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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, Access to safe water is a fundamental human need and |
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basic human right, enshrined in the world's principal human rights |
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treaties such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and |
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Cultural Rights, which has been ratified by 145 countries, |
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including the United States of America; our firm commitment to safe |
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water as a basic right is based on the recognition that as a |
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prerequisite to the fulfillment of all other human rights water is |
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indispensable to the physical and social health of all people; and |
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WHEREAS, Every Texas legislature since 1987 has approved |
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legislation designed to improve water and wastewater services in |
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the colonias, economically distressed communities located |
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primarily in border counties; yet despite these repeated efforts |
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the projects have typically run over schedule and over budget, |
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leaving entire communities as resource-poor as many developing |
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countries, surviving without the minimal services available to most |
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other Americans; and |
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WHEREAS, Without sufficient services, residents of the |
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colonias are forced to rely on alternative, inadequate wastewater |
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disposal methods, such as cesspools, makeshift septic tanks, and |
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outhouses; in addition, simple weather events such as rainstorms |
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cause sewage to pool on the ground creating serious public health |
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hazards, including respiratory disease outbreaks of epidemic |
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proportions; the potential consequences extend well beyond the |
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colonias, as evidenced by Environmental Protection Agency research |
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indicating that the underdevelopment of wastewater treatment |
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facilities along the U.S.-Mexico border is responsible for 27 |
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million gallons of untreated wastewater discharged directly into |
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the Rio Grande each day; and |
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WHEREAS, In 2005 the Texas Water Development Board reported |
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that upgraded infrastructure was still needed to provide drinking |
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water and wastewater services to the colonias and their |
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approximately 300,000 residents, including the approximately 1,300 |
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colonias in the border region; likewise, a December 2006 report by |
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the Texas secretary of state noted that many colonias are still in |
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need of basic water and wastewater services and also noted serious |
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health risks posed by the lack of proper drainage and flood control; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Twenty years have passed since the first legislative |
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initiatives designed to provide colonia residents what other Texans |
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take for granted, and still many projects are unfinished; among |
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these is the colonia water project intended to serve the more than |
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4,000 Webb County colonia residents located along State Highway 359 |
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and Mines Road; nearly seven years after the project's inception, |
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almost 80 percent of the water and wastewater connections remain |
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uncompleted, causing deplorable but avoidable conditions to |
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persist, even while other Webb County colonias were granted money |
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for similar water projects in March of this year; now, therefore, be |
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it |
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RESOLVED, That the 80th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby respectfully urge the Texas Water Development Board to |
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accelerate implementation of the colonia water project at State |
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Highway 359 and Mines Road; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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copies of this resolution to the executive administrator of the |
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Texas Water Development Board, the Laredo Waterworks System, the |
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managing director of the North American Development Bank, the |
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operations director of the Border Environment Cooperation |
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Commission, and the regional colonia ombudsman of Webb County. |