LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session
Revision 1
April 27, 2001
TO: Honorable Gary Walker, Chair, House Committee on Land &
Resource Management
FROM: John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE: HB2684 by Kuempel (Relating to the authority of the
Texas Transportation Commission to acquire certain
protected property.), Committee Report 1st House,
Substituted
**************************************************************************
* Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for *
* HB2684, Committee Report 1st House, Substituted: positive impact *
* of $0 through the biennium ending August 31, 2003. *
* *
* The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal *
* basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of *
* the bill. *
**************************************************************************
General Revenue-Related Funds, Five-Year Impact:
****************************************************
* Fiscal Year Probable Net Positive/(Negative) *
* Impact to General Revenue Related *
* Funds *
* 2002 $0 *
* 2003 0 *
* 2004 0 *
* 2005 0 *
* 2006 0 *
****************************************************
All Funds, Five-Year Impact:
*****************************************************
* Fiscal Year Probable Savings/(Cost) from State *
* Highway Fund *
* 0006 *
* 2002 $0 *
* 2003 0 *
* 2004 (10,210,000) *
* 2005 (37,200,000) *
* 2006 0 *
*****************************************************
Fiscal Analysis
The bill would amend the Transportation Code to prohibit the
Transportation Commission from acquiring any property for use as a
disposal site for dredged material from the Laguna Madre before September
1, 2005, if the property was subject to a habitat conservation plan on
October 1, 1977. The bill would also require the House Committee on Land
and Resource Management to conduct an interim study on placement and use
of options for dredged material from the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway
(GIW) and report its findings and recommendations to the Speaker of the
House of Representatives and the Legislature no later than November 1,
2002.
The bill would take effect September 1, 2001.
Methodology
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) estimates that dredging
disposal costs of approximately $10.2 million in the third year and $37.2
million in the fourth year would be realized for required dredging
activities along the Laguna Madre's 80 mile length of the GIW through
fiscal year 2005 as a result of TxDOT being unable to obtain land for
upland disposal sites in this area. TxDOT estimates an average upland
disposal site would cost approximately $300,000 per site (based on $1,500
per acre for a 200 acre site), that obtaining each disposal site would
require a time frame of 6 months to 2 years, and that each disposal site
would be usable for 30 to 50 years. This analysis considers that TxDOT
would not be able to acquire land for upland disposal sites in less than
2 years along the Laguna Madre's 80 mile length of the GIW due to the
required acquisition processes regardless of the provisions of the bill.
This analysis also considers appropriations in the amount of $1.35
million to TxDOT in the first year of each biennium since fiscal year
1998 for the purposes of purchasing upland dredge disposal sites.
TxDOT currently uses an open water disposal method for material collected
through dredging at 39 sites along the Laguna Madre's 80 mile length of
the GIW and has reported that a federal study is in progress to determine
if open water disposal would be allowed to continue in the GIW after
fiscal year 2001. This analysis considers the fiscal impact of TxDOT
being prohibited from using an open water disposal method for material
collected through dredging. For calculation purposes, TxDOT sectioned
the 80 mile length of the GIW into four segments and estimated the
average cost per cubic yard to dispose of the dredge material in open bay
confined sites in each of the segments would be $5.74, $3.11, $9.75, and
$5.78 respectively based on water depth, location, and dredge material
composition of each segment. TxDOT estimates that 2 million cubic yards
of dredge material would have to be removed during the third year and
that 6 million cubic yards would have to be removed during the fourth
year.
If TxDOT is not prohibited from using an open water disposal method,
there would be no significant fiscal impact.
Local Government Impact
No fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.
Source Agencies: 305 General Land Office, 601 Texas Department of
Transportation
LBB Staff: JK, CL, RT, MW