By:  Patterson                                         S.B. No. 999
       73R5016 JJT-D
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-1                                AN ACT
    1-2  relating to the prevention and mitigation of coastal erosion.
    1-3        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-4        SECTION 1.  Section 33.602, Natural Resources Code, is
    1-5  amended by adding Subsections (c)-(f) to read as follows:
    1-6        (c)  The commissioner by rule shall provide for coastal
    1-7  beachfront management that includes provisions sufficient to
    1-8  maximize federal aid in protection of shores available under 33
    1-9  U.S.C. Section 426e, and its subsequent amendments, and federal
   1-10  rules adopted under that law.
   1-11        (d)  The commissioner shall request the use of beach quality
   1-12  sand dredged in constructing and maintaining navigation inlets and
   1-13  channels for placement on coastal beaches in coordination with the
   1-14  secretary of the United States Army as provided by 33 U.S.C.
   1-15  Section 426j and its subsequent amendments.
   1-16        (e)  The commissioner shall request the secretary of the
   1-17  United States Army to implement structural and nonstructural
   1-18  measures to prevent or mitigate shore damage attributable to
   1-19  federal navigation works.  The land office shall coordinate the
   1-20  requests with local governments that agree to operate or maintain
   1-21  the prevention or mitigation measures.
   1-22        (f)  Material excavated or dredged from the beds of
   1-23  navigation channels of the state may not be removed permanently
   1-24  from the active near shore, beach, or inlet shoal system unless the
    2-1  commissioner determines that no practical alternative exists.  The
    2-2  commissioner by rule shall provide that available and appropriate
    2-3  dredged materials shall be used to prevent or mitigate coastal
    2-4  erosion, if practicable.  The commissioner shall provide for the
    2-5  disposal of dredged materials on beaches of the Gulf of Mexico
    2-6  proximate to the dredging operation or in shallow active near shore
    2-7  areas if the disposal is:
    2-8              (1)  environmentally acceptable, considering
    2-9  contamination of sands or waters and marine life; and
   2-10              (2)  compatible with other uses of the beach.
   2-11        SECTION 2.  Subchapter H, Chapter 33, Natural Resources Code,
   2-12  is amended by adding Section 33.605 to read as follows:
   2-13        Sec. 33.605.  BEACH NOURISHMENT MATERIAL SOURCES DATA AND
   2-14  RESEARCH.  The land office, in cooperation with coastal counties,
   2-15  the United States Army Corps of Engineers, and The University of
   2-16  Texas Bureau of Economic Geology, shall:
   2-17              (1)  collect, store, and make available information on
   2-18  known sources of material suitable for beach nourishment; and
   2-19              (2)  conduct research on the beneficial uses of
   2-20  material dredged in navigation channel projects, including:
   2-21                    (A)  placement on eroded or eroding beaches;
   2-22                    (B)  near shore dumping by split hull dredges;
   2-23                    (C)  building dunes; and
   2-24                    (D)  methods of disposing of dredged materials so
   2-25  that the material is accessible for beneficial use.
   2-26        SECTION 3.  The commissioner of the General Land Office shall
   2-27  adopt rules as provided by Sections 33.602(c)-(f), Natural
    3-1  Resources Code, as added by this Act, not later than January 1,
    3-2  1994.
    3-3        SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the
    3-4  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
    3-5  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
    3-6  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
    3-7  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
    3-8  and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
    3-9  passage, and it is so enacted.