Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HCR77 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1		89R13075 BPG-D
2		-	By: Longoria, Gámez, Canales, Tepper, H.C.R. No. 77
3		-	Harris , et al.
	2	+	By: Longoria H.C.R. No. 77
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6	7		CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
7	8		WHEREAS, Mexico's failure to fulfill its water deliveries to
8	9		the United States according to the stipulations of a 1944 treaty
9	10		between the two countries significantly harms the interests of
10	11		Texas; and
11	12		WHEREAS, The Rio Grande is both an interstate and
12	13		international river arising in the mountains of Colorado and
13	14		flowing in a southerly direction through New Mexico, where it forms
14	15		the border between the United States and Mexico beginning near
15	16		El Paso; the river is a shared and vital resource providing
16	17		municipal water for millions of Texans and irrigation water for
17	18		hundreds of thousands of acres in Texas; and
18	19		WHEREAS, Below Fort Quitman, the waters of the Rio Grande are
19	20		apportioned to the United States and to Mexico per the terms of the
20	21		1944 Treaty, "Utilization of Waters of the Colorado and Tijuana
21	22		Rivers and of the Rio Grande"; Article IV of the treaty requires
22	23		that inflows from certain named tributaries of the Rio Grande be
23	24		apportioned one-third to the United States and two-thirds to
24	25		Mexico; and
25	26		WHEREAS, The 1944 Treaty specifically requires that "this
26	27		third shall not be less, as an average amount in cycles of five
27	28		consecutive years, than 350,000 acre-feet (431,721,000 cubic
28	29		meters) annually"; Mexico is allowed to deliver less than this
29	30		annual average amount of water during a five-year cycle only in the
30	31		event of an extraordinary drought, and not all years in a delivery
31	32		cycle reflect extraordinary drought conditions; and
32	33		WHEREAS, Many municipal, industrial, and agricultural water
33	34		users in Texas rely almost exclusively on these waters from the Rio
34	35		Grande for their water supplies; it is thus critical to the state's
35	36		interests that, during years in which extraordinary drought is not
36	37		present, Mexico take all necessary measures to address accumulated
37	38		water delivery deficits; and
38	39		WHEREAS, Mexico has failed to comply with its obligations
39	40		under this treaty regularly over the last three decades, and it is
40	41		now significantly behind in fulfilling them; in the current cycle,
41	42		Mexico is 984,814 acre-feet in arrears; and
42	43		WHEREAS, During the past 10 years, Mexico has expanded crop
43	44		production in Chihuahua, resulting in the use of water volumes
44	45		exceeding the annual average Mexico agreed to deliver under the
45	46		treaty; this increase has directly impacted water availability for
46	47		downstream users in the RGV, creating economic and environmental
47	48		concerns; the water reserves in the Amistad and Falcon reservoirs
48	49		are at historically low levels; shortages have disrupted key
49	50		sectors, leading to the loss of sugarcane production, significant
50	51		reductions in fruit and vegetable farming, and stalled housing
51	52		developments; the only sugar mill in Texas closed permanently in
52	53		2024; moreover, rural municipalities have been forced to purchase
53	54		water from outside districts, incurring up to 60 percent higher
54	55		monthly costs; and
55	56		WHEREAS, The 1944 Treaty requires that the United States
56	57		Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission, which
57	58		is a subdivision of the United States Department of State, ensure
58	59		compliance with the terms of the 1944 Treaty; and
59	60		WHEREAS, The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has
60	61		conveyed and communicated these issues and concerns to the
61	62		International Boundary and Water Commission, and it is vital that
62	63		the IBWC and the state department recognize the critical
63	64		socioeconomic importance of this issue; now, therefore, be it
64	65		RESOLVED, That the 89th Legislature of the State of Texas
65	66		hereby respectfully urge the U.S. Department of State and the
66	67		United States Section of the International Boundary and Water
67	68		Commission to take appropriate action to ensure that Mexico
68	69		complies with the 1944 Treaty regarding shared water resources and
69	70		that they take all necessary steps to make deliveries to the United
70	71		States a priority during annual water allocation deliberations;
71	72		and, be it further
72	73		RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
73	74		copies of this resolution to the U.S. secretary of state and to the
74	75		commissioner of the International Boundary and Water Commission,
75	76		United States and Mexico.