of
wastewater.
In preparation for the Texas Water Plan, the legislature directed the TWDB, in
cooperation with the TNRCC, TPWD, and GLO, to collect comprehensive
physical, chemical, and biological data on the effects of freshwater inflows
upon the bay-estuary-lagoon system. The comprehensive studies and data
resulted in a series of reports covering the state's seven major estuarine
systems. The results included preliminary estimates of freshwater inflows
needed from major Texas rivers to meet management alternatives for coastal
ecosystems.
The 69th Texas Legislature assigned the responsibility for water rights
permitting to the Texas Water Commission (now part of the TNRCC) and
authorized the TPWD to be a party in hearings on applications for permits to
store, take, or divert water. The legislature directed the Water Commission to
consider effects on the bay-estuary-lagoon system for all water rights permits.
The legislature also directed the TWDB and TPWD to establish and maintain a
continuous data collection and evaluation program and conduct studies and
analyses to determine bay conditions that provide a sound ecological
environment. To achieve the goal of a sound ecological environment in coastal
bays, special conditions will be required in state permits for storage, taking, or
diversion of water. These conditions will regulate the quantity and timing of
water use and be designed to ensure that salinity and nutrient levels and
sediment supplies are adequate through time to provide an environment for the
maintenance of bay-estuary-lagoon wetlands and organisms.
CMP policies-The bay-estuary-lagoon system is a valued resource contributing
to the welfare and economy of Texas and to the fish and wildlife that inhabit
coastal wetlands and open waters. High-quality freshwater inflows and
accompanying nutrients and sediments delivered in amounts and seasons
similar to historical patterns are important to the maintenance of habitats and
fish and wildlife. The CMP policies will ensure adequate freshwater inflows to
help maintain an ecologically sound environment in bay-estuary-lagoon systems.
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Noripoirrt-Source Pollution. Coastal wetlands are altered by pollutants from upstream
and local runoff and, in turn, change the quafity of water flowing out of them.
Wetlands are capable of assimilating and purging pollutants from the water, but
amounts of sediment, nutrients, and pesticides from watersheds that overload a
wetland's assimilative ability can drastically alter the biological makeup of a wetland
{Kusler et al., 1994),
Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) is especially sensitive to nonpoint-source
pollution. The loss of SAV can often be attributed to reductions in water transparency
from excessive suspended solids and nutrients that enter the water column as a result
of poor watershed management, reducing transmitted light below critical levels
(Fonseca, 1993). Suspended solids can directly reduce water transparency, and
excessive nutrients accelerate growth of light-absorbing algae in the water column.
Some discharges into coastal waters are almost immediately toxic to coastal
wetlands. Discharges of oil, for example, can kill coastaJ wetlands (Webb et al.
1981); less apparent is the sometimes slow degradation of wetland quality due to
urban or agricultural runoff of nonpoint-source pollutants, including sediment,
nutrients, oxygen-demanding compounds, and oil and grease. Information on the
cumulative effects of these pollutants on coastal wetland quality is limited.
To help protect coastal natural resource areas, including wetlands, from nonpoint-
source pollution, Texas will develop and implement a coastal nonpoint-source pollution
control program under Section 6217 of the Coastal Zone Management Act. The state
program will be closely coordinated with other existing state and local water quality
plans and programs. The CWCP will include nonpoint-source pollution information to
increase understanding of the sources of nonpoint-source pollution and the effects of
the pollutants on coastal resources, and to aid in the development of policies and best
management practices to prevent further contamination of coastal wetlands.
Long-range Dredging and Dredged-Material Disposal Plan. Dredging and dredged-
material disposal can be detrimental to coastal wetlands and fish and wildlife. In the
Galveston Bay system, conversion of emergent coastal wetlands occurred in several
areas in conjunction with dredging and filling operations to create navigation channels
and upland sites for residential development (White et al., 1993). White et al. (1993)
reported that wetland losses due to dredging of channels and wetland filling in the
Virginia Point USGS quadrangle totaled approximately 2,000 acres between the
1950's and 1989. Dredging can also disrupt natural drainage patterns and introduce
salt water to fresh or intermediate marshes. Increased salinities can cause the
replacement of freshwater vegetation with salt-tolerant vegetation and convert
vegetated areas to open water.
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The CWCP will include a comprehensive, long-term management strategy for dredging
and disposal of dredged materials that is environmentally, technically, and
economically sound. A dredging task force will guide the development of plan in the
following areas: (1) policy development; (2) development of a permit review process;
(3) prioritization of and research into key issues such as avoidance of adverse impacts
on coastal wetlands; and <4) establishment of a dredging research coordination team.
In addition, a comprehensive database for dredging activities will be established to
facilitate the analysis of coastal wetland impacts from existing and proposed dredging
activities. Dredging and dredged material disposal policies in the CMP can be used to
help develop the comprehensive plan.
State Wetlands Conservation Plan
The TPWD is developing a State Wetlands Conservation Plan (SWCP) that focuses on
nonregulatory, voluntary approaches to protect wetlands, particularly through the
development of new incentives to encourage conservation on private lands, and
through coordination and implementation of existing private, state, and federal
wetlands protection incentives. Impetus for developing a statewide plan comes from
two sources. The TPWD prepared the "Texas Wetlands Plan" in 1986 as an
amendment to the Texas Outdoor Recreation Plan (TORP). The National Park Service
will require that the plan be updated as part of the 1995 TORP update. The EPA also
has set a goal of having every state participate in a SWCP by 1996.
The transfer of information on wetlands conservation to the landowner, including
information on acquisition, mitigation, and restoration, will be an important component
of the SWCP. Although the SWCP applies to the whole state, it will emphasize inland
wetlands. A landowner's guidebook summarizing existing wetlands protection
programs and options is currently being developed to fully inform landowners of
existing laws and incentive programs available to them.
Scoping Process and Priorities
A statewide scoping meeting for the SWCP was held in September 1994. The
meeting gave participants an opportunity to provide input, at an early stage, on
economic and other incentives for protecting wetlands, information transfer to the
landowner, and wetlands conservation. Meeting participants included representatives
from state and federal agencies, conservation groups, agriculture, forestry, business,
and landowners. Participants' comments demonstrated overwhelming support for
landowner involvement in the development of the SWCP. Meeting results indicated
that:
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• participation should involve opportunities to both receive and give information
to each other and to agency representatives;
• new private lands incentives, including tax incentives, the modification of
existing exemptions, and modelling new programs after existing successful
ones, would encourage landowners to pursue wetlands conservation on their
lands; and
• increased monitoring of wetlands projects and research on conservation
options, such as new acquisition funding sources and mitigation banking, also
received significant support.
The near-term efforts of the TPWD will concentrate on assembling regional advisory
groups made up of agricultural, forestry, conservation, and landowner representatives,
who will address many of the above-mentioned topics and recommendations.
Section 401 Water-Quality Certification
Background
The chief mechanism for state regulation of coastal wetlands is water-quality
certification under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act. This process essentially
allows the state to determine whether federal permits for discharges into the surface
waters of the state will be granted, denied, or conditionally granted. Section 401
certification authority covers all COE permits under Section 404 of the Clean Water
Act, sections 9 and 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, permits or licenses issued by
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and NPDES permits under section 402 of
the Clean Water Act. Most actions are under the jurisdiction of TNRCC, but oil and
gas production activities covered by Section 404 are certified by the RRC.
Public Involvement
As required by the Clean Water Act, water quality standards are publicly reviewed and
revised where needed at least every three years. Revisions are proposed in order to
incorporate new information on potential pollutants, to include additional data on
water quality conditions in specific water bodies, and to address new state and federal
regulatory requirements. The adoption and revision of the standards and rules by the
TNRCC is a very public and sometimes controversial process. Diverse sources have
shaped the process, including cities, industries, environmental interests, and the EPA,
which has approval authority over state water quality standards.
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The Water Quality Standards and the TNRCC rule on Section 401 Certification (30
TAC Ch. 279) are being revised in 1994. Initial comments and critical issues for
revisions were solicited and reviewed during 1993. Recommendations in the form of
draft revisions were presented at the TNRCC Policy Agenda in January 1994 and
circulated for public comment during February and March 1994. The Task Force 21
Workgroup on Standards, representing a broad spectrum of affected interests,
including business, industry, consumers, local government, and the environment, met
four times during March and April 1994 to provide additional recommendations. In
addition, an extensive mailing list that includes individuals, organizations, and
industries was used to solicit comments and recommendations. The TNRCC staff have
made numerous changes to the initial proposals based on public comment, and a
revised draft of the standards, proposed preamble, and the rule are available. The
standards and rules revisions were published jointly in the Texas Register in December
1994, and public hearings were held in January 1995. State law provides a maximum
six-month period from the date of Texas Register publication for adoption of proposed
rules by the Commission.
Strengthening Section 401 to Protect Wetlands
Wetlands are already included in the definition of "waters in the state" (30 TAC
§307.3(a)(45)), and current Surface Water Quality Standards (SWQS) apply to
wetlands. The TNRCC rule on Section 401 Certification (30 TAC Ch. 279) is being
revised to adequately regulate activities in or near wetlands. The applicability of the
SWQS to wetlands is being changed in the current revisions from "wetlands during
periods of inundation" to simply "wetlands," in order to be compatible with the way
standards are applied to other bodies of water that may not be perennial, such as
intermittent streams.
Provisions of TNRCC rules applicable to Section 401 certification of activities affecting
wetlands would include the following.
• The requirement to conduct a site-specific assessment of uses and standards
in response to administrative or regulatory actions by the TNRCC.
• The primary level of antidegradation protection, which states that existing uses
will be maintained.
• Narrative criteria for aesthetic, radiological, toxic, nutrient, and salinity
parameters. Narrative criteria can be used to protect the integrity of wetlands.
• Numerical limitations on thermal elevations above ambient conditions.
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Numerical limitations on fecal coliform bacteria to levels which are considered
appropriate for contact recreation.
Acute toxic criteria to protect aquatic life.
The additional level of protection provided by the antidegradation policy to
waters which exceed "fishable/swimmable" quality.
This provision of the antidegradation policy would prohibit an activity which
would cause degradation of wetlands unless it were demonstrated to be
socially and economically justified, even if no violations of narrative or
numerical standards criteria were anticipated. For wastewater discharges, the
antidegradation policy is already used to require an evaluation of alternatives,
minimization of impacts, and economic justification if a proposed discharge is
expected to cause degradation of high-quality waters. This provision of the
antidegradation policy would apply based on a case-by-case determination of
the characteristics of the affected wetlands.
Chronic numerical toxic criteria to protect aquatic life use apply to wetlands
with an aquatic life use.
Chronic criteria to protect aquatic life uses will apply wherever aquatic life uses
are attainable.
• Numerical human health criteria to protect human consumption of fish apply to
wetlands with a sustainable fishery.
Human health criteria to protect sustainable fisheries, incidental fisheries, or
drinking water supplies will apply wherever these uses are attainable.
The TNRCC is revising its rule governing state Section 401 certification of federal
Section 404 dredge and fill permits. The proposed revisions include affirming the goal
of "no net loss" of wetlands and incorporating key components of the EPA Section
404(b)(1) Guidelines into the TNRCC's Section 401 review. Pursuant to section
279.11(b), certifications must avoid adverse impacts, including cumulative and
secondary impacts. The mitigation sequence found in the 404(b)(1) Guidelines is
incorporated into section 279.11(c). This mitigation sequence is summarized as
avoidance of all impacts for which there are practicable alternatives, taking
appropriate and practicable steps to minimize potential adverse impacts, and requiring
compensatory mitigation for all unavoidable impacts that remain after avoidance and
minimization. If an activity is not water-dependent, practicable alternatives are
presumed to exist unless the applicant demonstrates otherwise. Section 279.11 (c)(4)
25
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includes a statement that under some circumstances the impact of a project may be
so significant that even if alternatives are not available, certification may be denied
regardless of the compensatory mitigation proposed.
Section 401 water-quality certification is a powerful tool to protect coastal wetlands.
When combined with the CMP federal and state consistency review process and the
various nonregulatory components of the CWCP, Section 401 certification will provide
comprehensive protection from activities in or near coastal wetlands. This approach
not only strengthens the state role in wetland protection, but also reduces duplication
of effort and coordinates permit review for applicants.
Texas Coastal Management Program
Background
Along with S.B. 1054, the Texas Legislature passed S.B. 1053, the Coastal
Management Plan for Beach Access, Preservation and Enhancement, in 1991. These
bills constituted the 1991 Texas Coastal Management Program (CMP) and provided
the authority and necessary jurisdictional basis for Texas to seek entry into the federal
Coastal Management Program.
Coastal Coordination Council. S.B. 1053 created the Coastal Coordination Council to
provide a forum for reviewing state, federal, and local actions for consistency with the
CMP. The council is composed of the commissioner of the GLO, who serves as chair,
the chair of the Parks and Wildlife Commission, a member of the Railroad Commission,
the chair of the TNRCC, the attorney general, and two members appointed by the
governor: a coastal elected official and a coastal citizen. At the request of the
governor, representatives from the Texas Water Development Board and the Texas
State Soil and Water Conservation Board have joined the council as nonvoting
members. With the approval of the 1995 Legislature, these boards will be full voting
members of the council. The council is intended to bring together all the agencies
with permit and review authority to assess major projects which may affect the Texas
coastal area. It will also act as an appeals board. For instance, if the staff of the GLO
or other agencies judge a project to be inconsistent with the CMP, then the land
commissioner or three other members of the council can request a consistency review
by the council.
Consistency Review. A key feature of the CMP is the consistency review process for
managing activities in the coastal area. The Coastal Coordination Act (TEX. NAT.
RES. CODE Chapter 33, Subchapter F) requires the council to review actions for
consistency with the CMP goals and policies. The Coastal Coordination Act also
26
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authorizes the council to remand, and ultimately to reverse, an action if the council
determines that the action is inconsistent with the goals and policies of the CMP. To
ensure that actions taken pursuant to agency rules are consistent with the goals and
policies, the council intends to rely primarily on the review and certification of agency
rules. Upon certification, an agency's rules become enforceable policies of the CMP.
The council reserves the ability to review only the agency's most significant actions.
Agencies will set thresholds to define significant actions. Before an agency takes an
action, the agency or the permit applicant can obtain "preliminary review" from the
council so that consistency questions can be fully evaluated and resolved before the
permit is issued. The federal Coastal Zone Management Act requires federal agencies
to ensure that their actions are consistent with the state policies as well.
Public Involvement. The general public, state and federal agencies, local
governments, regional agencies, and interest groups have been involved throughout
CMP development. Early in the CMP development phase, a Critical Area (coastal
wetlands) Work Group was organized to develop goals and policies for wetland
protection. The work group was cochaired by the TNRCC and GLO and consisted of
staff from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), the Office of the
Attorney General (OAG), the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC), the Texas Parks
and Wildlife Department, the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA), and the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). (See Appendix A for a list of
members.) The following management recommendations were drafted by the Critical
Area Work Group for review by other committees coordinating the implementation of
Coastal Coordination Council directives:
• The CMP should contain policies for minimizing adverse effects of coastal
activities on critical areas. The Critical Area Work Group defined adverse
effects and developed a list of coastal activities that could adversely affect
critical areas.
• Coastal wetlands should be defined according to the current federal
jurisdictional definition. The geographic scope of coastal wetlands should
follow TNRCC tidal segment boundaries and road boundaries in the Oil Spill
Prevention and Response Act of 1991.
• The goal for protection of critical areas should be "no net loss of functions and
values."
• Policies for critical areas should reflect the EPA Section 404(b)(1) guidelines
and other existing regulatory authorities.
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The Critical Area Work Group recommendations were eventually incorporated into the
section "Development in Critical Areas" (31 TAC §501.14 (h)) of the CMP policies for
minimizing adverse effects of coastal activities, and in definitions such as "adverse
effects" and "water dependency."
Several advisory committees, including state and federal agency task forces and focus
groups, were established to assist the council in developing the CMP by drafting
program components and policies and reviewing draft reports. Advisory committee
members served as liaisons between the government agencies or constituency groups
they represent and the council staff developing the CMP. Focus groups were
established to promote early participation in the CMP by the regulated community,
primary interest groups, and other groups potentially affected by the CMP. Members
of the state and federal agency task forces and interests represented by focus groups
are listed in Appendix B.
The Coastal Coordination Council held seven public hearings in coastal cities and one
in Austin during April and May 1994 to receive public comment on the proposed CMP
rules and the CMP document. The council revised the rules and the program
document in response to oral comments received from witnesses at the public
hearings and written comments.
Public meetings and workshops held in coastal cities have provided the general public
and interest groups with information about the CMP and wetlands. In November
1992, the GLO sponsored wetland workshops in Galveston and Corpus Christi. These
workshops concentrated on current regulations of activities in wetlands and featured
presentations by state and federal regulators. Additional wetland meetings focusing
on local, state, and federal wetland programs were held in Galveston and Corpus
Christi in November 1994.
Coastal Wetland Protection and the CMP
The CMP does not add new regulatory requirements for wetlands, but it is based
primarily on current regulations and authorities, such as the EPA Section 404(b)(1)
Guidelines and the TNRCC Section 401 water-quality certification.
Definitions. The following are terms used by the CMP that are pertinent to coastal
wetlands:
1. Adverse effects:
Effects that result in the physical destruction or detrimental alteration of
a CNRA. Such detrimental alterations are: . . .
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(B) alterations that interfere with public use and enjoyment of, or
access to and from, those CNRAs to which the public has a right of use,
enjoyment, or access; . . .
(D) alterations that harm the functions and values of CNRAs as
habitat for terrestrial and aquatic wildlife;
(E) alterations that disrupt wildlife corridors or fish or bird
migratory routes;
(F) discharges of pathogens, radioactive materials, dissolved
minerals or solids, toxic substances, or suspended solids at levels
harmful to humans or terrestrial or aquatic life or that significantly impair
the aesthetic qualities of CNRAs;
(G) alterations of salinity regimes, nutrient supply, oxygen
concentration, or temperature regimes in coastal waters that are harmful
to terrestrial or aquatic life;
(H) alterations of hydrology, water flow, circulation patterns,
water level, or surface drainage that are harmful to humans or terrestrial
or aquatic life, impair the aesthetic qualities of CNRAs, or exacerbate
erosion of shorelines or river deltas;
(I) alterations of littoral and sediment transport processes that
reduce the supply of sediments available to those processes or would
otherwise exacerbate erosion of shorelines or river deltas;
(J) alterations that increase losses of shore areas or other CNRAs
from a rise in sea level with respect to the surface of the land, whether
caused by actual sea-level rise or land surface subsidence; and
(K) emission of air pollutants at levels that are harmful to humans
or terrestrial or aquatic life or that significantly impair the aesthetic
qualities of CNRAs. (31 TAC 501.3(1))
2. Avoid and otherwise minimize:
To avoid adverse effects to the greatest extent practicable. Adverse
effects that cannot be avoided must then be minimized to the greatest
extent practicable. (31 TAC 501.3(2))
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3. Coastal natural resource areas (CNRAs): Areas that have significant economic,
recreational, cultural, geologic, or biologic features that are subject to existing
regulatory or management programs. These are waters in the open Gulf of Mexico,
waters under tidal influence, state submerged lands, private submerged lands, coastal
wetlands, submerged aquatic vegetation, tidal sand and mud flats, oyster reefs, hard
substrate reefs, coastal barriers, shore areas, Gulf beaches, critical dune areas, special
hazard areas, critical erosion areas, coastal historic areas, and coastal parks, wildlife
management areas, and preserves. The CMP is designed to address the principal
coastal problems of state concern by focusing on uses of and impacts to CNRAs.
4. Coastal wetlands:
[A]n area (including a swamp, marsh, bog, prairie pothole, or similar
area) having a predominance of hydric soils that are inundated or
saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency and duration
sufficient to support and that under normal circumstances supports the
growth and regeneration of hydrophytic vegetation. (TEX. WATER CODE
§11.502)
Wetlands as defined in the Texas Water Code, Chapter 11, Subchapter
J, that:
(A) lie seaward of the Coastal Facility Designation Line established
in § 19.2(a)(5)(D) of this title (relating to Oil Spill Prevention and
Response) pursuant to the Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act of
1991; or
(B) lie within rivers and streams to the inland extent of tidal
influence, as follows:
(i) Arroyo Colorado from Laguna Madre to 110 yards
downstream of Cemetery Road south of the Port of Harlingen;
(ii) Nueces River to the Calallen Dam;
(iii) Guadalupe River and associated riverine environment
including the Victoria Barge Canal to the Guadalupe-Blanco River
Authority Salt Water Barrier at 0.4 miles downstream of the confluence
with the San Antonio River;
(iv) Lavaca River to 5.3 miles downstream of US 59;
(v) Tres Palacios Creek to 1 mile upstream of confluence
with Wilson Creek;
(vi) Colorado River to 1.3 miles downstream of the Missouri
Pacific Railroad;
(vii) San Bernard River to 2 miles above the Highway 35
crossing;
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(viii) Chocolate Bayou to 2.6 miles below Highway 35;
(ix) Clear Creek to 110 yards upstream of FM 528;
(x) Buffalo Bayou (Houston Ship Channel) to 440 yards
upstream of Shepherd Drive in Harris County;
(xi) San Jacinto River to the Lake Houston dam;
(xii) Trinity River to Chambers County line;
(xiii) Cedar Bayou to 1.4 miles upstream of Interstate
Highway 10;
(xiv) Neches River to 7 miles upstream of Interstate
Highway 10;
(xv) Sabine River to Morgan Bluff; or
(C) within one mile from the mean high tide line of those rivers and
streams, except for the Trinity and Neches rivers. On the Trinity River,
the geographic scope includes wetlands between the mean high tide line
on the western shoreline to FM Road 565 and FM Road 1409 and
between the mean high tide line on the eastern shoreline to FM Road
563. On the Neches River, the geographic scope includes wetlands
within one mile from the mean high tide line on the western shoreline
and between the mean high tide line on the eastern shoreline and FM
Road 105. (31 TAC §501.3(b)(5)) (See map, p. 32.)
5. Critical areas:
CNRAs possessing special ecological characteristics of productivity,
habitat, wildlife protection, or other important and easily disrupted
ecological values that contribute significantly to the general
overallenvironmental health or vitality of the coastal ecosystem. Critical
areas are coastal wetlands, areas of submerged aquatic vegetation, tidal
sand and mudflats, oyster reefs, and hard substrate reefs. (31 TAC
5501.3(a)(8))
6. Cumulative adverse effects:
The collective adverse effects on CNRAs that, based on best available
data and information, can be anticipated to result from present,
proposed, and reasonably foreseeable activities. (31 TAC §501.3(a)(9))
31
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7. Practicable:
Available and capable of being done after taking into consideration
existing technology, cost, and logistics in light of the overall purpose of
the activity. While the individual circumstances of each case may result
in one factor being given more weight, no one of these factors shall be
analyzed independently in determining whether an alternative is
practicable. (31 TAC 5501.3(a>(11))
8. Secondary adverse effects
Adverse effects on CNRAs from an activity that, based on best available
data and information, can be anticipated to occur at some later point in
time or outside or beyond the site of the activity. (31 TAC
§501.3(a)(13))
9. Water-dependent use or facility:
An activity or facility that must be located in coastal waters or on state
submerged lands or private submerged lands or that must have direct
access to coastal waters in order to serve its basic purpose and function.
Facilities that are water-dependent include . . . public beach use and
access facilities, boat slips, docks, breakwaters, marinas, wharves and
other vessel loading or off-loading facilities, utility easements, boat
ramps, navigation channels and basins, bridges and bridge approaches,
revetments, shoreline protection structures, culverts, groins, saltwater
barriers, navigational aids, mooring pilings, simple access channels, fish
processing plants, boat construction and repair facilities, offshore
pipelines, and constructed wetlands below mean high water. Activities
that are water-dependent include . . . marine recreation (fishing,
swimming, boating, wildlife viewing), industrial uses dependent on
marine transportation or requiring large volumes of water that cannot be
obtained at inland sites, mariculture, exploration for and production of oil
and gas under coastal waters or submerged lands, and certain
meteorological and oceanographic activities. If a specific water-
dependent work or project is an essential component of a larger
development, that development is considered water-dependent. (31 TAC
§501.3(a)(14))
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Goals and Policies
The goals and policies are the uniform set of standards or rules which will govern
management of activities in the coastal area. The Coastal Coordination Act states
that actions that may adversely affect CNRAs must comply with the goals and policies
of the CMP. The goals of the CMP reflect the state's priorities in balancing
development with resource protection. Policies are divided into two categories. The
first category is comprised of policies governing specific activities that affect more
than one CNRA. This type of policy is mainly focused on the activity, with
consideration given to adverse effects on CNRAs. There are also activity-based
policies governing adverse effects on certain CNRAs caused by construction of
different types of infrastructure. The second category is comprised of policies based
for the protection of specific CNRAs that set performance standards based on impacts
to resources without consideration of the location of and the techniques employed
while undertaking the activity. The council will not apply the goals and policies in a
manner which would result in the taking, damage, or destruction of property, without
adequate compensation, by the council.
Goals. The goals upon which the CMP is based, all of which are applicable to coastal
wetland protection, are:
(1) to protect, preserve, restore, and enhance the diversity, quality,
quantity, functions, and values of coastal natural resource areas
(CNRAs);
(2) to ensure sound management of all coastal resources by allowing for
compatible economic development and multiple human uses of the
coastal area;
(3) to minimize loss of human life and property due to the impairment
and loss of protective features of CNRAs;
(4) to ensure and enhance planned public access to and enjoyment of the
coastal area in a manner that is compatible with private property rights
and other uses of the coastal area;
(5) to balance the benefits from economic development and multiple
human uses of the coastal area, the benefits from protecting, preserving,
restoring, and enhancing CNRAs, the benefits from minimizing loss of
human life and property, and the benefits from public access to and
enjoyment of the coastal area;
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(6) to coordinate agency and subdivision decision-making affecting
CNRAs by establishing clear, objective policies for the management of
CNRAs;
(7) to make agency and subdivision decision-making affecting CNRAs
efficient by identifying and addressing duplication and conflicts among
local, state, and federal regulatory and other programs for the
management of CNRAs;
(8) to make agency and subdivision decision-making affecting CNRAs
more effective by employing the most comprehensive, accurate, and
reliable information and scientific data available and by developing and
maintaining a coordinated, publicly accessible geographic information
system of maps of the coastal area and CNRAs at the earliest possible
date;
(9) to make coastal management processes visible, coherent, accessible,
and accountable to the people of Texas by providing for public
participation in the ongoing development and implementation of the
Texas CMP; and
(10) to educate the public about the principal coastal problems of state
concern and technology available for the protection and improved
management of CNRAs. (31 TAC §501.12(1 )-(10))
Policies for Specific Activities and Coastal Wetlands. The following are policies for
each of the activities subject to management that may be applicable to coastal
wetlands (CNRAs or critical areas).
(a) Construction of Electric Generating and Transmission Facilities.
(1) Construction of electric generating facilities and electric
transmission lines in the coastal area shall comply with the policies in
this subsection.
(A) New electric generating facilities shall, where
practicable, be located at previously developed sites. New electric
generating facilities at undeveloped sites shall be located so that future
expansion will avoid construction in critical areas ... to the greatest
extent practicable. . . .
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(C) Facilities shall be constructed at sites selected to have
the least adverse effects practicable on recreational uses of CNRAs and
on areas used for spawning, nesting, and seasonal migrations of. . . fish
and wildlife species.
(D) Electric transmission lines to or on Coastal Barrier
Resource System Units and Otherwise Protected Areas designated on
maps dated October 24, 1990, under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act,
16 United States Code Annotated, §3503, on coastal barriers shall:
(i) be located, where practicable, in existing rights-of-
way or previously disturbed areas if necessary to avoid or minimize
adverse effects; and
(ii) be located at sites at which future expansion shall
avoid construction in critical areas ... to the greatest extent practicable.
(2) The PUC shall comply with the policies in this subsection when
issuing certificates of convenience and necessity and adopting rules
under Texas Civil Statutes, Public Utility Regulatory Act, Article 1446c,
governing construction of electric generating facilities, electric
transmission lines, and associated facilities in the coastal area.
(b) Construction, Operation, and Maintenance of Oil and Gas
Exploration and Production Facilities.
(1) Oil and gas exploration and production on state submerged
lands shall comply with the policies in this subsection.
(A) In or near critical areas, facilities shall be located and
operated and geophysical and other operations shall be located and
conducted in such a manner as to avoid and minimize adverse effects,
including those from the disposal of solid waste and disturbance
resulting from the operation of vessels and wheeled or tracked vehicles,
whether on areas under lease, easement, or permit or on or across
access routes thereto. Where practicable, buffer zones for critical areas
shall be established and directional drilling or other methods to avoid
disturbance, such as pooling or unitization, shall be employed.
(B) Lessees, easement holders, and permittees shall
construct facilities in a manner that avoids impoundment or draining of
coastal wetlands if practicable, and shall mitigate any adverse effects on
36
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coastal wetlands impounded or drained in accordance with the
sequencing requirements in this subsection [§501.14(h)].
(C) Upon completion or cessation of operations, lessees,
easement holders, and permittees shall remove facilities and restore any
significantly degraded areas to pre-project conditions as closely as
practicable, unless facilities can be used for maintenance or
enhancement of CNRAs or unless restoration activities would further
degrade CNRAs. . . .
(3) The GLO and SLB shall comply with the policies in this
subsection when approving oil, gas, and other mineral lease plans of
operation and granting surface leases, easements, and permits and
adopting rules under Texas Natural Resources Code, Chapters 32, 33,
and 51-53, governing oil and gas exploration and production on state
submerged lands and private submerged lands.
(c) Discharge of Wastewater and Disposal of Waste from Oil and
Gas Exploration and Production Activities.
<1) Disposal of oil and gas waste in the coastal area shall comply
with the policies in this subsection.
(A) No new commercial oil and gas waste disposal pit shall
be located in any CNRA.
(B) Oil and gas waste disposal pits shall be designed to
prevent releases of pollutants that adversely affect coastal waters or
critical areas.
(2) Discharge of oil and gas exploration and production
wastewater in the coastal area shall comply with the following policies.
(A) All discharges shall comply with all provisions of surface
water quality standards established by the TNRCC under subsection (f)
of this section.
(B) To the greatest extent practicable, new wastewater
outfalls shall be located where the discharge will not adversely affect
critical areas. Existing wastewater outfalls that adversely affect critical
areas shall be either discontinued or relocated so as not to adversely
affect critical areas within two years of the effective date of this section.
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(C) The RRC shall notify the TNRCC and the TPWD upon
receipt of an application for a new permit to discharge produced waters
to waters under tidal influence. In determining compliance with the
policies in this subsection, the RRC shall consider the effects of salinity
from the discharge.
(3) The RRC shall comply with the policies in this subsection when
issuing permits and adopting rules under Texas Natural Resources Code,
Chapter 91, for oil and gas waste and under Texas Water Code, Chapter
26, and Texas Natural Resources Code, Chapter 91, for oil and gas
wastewater discharges.
(d) Construction and Operation of Solid Waste Treatment. Storage,
and Disposal Facilities.
(1) Construction and operation of solid waste facilities in the
coastal area shall comply with the policies in this subsection. This
subsection applies to both new facilities and areal expansion of existing
facilities.
(A) A landfill at which hazardous waste is received for a fee
shall not be located in a critical area ... or a 100-year floodplain of a
perennial stream, delineated on a flood map adopted by the federal
Emergency Management Agency after September 1, 1985, as zone A1-
99, VO, or V1-30. This provision shall not apply to any facility for
which a notice of intent to file an application, or an application, has been
filed with the TNRCC as of September 1, 1985. . . .
(C) Hazardous waste storage or processing facilities, land
treatment facilities, waste piles, storage surface impoundments, and
landfills shall not be located within 1,000 feet of an area subject to
active coastal shoreline erosion, if the area is protected by a barrier
island or peninsula, unless the design, construction, and operational
features of the facility will prevent adverse effects resulting from storm
surge and erosion or scouring by water. On coastal shorelines which are
subject to active shoreline erosion and which are unprotected by a barrier
island or peninsula, a separation distance from the shoreline to the
facility must be at least 5,000 feet, unless the design, construction, and
operational features of the facility will prevent adverse effects resulting
from storm surge and erosion or scouring by water. . . .
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(E) Hazardous waste storage or processing facilities, land
treatment facilities, waste piles, storage surface impoundments, and
landfills shall not be located in coastal wetlands, or in any CNRA that is
the critical habitat of an endangered species of plant or animal unless the
design, construction, and operation features of the facility will prevent
adverse effects on the critical habitat of the endangered species.
(F) Hazardous waste land treatment facilities, waste piles,
storage surface impoundments, and landfills shall not be located on
coastal barriers.
(G) Hazardous waste landfills are prohibited if there is a
practical, economic, and feasible alternative to such a landfill that is
reasonably available to manage the types and classes of hazardous
waste which might be disposed at the landfill.
(H) The TNRCC shall not issue a permit for a new hazardous
waste management facility or the areal expansion of an existing
hazardous waste facility unless it finds that the proposed site, when
evaluated in light of proposed design, construction, and operational
features, reasonably minimizes possible contamination of coastal waters.
(I) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to require
issuance of a permit notwithstanding a finding that the proposed facility
would satisfy the requirements of subparagraph (H) of this paragraph and
notwithstanding the absence of site characteristics which would
disqualify the site from permitting pursuant to subparagraphs (A)-(G) of
this paragraph.
(J) New solid waste facilities and areal expansion of existing
solid waste facilities shall be sited, designed, constructed, and operated
to prevent releases of pollutants that may adversely affect CNRAs and,
at a minimum, comply with standards established under the Solid Waste
Disposal Act, 42 United States Code Annotated, §6901, et seq.
(2) The TNRCC shall comply with the policies in this subsection
when issuing permits and adopting rules under Texas Health and Safety
Code, Chapter 361.
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(e) Prevention, Response, and Remediation of Oil Spills.
(1) The GLO regulations governing prevention of, response to, and
remediation of coastal oil spills shall provide for measures to prevent
coastal oil spills and to ensure adequate response and removal actions.
The GLO regulations for certification of vessels and facilities that handle
oil shall be designed to ensure that vessels and facilities are capable of
prompt response and adequate removal of unauthorized discharges of oil.
The GLO regulations adopted pursuant to the Oil Spill Prevention and
Response Act (OSPRA), Texas Natural Resources Code, Chapter 40,
shall be consistent with the State Coastal Discharge Contingency Plan
adopted pursuant to OSPRA; and the National Contingency Plan adopted
pursuant to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, 33 United States
Code Annotated, Chapter 26.
(2) Natural Resource Damage Assessment. GLO rules under
OSPRA governing the assessment of damages to natural resources
injured as the result of an unauthorized discharge of oil into coastal
waters shall provide for reasonable and rational procedures for assessing
damages and shall take into account the unique circumstances of the
spill incident. The costs of assessing the damages shall not be
disproportionate to the value of the injured resources. Plans for the
restoration, rehabilitation, replacement or acquisition of equivalent
resources shall provide for participation by the public and shall be
designed to promote the restoration of the injured resources with all
deliberate speed. The GLO rules shall be consistent with other state
rules and policies and with the CMP goals and policies.
(f) Discharge of Municipal and Industrial Wastewater to Coastal
Waters.
(1) TNRCC rules shall:
(A) comply with the requirements of the Clean Water Act,
33 United States Code Annotated, §1251 et seq., and implementing
regulations at Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40, which include
establishing surface water quality standards in order to protect
designated uses of coastal waters, including the protection of uses for
water supply, recreational purposes, and propagation and protection of
terrestrial and aquatic life, and establishing water-quality-based effluent
limits, including toxicity monitoring and specific toxicity or chemical
limits as necessary to protect designated uses of coastal waters;
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(B) provide for the assessment of coastal water quality on
a watershed basis once every two years as required by the Texas Water
Code, §26.0135(d);
(C) to the greatest extent practicable, provide that all
permits for the discharge of wastewater within a given watershed or
region of a single watershed contain the same expiration date in order to
evaluate the combined effects of permitted discharges on water quality
within that watershed or region;
(D) identify and rank waters that are not attaining
designated uses and establish total maximum daily pollutant loads in
accordance with those rankings; and
(E) require that increases in pollutant loads to coastal waters
shall not:
(i) impair designated uses of coastal waters; or
(ii) result in degradation of coastal waters that exceed
fishable/swimmable quality except in cases where lowering coastal water
quality is necessary for important economic or social development.
(2) Discharge of municipal and industrial wastewater in the coastal
area shall comply with the following policies.
(A) Discharges shall comply with water-quality-based
effluent limits.
(B) Discharges that increase pollutant loadings to coastal
waters shall not impair designated uses of coastal waters and shall not
significantly degrade coastal water quality unless necessary for important
economic or social development.
(C) To the greatest extent practicable, new wastewater
outfalls shall be located where they will not adversely affect critical
areas.
(3) The TNRCC shall comply with the policies in this subsection
when adopting rules and authorizing wastewater discharges under Texas
Water Code, Chapter 26. . . .
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(g) Nonpoint Source (NPS) Water Pollution.
(1) State agencies and subdivisions with authority to manage
nonpoint source pollution shall cooperate in the development and
implementation of a coordinated program to reduce NPS in order to
restore and protect coastal waters.
(2) In an area that the TSSWCB identifies as having or having the
potential to develop agricultural or silvicultural NPS water quality
problems or an area within the "coastal zone" designated by the council,
the TSSWCB shall establish a water quality management plan
certification program that provides, through the local soil and water
conservation district, for the development, supervision, and monitoring
of voluntary individual water quality management plans for agricultural
and silvicultural lands. Each plan must be developed, maintained, and
implemented under rules and criteria adopted by the TSSWCB and
comply with state water quality standards established by the TNRCC.
The TSSWCB's rules shall certify a plan that satisfies the TSSWCB rules
and criteria and complies with state water quality standards established
by the TNRCC. This policy is not intended, nor shall it be interpreted, to
require the TSSWCB to establish non-voluntary requirements for the
development, maintenance, or implementation of individual water quality
management plans.
(3) TNRCC rules under Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter
366, governing on-site sewage disposal systems, and TNRCC rules under
Texas Water Code, Chapter 26, Subchapter I, governing underground
storage tanks, shall require that on-site disposal systems and
underground storage tanks be located, designed, operated, inspected,
and maintained so as to prevent releases of pollutants that may
adversely affect coastal waters.
(4) This policy shall not be interpreted or applied so as to require
that either a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
permit for stormwater discharges issued under the Clean Water Act,
§402(p), or an NPDES permit for a concentrated animal feeding
operation, requiring no discharge up to and including a 25-year, 24-hour
frequency storm, provide additional NPS pollution control measures in
addition to those required in the permit.
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(h) Development in Critical Areas.
(1) Dredging and construction of structures in, or the discharge of
dredged or fill material into, critical areas shall comply with the policies
in this subsection. In implementing this subsection, cumulative and
secondary adverse effects of these activities will be considered.
(A) The policies in this subsection shall be applied in a
manner consistent with the goal of achieving no net loss of critical area
functions and values.
(B) Persons proposing development in critical areas shall
demonstrate that no practicable alternative with fewer adverse effects
is available.
(i) The person proposing the activity shall
demonstrate that the activity is water-dependent. If the activity is not
water-dependent, practicable alternatives with fewer adverse effects are
presumed to exist, unless the person clearly demonstrates otherwise.
(ii) The analysis of alternatives shall be conducted in
light of the activity's overall purpose.
(iii) Alternatives may include different operation or
maintenance techniques or practices or a different location, design,
configuration, or size.
(C) In evaluating practicable alternatives, the following
sequence shall be applied:
(i) Adverse effects on critical areas shall be avoided
to the greatest extent practicable.
(ii) Unavoidable adverse effects shall be minimized to
the greatest extent practicable by limiting the degree or magnitude of the
activity and its implementation.
(iii) Appropriate and practicable compensatory
mitigation shall be required to the greatest extent practicable for all
adverse effects that cannot be avoided or minimized.
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(D) Compensatory mitigation includes restoring adversely
affected critical areas or replacing adversely affected critical areas by
creating new critical areas. Compensatory mitigation should be
undertaken, when practicable, in areas adjacent or contiguous to the
affected critical areas (on-site). If on-site compensatory mitigation is not
practicable, compensatory mitigation should be undertaken in close
physical proximity to the affected critical areas if practicable and in the
same watershed if possible (off-site). Compensatory mitigation should
also attempt to replace affected critical areas with critical areas with
characteristics identical to or closely approximating those of the affected
critical areas (in-kind). The preferred order of compensatory mitigation
is:
(i) on-site, in-kind;
(ii) off-site, in-kind;
(iii) on-site, out-of-kind; and
(iv) off-site, out-of-kind.
(E) Mitigation banking is acceptable compensatory
mitigation if use of the mitigation bank has been approved by the agency
authorizing the development and mitigation credits are available for
withdrawal. Preservation through acquisition for public ownership of
unique critical areas or other ecologically important areas may be
acceptable compensatory mitigation in exceptional circumstances.
Examples of this include areas of high priority for preservation or
restoration, areas whose functions and values are difficult to replicate,
or areas not adequately protected by regulatory programs. Acquisition
will normally be allowed only in conjunction with preferred forms of
compensatory mitigation.
(F) In determining compensatory mitigation requirements,
the impaired functions and values of the affected critical area shall be
replaced on a one-to-one ratio. Replacement of functions and values on
a one-to-one ratio may require restoration or replacement of the physical
area affected on a ratio higher than one-to-one. While no net loss of
critical area functions and values is the goal, it is not required in
individual cases where mitigation is not practicable or would result in
only inconsequential environmental benefits. It is also important to
recognize that there are circumstances where the adverse effects of the
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activity are so significant that, even if alternatives are not available, the
activity may not be permitted regardless of the compensatory mitigation
proposed.
(G) Development in critical areas shall not be authorized if
significant degradation of critical areas will occur. Significant
degradation occurs if:
(i) the activity will jeopardize the continued existence
of species listed as endangered or threatened, or will result in likelihood
of the destruction or adverse modification of a habitat determined to be
a critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act, 16 United States
Code Annotated, §§1531-1544;
(ii) the activity will cause or contribute, after
consideration of dilution and dispersion, to violation of any applicable
surface water quality standards established under subsection (f) of this
section;
(iii) the activity violates any applicable toxic effluent
standard or prohibition established under subsection (f) of this section;
(iv) the activity violates any requirement imposed to
protect a marine sanctuary designated under Title III of the Marine
Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972, United States Code
Annotated, Chapter 27; or
(v) taking into account the nature and degree of all
identifiable adverse effects, including their persistence, permanence,
areal extent, and the degree to which these effects will have been
mitigated pursuant to subparagraphs (C) and (D) of this subsection, the
activity will, individually or collectively, cause or contribute to significant
adverse effects on:
(I) human health and welfare, including effects
on water supplies, plankton, benthos, fish, shellfish, wildlife, and
consumption of fish and wildlife;
(II) the life stages of aquatic life and other
wildlife dependent on aquatic ecosystems, including the transfer,
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concentration, or spread of pollutants or their byproducts beyond the site, or
their introduction into an ecosystem, through biological, physical, or chemical
processes;
(III) ecosystem diversity, productivity, and
stability, including loss of fish and wildlife habitat or loss of the capacity
of a coastal wetland to assimilate nutrients, purify water, or reduce wave
energy; or
(IV) generally accepted recreational, aesthetic
or economic values of the critical area which are of exceptional character
and importance.
(2) The TNRCC and the RRC shall comply with the policies in this
subsection when issuing certifications and adopting rules under Texas
Water Code, Chapter 26, and the Texas Natural Resources Code,
Chapter 91, governing certification of compliance with surface water
quality standardsfor federal actions and permits authorizing development
affecting critical areas; provided that activities exempted from the
requirement for a permit for the discharge of dredged or fill material,
described in Code of Federal Regulations, Title 33, §323.4 and/or Code
of Federal Regulations, Title 40, §232.3, including but not limited to
normal farming, silviculture, and ranching activities, such as plowing,
seeding, cultivating, minor drainage, and harvesting for the production
of food, fiber, and forest products, or upland soil and water conservation
practices, shall not be considered activities for which a certification is
required. The GLO and the SLB shall comply with the policies in this
subsection when approving oil, gas, or other mineral lease plans of
operation or granting surface leases, easements, and permits and
adopting rules under Texas Natural Resources Code, Chapters 32, 33,
and 51-53, and Texas Water Code, Chapter 61, governing development
affecting critical areas on state submerged lands and private submerged
lands, and when issuing approvals and adopting rules under Texas Civil
Statutes, Article 5421 u, for mitigation banks operated by subdivisions
of the state.
(3) Agencies required to comply with this subsection will
coordinate with one another and with federal agencies when evaluating
alternatives, determining appropriate and practicable mitigation, and
assessing significant degradation. Those agencies' rules governing
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authorizations for development in critical areas shall require a
demonstration that the requirements of paragraph (1)(A)-(G) of this
subsection have been satisfied.
(4) For any dredging or construction of structures in, or discharge
of dredged or fill material into, critical areas that is subject to the
requirements of §501.15 of this title (relating to Policy for Major
Actions), data and information on the practicability of alternatives need
not be produced or evaluated to comply with this subsection if such data
and information is produced and evaluated in compliance with
§501.15(b)(6) of this title (relating to Policy for Major Actions).
(i) Construction of Waterfront Facilities and Other Structures on
State Submerged Lands and Private Submerged Lands.
(1) Development on state submerged lands and private submerged
lands shall comply with the policies in this subsection.
(A) Marinas shall be designed and, to the greatest extent
practicable, sited so that tides and currents will aid in flushing of the site
or renew its water regularly.
(B) Marinas designed for anchorage of private vessels shall
provide facilities for the collection of waste, refuse, trash, and debris.
(C) Marinas with the capacity for long-term anchorage of
more than ten vessels shall provide pump-out facilities for marine toilets,
or other such measures or facilities that provide an equal or better level
of water quality protection.
(D) Marinas, docks, piers, wharves and other structures
shall be designed and, to the greatest extent practicable, sited to avoid
and otherwise minimize adverse effects on critical areas from boat traffic
to and from those structures.
(E) Construction of docks, piers, wharves, and other
structures shall be preferred instead of authorizing dredging of channels
or basins or filling of submerged lands to provide access to coastal
waters if such construction is practicable, environmentally preferable,
and will not interfere with commercial navigation.
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(F) Piers, docks, wharves, bulkheads, jetties, groins, fishing
cabins, and artificial reefs (including artificial reefs for compensatory
mitigation) shall be limited to the minimum size necessary to serve the
project purpose and shall be constructed in a manner that:
(i) does not significantly interfere with public
navigation;
(ii) does not significantly interfere with the natural
coastal processes which supply sediments to shore areas or otherwise
exacerbate erosion of shore areas; and
(iiij avoids, where practicable, and minimizes shading
of critical areas and other adverse effects.
(G) Facilities shall be located at sites or designed and
constructed to the greatest extent practicable to avoid and minimize the
potential for adverse effects from:
(i) construction and maintenance of other
development associated with the facility;
(ii) direct release to coastal waters and critical areas
of pollutants from oil or hazardous substance spills or stormwater runoff;
and
(iii) deposition of airborne pollutants in coastal waters
and critical areas.
(H) Where practicable, pipelines, transmission lines, cables,
roads, causeways, and bridges shall be located in existing rights-of-way
or previously disturbed areas if necessary to avoid or minimize adverse
effects and if it does not result in unreasonable risks to human health,
safety, and welfare.
(I) To the extent practicable, construction of facilities shall
occur at sites and times selected to have the least adverse effects on
recreational uses of CNRAs and on spawning or nesting seasons or
seasonal migrations of terrestrial and aquatic wildlife.
(J) Facilities shall be located at sites which avoid the
impoundment and draining of coastal wetlands. If impoundment or
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draining cannot be avoided, adverse effects to the impounded or drained
wetlands shall be mitigated in accordance with the sequencing
requirements of subsection (h) of this section. To the greatest extent
practicable, facilities shall be located at sites at which expansion will not
result in development in critical areas.
(K) Where practicable, piers, docks, wharves, bulkheads,
jetties, groins, fishing cabins, and artificial reefs shall be constructed
with materials that will not cause any adverse effects on coastal waters
or critical areas.
(L) Developed sites shall be returned as closely as
practicable to pre-project conditions upon completion or cessation of
operations by the removal of facilities and restoration of any significantly
degraded areas, unless:
(i) the facilities can be used for public purposes or
contribute to the maintenance or enhancement of coastal water quality,
critical areas, beaches, state submerged lands, or shore areas; or
(ii) restoration activities would further degrade
CNRAs.
(M) Water-dependent uses and facilities shall receive
preference over those uses and facilities that are not water-dependent.
(N) Nonstructural erosion response methods such as beach
nourishment, sediment bypassing, nearshore sediment berms, and
planting of vegetation shall be preferred instead of structural erosion
response methods.
(0) Major residential and recreational waterfront facilities
shall to the greatest extent practicable accommodate public access to
coastal waters and preserve the public's ability to enjoy the natural
aesthetic values of coastal submerged lands.
(P) Activities on state submerged land and private submerged land
shall avoid and otherwise minimize any significant interference with the public's
use of and access to such lands.
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(2) To the extent applicable to the public beach, the policies in this
subsection are supplemental to any further restrictions or requirements
relating to the beach access and use rights of the public.
(3) The GLO and SLB, in governing development on state
submerged lands, shall comply with the policies in this subsection when
approving oil, gas, and other mineral lease plans of operation and
granting surface leases, easements, and permits and adopting rules
under the Texas Natural Resources Code, Chapters 32, 33, and 51-53,
and Texas Water Code, Chapter 61.
(j) Dredging and Dredged Material Disposal and Placement.
(1) Dredging and the disposal and placement of dredged material
shall avoid and minimize adverse effects to coastal waters, state
submerged lands, private submerged lands, critical areas, coastal shore
areas, and Gulf beaches to the greatest extent practicable. The policies
of this subsection are supplemental to any further restrictions or
requirements relating to the beach access and use rights of the public.
In implementing this subsection, cumulative and secondary adverse
effects of dredging and the disposal and placement of dredged material
and the unique characteristics of affected sites shall be considered.
(A) Dredging and dredged material disposal and placement
shall not cause or contribute, after consideration of dilution and
dispersion, to violation of any applicable surface water quality standards
established under subsection (f) of this section.
(B) Except as otherwise provided in subparagraph (D) of this
paragraph, adverse effects on critical areas from dredging and dredged
material disposal or placement shall be avoided and otherwise minimized,
and appropriate and practicable compensatory mitigation shall be
required, in accordance with subsection (h) of this section.
(C) Except as provided in subparagraph (D) of this
paragraph, dredging and the disposal and placement of dredged material
shall not be authorized if:
(i) there is a practicable alternative that would have
fewer adverse effects on coastal waters, state submerged lands, private
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submerged lands, critical areas, coastal shore areas, and Gulf beaches,
so long as that alternative does not have other significant adverse
effects;
(ii) all appropriate and practicable steps have not been
taken to minimize adverse effects on coastal waters, state submerged
lands, private submerged lands, critical areas, coastal shore areas, and
Gulf beaches; or
(iii) significant degradation of critical areas under
subsection (h)(1)(G)(v) of this section would result.
(D) A dredging or dredged material disposal or placement
project that would be prohibited solely by application of subparagraph (C)
of this paragraph may be allowed if it is determined to be of overriding
importance to the public and national interest in light of economic
impacts on navigation and maintenance of commercially navigable
waterways.
(2) Adverse effects from dredging and dredged material disposal
and placement shall be avoided and minimized as required in paragraph
(1) of this subsection. Adverse effects can be avoided and minimized by
employing the techniques in this paragraph where appropriate and
practicable.
(A) Adverse effects from dredging and dredged material
disposal and placement can be avoided and minimized by controlling the
location and dimensions of the activity. Some of the ways to
accomplish this include:
(i) locating and confining discharges to minimize
smothering of organisms;
(ii) locating and designing projects to avoid adverse
disruption of water inundation patterns, water circulation, erosion and
accretion processes, and other hydrodynamic processes;
(iii) using existing or natural channels and basins
instead of dredging new channels or basins, and discharging materials in
areas that have been previously disturbed or used for disposal or
placement of dredged material;
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(iv) limiting the dimensions of channels, basins, and
disposal and placement sites to the minimum reasonably required to
serve the project purpose, including allowing for reasonable overdredging
of channels and basins, and taking into account the need for capacity to
accommodate future expansion without causing additional adverse
effects;
(v) discharging materials at sites where the substrate
is composed of material similar to that being discharged;
(vi) locating and designing discharges to minimize the
extent of any plume and otherwise control dispersion of material; and
(vii) avoiding the impoundment or drainage of critical
areas.
(B) Dredging and disposal and placement of material to be
dredged shall comply with applicable standards for sediment toxicity.
Adverse effects from constituents contained in materials discharged can
be avoided and minimized by treatment of or limitations on the material
itself. Some ways to accomplish this include:
(i) disposal or placement of dredged material in a
manner that maintains physicochemical conditions at discharge sites and
limits or reduces the potency and availability of pollutants;
(ii) limiting the solid, liquid, and gaseous components
of material discharged;
(iii) adding treatment substances to the discharged
material; and
(iv) adding chemical flocculants to enhance the
deposition of suspended particulates in confined disposal areas.
(C) Adverse effects from dredging and dredged material
disposal or placement can be avoided and minimized through control of
the materials discharged. Some ways of accomplishing this include:
(i) use of containment levees and sediment basins
designed, constructed, and maintained to resist breaches, erosion,
slumping, or leaching;
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(ii) use of lined containment areas to reduce leaching
where leaching of chemical constituents from the material is expected
to be a problem;
(iii) capping in place contaminated material or,
selectively discharging the most contaminated material first and then
capping it with the remaining material;
(iv) properly containing discharged material and
maintaining discharge sites to prevent point and nonpoint pollution; and
(v) timing the discharge to minimize adverse effects
from unusually high water flows, wind, wave, and tidal actions.
(D) Adverse effects from dredging and dredged material
disposal or placement can be avoided and minimized by controlling the
manner in which material is dispersed. Some ways of accomplishing this
include:
(i) where environmentally desirable, distributing the
material in a thin layer;
(ii) orienting material to minimize undesirable
obstruction of the water current or circulation patterns;
(iii) using silt screens or other appropriate methods to
confine suspended particulates or turbidity to a small area where settling
or removal can occur;
(iv) using currents and circulation patterns to mix,
disperse, dilute, or otherwise control the discharge;
(v) minimizing turbidity by using a diffuser system or
releasing material near the bottom;
(vi) selecting sites or managing discharges to confine
and minimize the release of suspended particulates and turbidity and
maintain light penetration for organisms; and
(vii) setting limits on the amount of material to be
discharged per unit of time or volume of receiving waters.
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(E) Adverse effects from dredging and dredged material
disposal or placement operations can be avoided and minimized by
adapting technology to the needs of each site. Some ways of
accomplishing this include:
(i) using appropriate equipment, machinery, and
operating techniques for access to sites and transport of material,
including those designed to reduce damage to critical areas;
(ii) having personnel on site adequately trained in
avoidance and minimization techniques and requirements; and
(iii) designing temporary and permanent access roads
and channel spanning structures using culverts, open channels, and
diversions that will pass both low and high water flows, accommodate
fluctuating water levels, and maintain circulation and faunal movement.
(F) Adverse effects on plant and animal populations from
dredging and dredged material disposal or placement can be avoided and
minimized by:
(i) avoiding changes in water current and circulation
patterns that would interfere with the movement of animals;
(ii) selecting sites or managing discharges to prevent
or avoid creating habitat conducive to the development of undesirable
predators or species that have a competitive edge ecologically over
indigenous plants or animals;
(iii) avoiding sites having unique habitat or other
value, including habitat of endangered species;
(iv) using planning and construction practices to
institute habitat development and restoration to produce a new or
modified environmental state of higher ecological value by displacement
of some or all of the existing environmental characteristics;
(v) using techniques that have been demonstrated to
be effective in circumstances similar to those under consideration
whenever possible and, when proposed development and restoration
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techniques have not yet advanced to the pilot demonstration stage,
initiating their use on a small scale to allow corrective action if
unanticipated adverse effects occur;
(vi) timing dredging and dredged material disposal or
placement activities to avoid spawning or migration seasons and other
biologically critical time periods; and
(vii) avoiding the destruction of remnant natural sites
within areas already affected by development.
(G) Adverse effects on human use potential from dredging
and dredged material disposal or placement can be minimized by:
(i) selecting sites and following procedures to prevent
or minimize any potential damage to the aesthetically pleasing features
of the site, particularly with respect to water quality;
(ii) selecting sites which are not valuable as natural
aquatic areas;
(iii) timing dredging and dredged material disposal or
placement activities to avoid the seasons or periods when human
recreational activity associated with the site is most important; and
(iv) selecting sites that will not increase incompatible
human activity or require frequent dredge or fill maintenance activity in
remote fish and wildlife areas.
(H) Adverse effects from new channels and basins can be
avoided and minimized by locating them at sites:
(i) that ensure adequate flushing and avoid stagnant
pockets;
(ii) that will create the fewest practicable adverse
effects on CNRAs from additional infrastructure such as roads, bridges,
causeways, piers, docks, wharves, transmission line crossings, and
ancillary channels reasonably likely to be constructed as a result of the
project; and
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(iii) with the least practicable risk that increased
vessel traffic could result in navigation hazards, spills, or other forms of
contamination which could adversely affect CNRAs.
(iv) provided that, for any dredging of new channels
or basins subject to the requirements of §501.15 of this title (relating to
Policy for Major Actions), data and information on minimization of
secondary adverse effects need not be produced or evaluated to comply
with this subparagraph if such data and information is produced and
evaluated in compliance with §501.15(b)(1) of this title (relating to
Policy for Major Actions).
(3) Disposal or placement of dredged material in existing contained
dredge disposal sites identified and actively used as described in an
environmental assessment or environmental impact statement issued
prior to the effective date of this chapter shall be presumed to comply
with the requirements of paragraph (1) of this subsection unless modified
in design, size, use, or function.
(4) All suitable dredged material from commercially navigable
waterways is a potentially reusable resource and must be used
beneficially to the greatest extent practicable. Other dredged material
should be considered a potentially reusable resource to be used
beneficially.
(A) Factors that shall be considered in determining whether
a beneficial use project is appropriate include:
(i) the environmental gains and losses that will result;
(ii) the proximity of the beneficial use site to the
dredge site; and
(iii) the quality of the dredged material and its
suitability for beneficial use.
(B) Examples of the beneficial use of dredged material
include, but are not limited to:
(i) projects designed to reduce or minimize erosion or
provide shoreline protection;
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(iij projects designed to create or enhance public
beaches or recreational areas;
(iii) projects designed to benefit the sediment budget
or littoral system;
(iv) projects designed to improve or maintain
terrestrial or aquatic wildlife habitat;
(v) projects designed to create new terrestrial or
aquatic wildlife habitat, including the construction of marshlands, coastal
wetlands, or other critical areas;
(vi) projects designed and demonstrated to benefit
benthic communities or aquatic vegetation;
(vii) projects designed to create parks, airports, or
other public facilities;
(viii) projects designed to cap landfills or other waste
disposal areas;
(ix) projects designed to fill private property or
upgrade agricultural land, if cost-effective public beneficial uses are not
available; and
(x) projects designed to remediate past adverse
impacts on the coastal area.
(5) If dredged material cannot be used beneficially as provided in
paragraph (4) of this subsection, to avoid and minimize adverse effects
as required in paragraph (1) of this subsection preference will be given
to the greatest extent practicable to disposal in:
(A) contained upland sites;
(B) other contained sites; and
(C) open water areas of relatively low productivity or low
biological value.
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(6) For new sites, dredged materials shall not be disposed of or
placed directly on the boundaries of coastal public submerged lands or
at such location so as to slump or migrate across the boundaries of state
submerged lands in the absence of an agreement between the affected
public owner and the adjoining private owner or owners that defines the
location of the boundary or boundaries affected by the deposition of the
dredged material.
(7) Emergency dredging shall be allowed without a prior
consistency determination as required in the applicable consistency rule
when:
(A) there is an unacceptable hazard to life or navigation;
(B) there is an immediate threat of significant loss of
property; or
(C) an immediate and unforeseen significant economic
hardship is likely if corrective action is not taken within a time period less
than the normal time needed under standard procedures. The council
secretary shall be notified at least 24 hours prior to commencement of
any emergency dredging operation by the agency or entity responding to
the emergency. The notice shall include a statement demonstrating the
need for emergency action. Prior to initiation of the dredging operations
the project sponsor or permit-issuing agency shall, if possible, meet with
council's designated representatives to ensure consideration of and
consistency with applicable policies in this section. Compliance with all
applicable policies in this section shall be required at the earliest possible
date. The permit-issuing agency and the applicant shall submit a
consistency determination within 60 days after the emergency operation
is complete.
(8) Mining of sand, shell, marl, gravel, and mudshell on state
submerged lands and private submerged lands is prohibited unless there
is an affirmative showing of no significant impact on erosion within the
coastal area and no significant adverse effect on coastal water quality
or terrestrial and aquatic wildlife habitat within any CNRA.
(9) The GLO and SLB shall comply with the policies in this
subsection when approving oil, gas, and other mineral lease plans of
operation and granting surface leases, easements, and permits and
adopting rules under Texas Natural Resources Code, Chapters 32, 33,
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and 51-53, and Texas Water Code, Chapter 61, for dredging and
dredged material disposal and placement. TxDOT shall comply with the
policies in this section when adopting rules and taking actions as local
sponsor of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway under Texas Civil Statutes,
Article 5415e-2. The TNRCC and the RRC shall comply with the policies
in this subsection when issuing certifications and adopting rules under
Texas Water Code, Chapter 26, and Texas Natural Resources Code,
Chapter 91, governing certification of compliance with surface water
quality standards for federal actions and permits authorizing dredging or
the discharge or placement of dredged material. The TPWD shall comply
with the policies in this subsection when adopting rules at Chapter 57
of this title (relating to Fisheries) governing dredging and dredged
material disposal and placement. The TPWD shall comply with the
policies in paragraph (8) of this subsection when adopting rules and
issuing permits under Texas Parks and Wildlife Code, Chapter 86,
governing the mining of sand, shell, marl, gravel, and mudshell. . . .
(m) Development Within Coastal Barrier Resource System Units
and Otherwise Protected Areas on Coastal Barriers.
(1) Development of new infrastructure or major repair of existing
infrastructure within or supporting development within Coastal Barrier
Resource System Units and Otherwise Protected Areas designated on
maps dated October 24, 1990, under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act,
16 United States Code Annotated 3503(a) shall comply with the policies
in this subsection.
(A) Development of publicly funded infrastructure shall be
authorized only if it is essential for public health, safety, and welfare,
enhances public use, or is required by law.
(B) Infrastructure shall be located at sites at which future
expansion will not require development in critical areas, critical dunes.
Gulf beaches, and washover areas within Coastal Barrier Resource
System Units or Otherwise Protected Areas.
(C) Infrastructure shall be located at sites that to the
greatest extent practicable avoid and minimize the potential for adverse
effects on critical areas, critical dunes, Gulf beaches and washover areas
within Coastal Barrier Resource System Units or Otherwise Protected
Areas from:
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(i) construction and maintenance of roads, bridges,
and causeways; and
(ii) direct release to coastal waters, critical areas,
critical dunes, Gulf beaches, and washover areas within Coastal Barrier
Resource System Units and Otherwise Protected Areas of oil, hazardous
substances, or stormwater runoff.
(D) Where practicable, infrastructure shall be located in
existing rights-of-way or previously disturbed areas to avoid or minimize
adverse effects within Coastal Barrier Resource System Units or
Otherwise Protected Areas.
(E) Development of infrastructure shall occur at sites and
times selected to have the least adverse effects practicable within
Coastal Barrier Resource System Units or Otherwise protected Areas on
critical areas, critical dunes, Gulf beaches, and washover areas and on
spawning or nesting areas or seasonal migrations of commercial,
recreational, threatened, or endangered terrestrial or aquatic wildlife.
(2) TNRCC rules and approvals for the creation of special districts
and for infrastructure projects funded by issuance of bonds by water,
sanitary sewer, and wastewater drainage districts under Texas Water
Code, Chapter 50; water control and improvement districts under Texas
Water Code, Chapter 50; municipal utility districts under Texas Water
Code, Chapter 54; regional plan implementation agencies under Texas
Water Code, Chapter 54; special utility districts under Texas Water
Code, Chapter 65; storm water control districts under Texas Water
Code, Chapter 66; and all other general and special law districts subject
to and within the jurisdiction of the TNRCC, shall comply with the
policies in this subsection. TxDOT rules and approvals under Texas Civil
Statutes, Article 6663 et seq., governing planning, design, construction,
and maintenance of transportation projects, shall comply with the
policies in this subsection.
(n) Development in Coastal Parks, Wildlife Management Areas, and
Preserves.
Agencies authorizing development in coastal parks and refuges
shall comply with Texas Parks and Wildlife Code, Chapter 26. . . .
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(p) Transportation Projects.
(1) Planning, design, construction, and maintenance of roads,
highways, causeways, bridges, airports, and other transportation
projects and associated facilities within the coastal area shall comply
with the policies in this subsection.
(A) Pollution prevention procedures shall be incorporated
into the design, construction, and maintenance of transportation projects
to minimize pollutant loading to coastal waters from erosion and
sedimentation, use of pesticides and herbicides for maintenance of
rights-of-way, and other pollutants from stormwater runoff.
(B) Transportation projects shall be located at sites that to
the greatest extent practicable avoid and otherwise minimize the
potential for adverse effects from construction and maintenance of
additional roads, bridges, causeways, and other development associated
with the project; and direct release to CNRAs of pollutants from oil or
hazardous substance spills, contaminated sediments or stormwater
runoff.
(C) Where practicable, transportation projects shall be
located in existing rights-of-way or previously disturbed areas if
necessary to avoid or minimize adverse effects.
(D) Transportation projects shall be located at sites at which
future expansion will not require development in coastal wetlands except
where such construction is determined to be essential for evacuation in
the case of a natural disaster.
(E) Design, construction, and maintenance of transportation
projects shall avoid the impoundment and draining of coastal wetlands.
If impoundment or draining cannot be avoided, adverse effects to the
impounded or drained wetlands shall be mitigated in accordance with the
sequencing requirements of subsection (h) of this section.
(F) Construction of transportation projects shall occur at
sites and times selected to have the least adverse effects practicable on
recreational uses of CNRAs and on spawning or nesting seasons or
seasonal migrations of terrestrial or aquatic species.
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(G) Beach-quality sand from maintenance of roadways
adjacent to Gulf beaches shall be beneficially used by placement on Gulf
beaches where practicable. Where placement on Gulf beaches is not
practicable, the material shall be placed in critical dune areas.
(2) TxDOT rules and project approvals under Texas Civil Statutes,
Article 6663b and 6663c, and Texas Civil Statutes, Article 6674a et
seq., governing transportation projects within the coastal area, shall
comply with the policies in this subsection.
(q) Emission of Air Pollutants.
TNRCC rules under Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 382,
governing emissions of air pollutants, shall comply with regulations at
Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40, adopted pursuant to the Clean Air
Act, 42 United States Code Annotated, §7401, et seq., to protect and
enhance air quality in the coastal area so as to protect CNRAs and
promote the public health, safety, and welfare.
(r) Instream Flows and Freshwater Inflows to Waters Under Tidal
Influence.
(1) Impoundments and diversion of state water within 200 stream
miles of the coast, to commence from the mouth of the river thence
inland, shall comply with the policies in this subsection.
(A) The TNRCC shall administer the law so as to promote
the judicious use and maximum conservation and protection of the
quality of the environment and the natural resources of the state. It is
the public policy of the state to provide for the conservation and
development of the state's natural resources, including:
(i) the control, storage, preservation, and distribution
of the state's storm and floodwaters and the waters of its rivers and
streams for irrigation, power, and other useful purposes;
(ii) the reclamation and irrigation of the state's arid,
semiarid, and other land needing irrigation;
(iii) the reclamation and drainage of the state's
overflowed land and other land needing drainage;
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(iv) the conservation and development of its forest,
water, and hydroelectric power;
W) the navigation of the state's inland and coastal
waters; and
(vi) the maintenance of a proper ecological
environment of the bays and estuaries of Texas and the health of related
living marine resources.
(B) In this subsection, "beneficial inflows" means a salinity,
nutrient, and sediment loading regime adequate to maintain an
ecologically sound environment in the receiving bay and estuary system
that is necessary for the maintenance of productivity of economically
important and ecologically characteristic sport or commercial fish and
shellfish species and estuarine life upon which such fish and shellfish are
dependent.
(C) In its consideration of an application for a permit to store, take,
or divert water, the TNRCC shall assess the effects, if any, of the
issuance of the permit on the bays and estuaries of Texas. For permits
issued within an area that is within 200 river miles of the coast, to
commence from the mouth of the river thence inland, the TNRCC shall
include in the permit, to the extent practicable when considering all
public interests, those conditions considered necessary to maintain
beneficial inflows to any affected bay and estuary system.
{0) For the purposes of making a determination under
subparagraph (C), the TNRCC shall consider among other factors:
(i) the need for periodic freshwater inflows to supply
nutrients and modify salinity to preserve the sound environment of the
bay or estuary, using any available information, including studies and
plans specified in and other studies considered by the TNRCC to be
reliable, together with existing circumstances, natural or otherwise, that
might prevent the conditions imposed from producing benefits;
(ii) the ecology and productivity of the affected bay
and estuary system;
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(iii) the expected effects on the public welfare of not
including in the permit some or all of the conditions considered necessary
to maintain the beneficial inflows to the affected bay or estuary;
(iv) the quantity of water requested and the proposed
use of water by the applicant, as well as the needs of those who would
be served by the applicant;
(v) the expected effects on the public welfare of the
failure to issue all or part of the permit being considered; and
(vi) for the purposes of this subsection, the
declarations as to preferences for competing uses of water as found in
Texas Water Code, §11.024 and §11.033, as well as the public policy
statement in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph.
(E) In its consideration of an application to store, take, or
divert water, the TNRCC shall consider the effect, if any, of the issuance
of the permit on existing instream uses and water quality of the stream
or river to which the application applies. The TNRCC shall also consider
the effect, if any, of the issuance of the permit on fish and wildlife
habitats.
(F) On receipt of an application for a permit to store, take,
or divert water, the TNRCC shall send a copy of the permit application
and any subsequent amendments to the TPWD. In making a final
decision on any application for a permit, the TNRCC, in addition to other
information, evidence, and testimony presented, shall consider all
information, evidence, or testimony presented by the TPWD and the
TWDB.
(G) Permit conditions relating to beneficial inflows to
affected bays and estuaries and instream uses may be suspended by the
TNRCC if the TNRCC finds that an emergency exists and cannot
practically be resolved in other ways. Before the TNRCC suspends a
permit under this subparagraph, it must give written notice to the TPWD
of the proposed suspension. The TNRCC shall give the TPWD an
opportunity to submit comments on the proposed suspension within 72
hours from such time, and the TNRCC shall consider those comments
before issuing its order imposing the suspension.
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(H) In its consideration of an application for a permit under
this section, the TNRCC shall assess the effects, if any, of the issuance
of the permit on water quality in coastal waters. In its consideration of
an application for a permit to store, take, or divert water in excess of
5,000 acre-feet per year, the commission shall assess the effects, if any,
[of] the issuance of the permit on fish and wildlife habitats and may
require the applicant to take reasonable actions to mitigate adverse
effects on such habitat. In determining whether to require an applicant
to mitigate adverse effects on a habitat, the TNRCC may consider any
net benefit to habitat produced by the project. The TNRCC shall offset
against any mitigation required by the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service pursuant to Code of Federal Regulations, Title 33, §§320-330,
any mitigation authorized by this section.
(I) Unappropriated water and other water of the state stored
in any facility acquired by and under the control of the TWDB may be
released without charge to relieve any emergency condition arising from
drought, severe water shortage, or other calamity, if the TNRCC first
determines the existence of the emergency and requests the TWDB to
release the water.
(J) Five percent of the annual firm yield of water in any
reservoir and associated works constructed with state financial
participation within 200 river miles of the coast, to commence from the
mouth of the river thence inland, is appropriated to the TPWD for use to
make releases to bays and estuaries and for instream uses, and the
TNRCC shall issue permits for this water to the TPWD under procedures
adopted by the TNRCC. This subparagraph applies only to reservoirs and
associated works on which construction begins on or after September
1, 1985. This subsection does not limit or repeal any other authority of
or law relating to the TPWD or the TNRCC.
(K) The TWDB, in coordination with the TNRCC and TPWD,
shall identify ways to assist in providing flows to meet instream needs,
including protection of water quality, protection of terrestrial or aquatic
wildlife habitat, and bay and estuary inflow needs, in the implementation
of the Texas Water Bank, Texas Water Code, Chapter 15, Subchapter
K. This may include, but not be limited to, the purchase by the TPWD
and/or the TWDB of water rights deposited in the Texas Water Bank in
order to provide for existing instream uses and beneficial inflows to bays
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and estuaries if funds are available and such purchase is not prohibited
by law. The TNRCC shall facilitate the approval of any necessary permit
amendments to achieve this purpose.
(L) An applicant for a new or amended water right permit
shall submit a water conservation plan in accordance with 30 TAC
§295.9. The TNRCC shall consider the information contained in the
conservation plan in determining whether any feasible alternative to the
proposed appropriation exists, whether the proposed amount to be
appropriated as measured at the point of diversion is reasonable and
necessary for the proposed use, the term and other conditions of the
water right and to ensure that reasonable diligence will be used to avoid
waste and achieve water conservation. Based upon its review, the
TNRCC may deny or grant, in whole or in part, the requested
appropriation.
(2) The TNRCC rules and authorizations under Texas Water Code,
Chapter 11, governing review and action on applications for new permits
or amendments proposing changes to existing permits for diversions or
impoundments of state water within 200 stream miles of the coast, and
TNRCC rules and approvals governing creation of districts and issuance
of district bonds for levee and flood control projects within the coastal
area, must comply with the policies in 31 TAC §501.14(r), described in
this section.
[Title 30, Chapter 288, establishes guidelines and minimum requirements for water
conservation plans required by the TNRCC regulatory programs, including water rights
administration. Title 30, Chapter 295, contains content and notice requirements for
a water right application. Title 30, Chapter 299, establishes regulations to provide for
the safe construction, maintenance, repair, and removal of dams. Title 30, Chapter
301, contains procedures for authorizing the construction of a levee or other
improvement, including channel improvements, drainage works, and other projects on,
along, or near any stream in order to control, regulate, or otherwise change the
floodwater of the stream.
Title 30, Chapter 297 sets forth conditions, restrictions, limitations, and/or provisions
reasonably necessary for TNRCC approval or denial of a new or amended water right
permit and defines the limits and responsibilities of all water right holders. For water
right applications within 200 stream miles of the coast, the TNRCC must include in
the water right permit those conditions necessary to maintain beneficial inflows to any
affected bay and estuary system. On an application to amend a water right, including
an amendment for the sale or transfer of conserved water, the commission must
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consider the instream needs for water quality, aquatic and riparian habitat, bays and
estuaries, and other public purposes. The TNRCC may reserve from appropriation
water necessary to protect these instream uses by placing limitations and conditions
on the amended water right, including stream flow restrictions to protect existing
water right holders, water quality, aquatic fish and wildlife habitat, inflows for bays
and estuaries, and recreational uses; habitat mitigation measures; and water
conservation measures.]
(s) Levee and Flood Control Projects.
(1) Drainage, reclamation, channelization, levee construction or
modification, or flood- or floodwater-control infrastructure projects shall
be designed, constructed, and maintained to avoid the impoundment and
draining of coastal wetlands to the greatest extent practicable. If
impoundment or draining of coastal wetlands cannot be avoided, adverse
effects to the wetlands shall be mitigated in accordance with the
sequencing requirements in subsection (h) of this section.
(2) TNRCC rules and approvals for the levee construction, modification,
drainage, reclamation, channelization, or flood- or floodwater-control projects,
pursuant to the Texas Water Code, §16.236, shall comply with the policies in
this subsection.
§505.15 Policy for Major Actions.
(a) For purposes of this section, "major action" means an individual
agency or subdivision action authorizing an activity involving a federal
action for which a federal environmental impact statement under the
National Environmental Policy Act, 42 United States Code Annotated,
§4321 et seq., is required.
(b) Agencies and subdivisions shall not take a major action
authorizing an activity if there is a cost-effective and practicable
alternative with less adverse effects. In determining the cost-effective
and practicable alternative with the least adverse effects, agencies and
subdivisions shall consider:
(1) the activity's adverse effects, including its cumulative
and secondary adverse effects and their significance;
(2) adverse effects from any other activity that is an
interdependent part of the activity under review, or that cannot or will
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not proceed unless the agency or subdivision authorizes or undertakes
the activity under review;
(3) any irreversible and irretrievable commitment, severe
adverse effects, or destruction of CNRAs that will result if the activity
is authorized;
(4) the relationship between short-term activities affecting
CNRAs and the long-term maintenance and enhancement of the
functions of CNRAs as components of coastal ecosystems;
(5) the relationship between the relative public value of
those functions and the relative public and private need for the activity,
including economic needs, general environmental concerns, compatibility
with existing and future land use, public safety, equitable socioeconomic
distribution of environmental hazards, navigation needs, mineral and
energy needs, agricultural production, consideration of property
ownership, the«general needs and welfare of the people of Texas and the
nation, and the goals in §501.12 of this title (relating to Goals); and
(6) the practicability of alternatives including no action,
different operation or maintenance techniques or practices (including
recycling and waste reduction practices), or a different location, design,
configuration, or size of the project than proposed.
(c) If an agency's or subdivision's ability to consider any of the
factors in subsection (b) of this section is limited (e.g., by legal
restrictions or by lack of technical expertise), the agency or subdivision
shall coordinate with any other agency or subdivision with management
responsibility relevant to the activity under review to ensure that their
actions do not infringe on or limit one another's ability to manage the
activity. The agency or subdivision shall incorporate the
recommendations of other agencies and subdivisions to the greatest
extent practicable. (31 TAC §§501.14-501.15)
Schedule
The Coastal Coordination Council adopted the goals and policies of the CMP with
minor changes on September 16, 1994. It is anticipated that the CMP document will
be sent to the governor in December 1994 for submission to the Office of Ocean and
Coastal Zone Management, NOAA, for approval under the federal Coastal Zone
Management Act. Implementation of the program will begin June 15, 1995.
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Summary
The state of Texas is developing programs that, when implemented, will provide
comprehensive protection for coastal wetlands. Management recommendations from
state and federal agencies, interest groups, local governments, universities, regional
agencies, and the general public are being incorporated into workable goals, policies,
rules, regulations, and plans to protect, preserve, restore, and enhance the functions
and values of coastal wetlands. The Coastal Wetland Conservation Plan and the State
Wetfand Conservation Plan will emphasize education, planning, and nonregulatory
methods to protect wetlands. The CWCP is also addressing such issues as the
impacts of nonpoint-source pollution, freshwater inflow, subsidence, and dredging on
wetlands. Section 401 water-quality certification and the CMP will strengthen current
regulatory efforts and provide increased coordination and review for projects
potentially affecting wetlands. State agencies will continue to coordinate the
development of these programs in working toward the goal of no overall net loss of
coastal wetlands.
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LITERATURE CITED
Cowardin, L. M.( V. Carter, R. C. Golet, and E. T. LaRoe. 1979. Classification of
wetlands and deep-water habitats of the United States. U.S. Department of
the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Biological Services, Washington,
D.C. FWS/OBS-79/31, 103 pp.
Field, D. W., A. J. Reyer, P. V. Genovese, and B. D. Shearer. 1991. Coastal
wetlands of the United States: an accounting of a valuable national resource.
Strategic Assessment Branch, National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, 59 pp.
Fonseca, M. S. 1993. A guide to planting seagrasses in the Gulf of Mexico. Texas
A&M University Sea Grant College Program. TAMU-SG-94-601. 25 pp.
Gabrysch, R. K., and L. S. Coplin. 1990. Land-surface subsidence resulting from
ground-water withdrawals in the Houston Galveston region, Texas, through
1987. U.S.G.S. Report of Investigations No. 90-01. 53 pp.
King, B. D. III. 1990. Matagorda County shore erosion study: planning aid report. U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, Clear Lake Field Office, Houston, Texas, 51 pp.
Kusler, J. A., W. J. Mitsch, and J. S. Larson. 1994. Wetlands. Scientific
American. January 1994. Pp. 64-70.
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. 1993. Swampthing: complex issues lurk in
Texas wetlands. Fiscal Notes. 3(5): 1-10.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. 1988. The Texas Wetlands Plan,
addendum to the 1985 Texas Outdoor Recreation Plan. Texas Parks and
Wildlife Department, 35 pp.
Thomas, J. R., and R. L. Ferguson. 1990. National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration's habitat mapping under the Coastal Ocean Program, in Federal
Coastal Mapping Programs, S. J. Kiraly, R. A. Cross, and J. D. Buffington, eds.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Biological Report 90(18):27-37.
Webb, J. W., G. T. Tanner, and B. H. Koerth. 1981. Oil spill effects on smooth
cordgrass, Spartina alterniflora in Galveston Bay, TX. Contributions in Marine
Science. 24:107-114.
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White, W. A., and T. R. Calnan. 1990. Sedimentation in fluvial-deltaic wetlands
and estuarine areas, Texas Gulf Coast: literature synthesis. Prepared for Texas
Parks and Wildlife Department Resource Protection Division in accordance with
interagency contracts (88-89) 0820 and 1423, 261 pp.
White, W. A., and J. G. Paine. 1992. Wetland plant communities, Galveston Bay
system. The Galveston Bay National Estuary Program. Publication GBNEP-16,
124 pp.
White, W. A., T. A. Tremblay, E. G. Wermund, Jr., and L. R. Handley. 1993.
Trends and status of wetland and aquatic habitats in the Galveston Bay
system, Texas. The Galveston Bay National Estuary Program, Publication
GBNEP-31, 225 pp.
Zimmerman, R. J., T. J. Minello, M. C. Castiglione, and D. L. Smith. 1990. Utilization
of marsh and associated habitats along a salinity gradient in Galveston Bay.
U.S. Department of Commerce, National Marine Fisheries Service. NOAA
Technical Memorandum, NMFS-SEFC-250, 68 pp.
Zimmerman, R. J., T. J. Minello, E. F. Klima, and J. M. Nance, 1991. Effects of
accelerated sea-level rise on coastal secondary production. Coastal Zone '91
Conference, Long Beach, California. Pp. 110-194.
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Appendix A
COASTAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAM CRITICAL AREA WORK GROUP
Name
Bonner Kyle
Tom Calnan-Cochair
Peter Samuels
Yolanda Griffin
William Foster
Larry Hannesschlager
Windle Taylor
Bill Peacock
Carlos Swonke
George Staff
Bonnie Ruby
Mark Fisher
Tom Remaley
Barbra Britton-Cochair
Warren Pulich
Bill O'Beirne
Agency
OAG
GLO
GLO
GLO
GLO
RRC
RRC
TDA
TxDOT
TNRCC
TNRCC
TNRCC
TNRCC
TNRCC
TPWD
NOAA/OCRM
Phone Number
512-463-2012
512-463-5100
512-463-5047
512-463-5019
512-463-5019
512-463-6765
512-463-6803
512-475-1653
512-475-0708
512-462-8268
512-463-8047
512-475-2182
512-239-4576
512-463-8417
512-448-4313
202-606-4018
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Appendix B
STATE AGENCY TASK FORCE
Galveston Bay National Estuary Program
Gulf Coast Waste Disposal Authority
Office of the Attorney General
Office of the Governor
Public Utility Commission of Texas
Railroad Commission of Texas
Texas Agricultural Extension Service
Texas Department of Commerce
Texas Department of Health
Texas Department of Public Safety
Texas Department of Transportation
Texas Forest Service
Texas General Land Office
Texas Historical Commission
Texas Low-level Radioactive Waste Disposal Authority
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board
Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission
Texas Water Development Board
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6
Federal Emergency Management Agency, Region IV
Minerals Management Service
National Marine Fisheries Service
National Park Service - Padre Island National Seashore
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
U.S. Coast Guard
U.S. Department of Energy
U.S. Department of the Air Force
U.S. Department of the Navy
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Soil Conservation Service
Focus groups represent the following interests:
FEDERAL AGENCY TASK FORCE
FOCUS GROUPS
Agriculture
Forestry
Local Government
Sportfishing
Utilities
Boating Industry
Chemical Industry
Oil and Gas Industry
Port Authorities
Real Estate and Economic Development
Research and Extension
Coastal Foundations
Commercial Fishing
Dredging Industry
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