Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HCR135 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R26950 RMA-D
2	2	By: Lucio III H.C.R. No. 135
3	3
4	4
5	5	CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
6	6	WHEREAS, The United States and Mexico entered into a treaty
7	7	regarding the utilization of waters of the Colorado and Tijuana
8	8	Rivers and of the Rio Grande on February 3, 1944; and
9	9	WHEREAS, Article 4 of the treaty allots to Mexico two-thirds
10	10	of the flow into the main channel of the Rio Grande from the
11	11	Upstream Mexican Tributaries, which consist of the Conchos, San
12	12	Diego, San Rodrigo, Escondido, and Salado Rivers and Las Vacas
13	13	Arroyo, with one-third allotted to the United States; and
14	14	WHEREAS, Article 4(B)(c) of the treaty provides that the
15	15	one-third flow from the Upstream Mexican Tributaries to the United
16	16	States shall not be less than 350,000 acre-feet per year on an
17	17	annual average basis over a five-year period; and
18	18	WHEREAS, Flows from the Upstream Mexican Tributaries enter
19	19	the Rio Grande below Fort Quitman and above or into the Amistad and
20	20	Falcon Reservoirs; those flows not only benefit downstream water
21	21	users in Texas but also provide needed instream flows for
22	22	recreation and area ecosystems; and
23	23	WHEREAS, In 2015, the International Boundary and Water
24	24	Commission and Texas representatives arranged for the commission to
25	25	accept deliveries from the Rio San Juan, a Mexican tributary below
26	26	the Falcon Reservoir, which would be credited against delivery
27	27	obligations from the Upstream Mexican Tributaries, to the extent
28	28	that those waters could be diverted and utilized by Texas water
29	29	users; and
30	30	WHEREAS, By crediting deliveries from the Rio San Juan or
31	31	other downstream Mexican tributaries, the delivery obligations for
32	32	the Upstream Mexican Tributaries would be reduced by a three-to-one
33	33	ratio, since with each acre-foot credited, the stretch of the Rio
34	34	Grande between Fort Quitman and the Falcon Reservoir is deprived of
35	35	a total of three acre-feet of needed instream flows; and
36	36	WHEREAS, Crediting deliveries from the Rio San Juan or other
37	37	downstream Mexican tributaries against delivery obligations of the
38	38	Upstream Mexican Tributaries directly contravenes the provisions
39	39	set forth in the 1944 U.S.-Mexico water treaty; now, therefore, be
40	40	it
41	41	RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas
42	42	hereby urge the International Boundary and Water Commission to
43	43	follow the express terms of the 1944 U.S.-Mexico water treaty in
44	44	determining which flows are allowed to be credited against delivery
45	45	obligations for the Upstream Mexican Tributaries; and, be it
46	46	further
47	47	RESOLVED, That the Texas Legislature hereby express its
48	48	opposition to the International Boundary and Water Commission
49	49	providing further credits to Mexico for water deliveries from the
50	50	Rio San Juan or other downstream Mexican tributaries against
51	51	Mexico's delivery obligations from the Upstream Mexican
52	52	Tributaries; and, be it further
53	53	RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
54	54	copies of this resolution to the Texas governor, the Texas Water
55	55	Development Board, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality,
56	56	and the International Boundary and Water Commission.