AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
The Rio Grande basin, a binational water resource, is faced with serious environmental challenges due to increasing development along the river in both Mexico and the United States.
A vital source of water for municipalities, industry, agriculture, and Native American tribes, the Rio Grande also supports nationally significant ecosystems for fish and wildlife. Along the river, the Chihuahuan Desert of New Mexico and Texas is home to tremendous biodiversity.
Nothing stated in this resolution is intended to apply to the interpretation or application of any interstate compact or treaty.
Recognizing the critical importance of the Rio Grande basin, the federal government established the Rio Grande Environmental Management Program under Section 5056 of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 and authorized funding of up to $15 million annually for projects along the river's main stem and tributaries. Moreover, the Act instructed the secretary of the army to direct the rehabilitation and enhancement of fish and wildlife habitat in partnership with local sponsors and to implement long-term monitoring, data collection and analysis, applied research, and adaptive management.
The Rio Grande Environmental Management Program authority expired in September 2011, before any funds were appropriated to carry it out. Since then, water quality and the environment have continued to deteriorate, and the need for coordinated and collaborative action has become ever more urgent.
RESOLVED
That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to reauthorize Section 5056 of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 and to appropriate sufficient funds to carry out work related to that legislation.
That the Texas secretary of state forward official copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress, to the commanding general of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, to the assistant secretary of the United States Army (Civil Works), to the commanders of the Albuquerque, Fort Worth and Galveston Districts of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, to the chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, and to all the members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that this resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.