By: Geren, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Lucio) H.B. No. 1231
(In the Senate - Received from the House April 7, 2003;
April 9, 2003, read first time and referred to Committee on Natural
Resources; May 5, 2003, reported favorably by the following vote:
Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 5, 2003, sent to printer.)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to management of the Gulf Coast Intracoastal Waterway.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 51.003, Transportation Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 51.003. PURPOSE. In recognition of the economic
benefit to the state of the Gulf Coast Intracoastal Waterway, this
[This] state shall act as the nonfederal sponsor of the main channel
of the Gulf Coast Intracoastal Waterway from the Sabine River to the
Brownsville Ship Channel in order to:
(1) support the marine commerce and economy of this
state by providing for the shallow draft navigation of the state's
coastal waters in an environmentally sound manner;
(2) prevent waste of publicly and privately owned
natural resources;
(3) prevent or minimize adverse impacts on the
environment; and
(4) maintain, preserve, and enhance wildlife and
fisheries.
SECTION 2. Sections 51.005(a) and (b), Transportation Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) The commission may acquire by gift, purchase, or
condemnation property or an interest in property that the
commission considers necessary to enable it to meet its
responsibilities under this chapter, including, except as provided
by Subsection (b)(3), easements and rights-of-way for dredge
material disposal sites or channel alteration.
(b) The commission may not:
(1) acquire oil, gas, sulphur, or other minerals that
may be recovered without using the surface of land acquired by the
commission for exploration, drilling, or mining purposes;
(2) condemn any submerged public land under the
jurisdiction of the School Land Board; or
(3) condemn private [acquire] property along Reach 1,
Reach 2, Reach 4, Reach 5, and Reach 6 of the Gulf Coast
Intracoastal Waterway as defined by the Draft Laguna Madre GIWW
Dredged Material Management Plan prepared by the Army Corps of
Engineers and the Interagency Coordination Team dated October 11,
2002, [before September 1, 2005,] for use as a disposal site for
dredged material from the Laguna Madre unless the commission
determines that:
(A) there is no state or federal land available
that can be used for that purpose; and
(B) the state's failure to acquire the property
will result in the closure of any segment of the Gulf Coast
Intracoastal Waterway located in this state [if the property, on
October 1, 1997, was subject to a habitat conservation plan].
SECTION 3. Chapter 51, Transportation Code, is amended by
adding Sections 51.012, 51.013, and 51.014 to read as follows:
Sec. 51.012. CONTRACTS WITH LANDOWNERS. The commission may
contract with a landowner for the use of land as a disposal site for
dredged material.
Sec. 51.013. DREDGED MATERIAL DISPOSAL. The department
shall condemn land for disposal of dredged material for the Laguna
Madre section of the Gulf Coast Intracoastal Waterway only in
accordance with the Draft Laguna Madre GIWW Dredged Material
Management Plan prepared by the Army Corps of Engineers and the
Interagency Coordination Team dated October 11, 2002.
Sec. 51.014. SUBSTANTIVE CHANGES TO DREDGED MATERIAL
DISPOSAL PLAN. The department shall seek approval of the
legislature for any substantive changes to dredged material
disposal management made in the final Laguna Madre GIWW Dredged
Material Management Plan once the plan is published.
SECTION 4. Section 51.005(d), Transportation Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.
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