Texas 2011 - 82nd Regular

Texas House Bill HCR21 Compare Versions

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1	1	82R7119 CBE-D
2	2	By: Gallego H.C.R. No. 21
3	3	Substitute the following for H.C.R. No. 21:
4	4	By: Branch C.S.H.C.R. No. 21
5	5
6	6
7	7	HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
8	8	WHEREAS, The Amistad International Reservoir, situated on
9	9	the Texas-Mexico border near Del Rio, supplies water to numerous
10	10	area communities for municipal, industrial, and agricultural
11	11	purposes; yet, with a salt content near the upper limit of the Texas
12	12	standard for drinking water, the reservoir may become an unusable
13	13	resource for all; and
14	14	WHEREAS, Two of its main tributaries, the Rio Grande and the
15	15	Pecos River, are heavily saturated with salt due in part to the
16	16	composition of the surrounding land, which was once part of a great
17	17	inland sea; when dry land emerged, salt from the sea was trapped in
18	18	the soil and in underground aquifers; originating in New Mexico,
19	19	the Pecos River, in particular, is one of the most saline waterways
20	20	in North America and accounts for nearly 30 percent of the salt
21	21	loading of the reservoir; and
22	22	WHEREAS, The upper limit of Texas drinking water standards
23	23	for minerals including salt is 1,000 milligrams per liter; when
24	24	that limit is exceeded, municipalities that rely on water released
25	25	into the Rio Grande from the Amistad Reservoir will face costly
26	26	treatment methods to meet state standards; moreover, the elevated
27	27	levels of salt may force farmers to discontinue the growth of
28	28	certain crops; while fresh water inflow from runoff could help
29	29	alleviate the salinity, the potential for such runoff is limited;
30	30	and
31	31	WHEREAS, The Amistad International Reservoir is shared by
32	32	both the United States and Mexico, in accordance with the terms of a
33	33	1944 treaty; for that reason and because the reservoir's holdings
34	34	derive from multiple states, it is incumbent on the national
35	35	government to take the lead in addressing this urgent problem; and
36	36	WHEREAS, Congress began that process by enacting Section 729
37	37	of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 1986, 33 U.S.C.
38	38	Section 2267a (West 2001 & Supp. 2008), and by developing a program
39	39	in Section 5056 of the WRDA of 2007, Pub. L. No. 110-114, 121 Stat.
40	40	1041, 1213-1214 (2007), that directs the secretary of the army to
41	41	rehabilitate and enhance fish and wildlife habitat and to implement
42	42	long-term monitoring, data collection and analysis, applied
43	43	research, and adaptive management within the Rio Grande Basin; and
44	44	WHEREAS, Past studies must be evaluated to determine a
45	45	strategy for moving forward; in addition, it is imperative that
46	46	funding and continuing authority for Section 5056 of the WRDA of
47	47	2007, which is set to expire in 2011, be reenacted so that efforts
48	48	to solve the salt problem in the reservoir can continue; now,
49	49	therefore, be it
50	50	RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas
51	51	hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to reauthorize
52	52	the Water Resources Development Act of 2007, Section 5056, and to
53	53	appropriate sufficient funds to carry out work related to that
54	54	legislation; and, be it further
55	55	RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
56	56	copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, the
57	57	speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the
58	58	senate of the United States Congress, and all the members of the
59	59	Texas delegation to Congress with the request that this resolution
60	60	be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to
61	61	the Congress of the United States of America.