Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HCR120 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R29605 JNC-D
2	2	By: Nevárez, Walle H.C.R. No. 120
3	3	Substitute the following for H.C.R. No. 120:
4	4	By: King of Parker C.S.H.C.R. No. 120
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 to the composition
16	16	of the surrounding land, which was once part of a great inland sea;
17	17	when dry land emerged, salt from the sea was trapped in the soil and
18	18	in underground aquifers; originating in New Mexico, the Pecos
19	19	River, in particular, is one of the most saline waterways in North
20	20	America and accounts for almost 30 percent of the salt loading of
21	21	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 the
32	32	United States and Mexico, in accordance with the terms of a 1944
33	33	treaty; for that reason and because the reservoir's holdings derive
34	34	from multiple states, it is incumbent on the national government to
35	35	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 and by
38	38	developing a program under Section 5056 of WRDA of 2007,
39	39	Pub. L. No. 110-114, that directs the secretary of the army to
40	40	rehabilitate and enhance fish and wildlife habitats and to
41	41	implement long-term monitoring, data collection and analysis,
42	42	applied research, and adaptive management within the Rio Grande
43	43	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 WRDA of 2007,
47	47	which was extended until 2019 in Section 4006 of the Water Resources
48	48	Reform and Development Act (WRRDA) of 2014, be fully funded so that
49	49	efforts to solve the salt problem in the reservoir can continue;
50	50	now, therefore, be it
51	51	RESOLVED, That the 84th Legislature of the State of Texas
52	52	hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to appropriate
53	53	sufficient funds to continue to carry out work related to Section
54	54	4006 of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014; and,
55	55	be it further
56	56	RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
57	57	copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, the
58	58	speaker of the House of Representatives and the president of the
59	59	Senate of the United States Congress, and all the members of the
60	60	Texas delegation to Congress with the request that this resolution
61	61	be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to
62	62	the Congress of the United States of America.