SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 526
WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas recognizes the
achievements of the Edwards Aquifer Recovery Implementation
Program; and
WHEREAS, The Edwards Aquifer is a unique groundwater
resource, serving as the primary source of drinking water for
over two million people and meeting the agricultural,
industrial, and recreational needs of the majority of South
Central Texas; and
WHEREAS, The Edwards Aquifer is the source of the two most
prominent springs in Texas, the San Marcos Springs and the Comal
Springs, which feed the San Marcos and Comal Rivers, both major
tributaries of the Guadalupe River; and
WHEREAS, The San Marcos and Comal Springs are home to eight
species that are listed under the federal Endangered Species Act
as threatened or endangered; and
WHEREAS, In 2007, the Texas Legislature directed the
Edwards Aquifer Authority and four state agencies to participate
in a consensus-based process with multiple representatives of
vastly diverse interests to prepare a habitat conservation plan
for managing the Edwards Aquifer in a manner that would protect
the threatened and endangered species at the springs while
maintaining the Edwards Aquifer as a viable resource for the
needs of the region; and
WHEREAS, The ultimate goal of the process, known as the
Edwards Aquifer Recovery Implementation Program, was to work
through stakeholders, including representatives of
environmental, water authority and purveyor, industrial,
municipal, public utility, state agency, and agricultural
interests, in order to come to agreement on the elements and
programs for a habitat conservation plan and to have the plan
approved by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service by 2012;
and
WHEREAS, The Edwards Aquifer Recovery Implementation
Program did indeed come to agreement on the Edwards Aquifer
Habitat Conservation Plan, which was submitted to the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service in 2011 and was officially
approved in March 2013; and
WHEREAS, The approved Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation
Plan represents a successful resolution to decades of
disagreement over the management of the Edwards Aquifer that will
shield the Edwards Aquifer region from further litigation under
the Endangered Species Act, avoid the threat of federal
intervention into the management of a natural resource of the
State of Texas, and provide unprecedented assurance to the users
of the Edwards Aquifer that they will be able to rely on Edwards
Aquifer groundwater to meet their various needs; now, therefore,
be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas,
83rd Legislature, hereby acknowledge the historic achievement of
all participants in the Edwards Aquifer Recovery Implementation
Program and recognize the positive impact of their actions on the
Edwards Aquifer Region, both today and for years to come; and, be
it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared to
commemorate the success of this program.
Hegar, et al.
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Member, Texas Senate
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Member, Texas Senate Member, Texas Senate
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Member, Texas Senate Member, Texas Senate
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President of the Senate
I hereby certify that the
above Resolution was adopted by
the Senate on March 25, 2013.
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Secretary of the Senate