80R6164 CCK-D
 
  By: Bonnen H.R. No. 942
 
 
 
R E S O L U T I O N
         WHEREAS, Rising in Austin County southwest of Bellville, the
  San Bernard River crosses the Texas coastal plain, traveling
  approximately 120 miles toward the Gulf of Mexico along a route
  sandwiched between the Brazos and Colorado Rivers to the east and
  west, respectively; and
         WHEREAS, As they approach the coastline, all three of these
  rivers intersect the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW), which links
  ports from Brownsville to Florida and serves as an artery for
  commercial transport of bulk commodities and as a means for
  inland-based fishing fleets to obtain outlets to Gulf waters; and
         WHEREAS, Modifications to the Brazos River channel, made by
  the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1929 to enhance navigation in
  and around Freeport, have had increasingly adverse effects on the
  natural flow of the nearby San Bernard River, changing the
  direction and pattern of its water movement and silt distribution;
  and
         WHEREAS, Over the next several decades, these changes caused
  the formation of a Brazos River delta; the resulting altered Gulf
  currents dumped coastal sediment in the direction of the San
  Bernard until the discharge reached that river and created a
  sandbar, forcing the river to swerve ever westward and downcoast
  from its original mouth to find an opening to the sea; and
         WHEREAS, The river grew increasingly sluggish as more of its
  water was diverted to the GIWW or to the Cedar Lakes area in the
  vicinity of the San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge; as less water
  emptied into the Gulf, the decelerating and obstructed watercourse
  became clogged and blockaded until, presently, there is not much of
  a river mouth at all; and
         WHEREAS, Upriver of the GIWW, in the vicinity of Sweeny, is
  the ConocoPhillips refinery complex whose barge traffic, along with
  other industrial freight shipments in that upriver segment, have
  been affected by the San Bernard's increased siltation, requiring
  frequent passageway maintenance measures; and
         WHEREAS, Altered flow patterns and redirected water volumes
  slow San Bernard basin drainage in the aftermath of flood events,
  compared to years ago; moreover, they have generated serious
  nautical hazards both at the GIWW intersection and in
  capacity-stressed Brazos River floodgate areas; and
         WHEREAS, In addition, recreational boat and fishing vessel
  operators, who used to have a straight shot down the river to its
  original mouth, are now thwarted and what once was a bustling hub at
  the mouth has been almost completely boarded up as restaurants,
  convenience stores, bait shops, and other businesses closed and the
  formerly thriving population of shrimpers headquartered elsewhere;
  and
         WHEREAS, In 2002, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers published
  the results of its study of the science of, and reasons for, these
  various impacts and suggested that river closure could be reversed
  by periodically dredging a conduit through the sand accumulation,
  thereby reestablishing a mouth to the San Bernard River at its
  original location; and
         WHEREAS, Doing so would produce renewable supplies of sand
  for beach replenishment at other Texas locations where erosion
  rather than buildup is occurring, while restoring the San Bernard
  River to its natural state and averting the economic consequences
  and potential for flooding brought on by the waterway's current
  condition; now, therefore, be it
         RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 80th Texas
  Legislature, endorsing the suggestions of the U.S. Army Corps of
  Engineers, hereby join with local, state, and federal officials in
  supporting efforts and pursuing funding to open the mouth of the San
  Bernard River.