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SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, The Amistad International Reservoir, situated on |
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the Texas-Mexico border near Del Rio, supplies water to numerous |
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area communities for municipal, industrial, and agricultural |
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purposes; yet, with a salt content near the upper limit of the Texas |
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standard for drinking water, the reservoir may become an unusable |
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resource for all; and |
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WHEREAS, Two of its main tributaries, the Rio Grande and the |
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Pecos River, are heavily saturated with salt due in part to the |
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composition of the surrounding land, which was once part of a great |
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inland sea; when dry land emerged, salt from the sea was trapped in |
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the soil and in underground aquifers; originating in New Mexico, |
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the Pecos River, in particular, is one of the most saline waterways |
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in North America and accounts for nearly 30 percent of the salt |
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loading of the reservoir; and |
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WHEREAS, The upper limit of Texas drinking water standards |
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for minerals including salt is 1,000 milligrams per liter; when |
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that limit is exceeded, municipalities that rely on water released |
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into the Rio Grande from the Amistad Reservoir will face costly |
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treatment methods to meet state standards; moreover, the elevated |
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levels of salt may force farmers to discontinue the growth of |
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certain crops; while fresh water inflow from runoff could help |
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alleviate the salinity, the potential for such runoff is limited; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, The Amistad International Reservoir is shared by |
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both the United States and Mexico, in accordance with the terms of a |
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1944 treaty; for that reason and because the reservoir's holdings |
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derive from multiple states, it is incumbent on the national |
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government to take the lead in addressing this urgent problem; and |
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WHEREAS, Congress began that process by enacting Section 729 |
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of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986, 33 U.S.C. Section |
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2267a, and by developing a program in Section 5056 of the Water |
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Resources Development Act of 2007, Pub. L. No. 110-114, 121 Stat. |
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1041, 1213-1214 (2007), that directs the secretary of the army to |
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rehabilitate and enhance fish and wildlife habitat and to implement |
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long-term monitoring, data collection and analysis, applied |
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research, and adaptive management within the Rio Grande Basin; and |
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WHEREAS, Past studies must be evaluated to determine a |
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strategy for moving forward; in addition, it is imperative that |
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funding and continuing authority for Section 5056 of the Water |
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Resources Development Act of 2007, which is set to expire in 2011, |
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be reenacted so that efforts to solve the salt problem in the |
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reservoir can continue; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to reauthorize |
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the Water Resources Development Act of 2007, Section 5056, and to |
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appropriate sufficient funds to carry out work related to that |
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legislation; 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 president of the United States, the |
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speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the |
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senate of the United States Congress, and all the members of the |
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Texas delegation to Congress with the request that this resolution |
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be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to |
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the Congress of the United States of America. |