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HOUSE 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 to the composition |
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of the surrounding land, which was once part of a great inland sea; |
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when dry land emerged, salt from the sea was trapped in the soil and |
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in underground aquifers; originating in New Mexico, the Pecos |
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River, in particular, is one of the most saline waterways in North |
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America and accounts for almost 30 percent of the salt loading of |
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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 the |
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United States and Mexico, in accordance with the terms of a 1944 |
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treaty; for that reason and because the reservoir's holdings derive |
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from multiple states, it is incumbent on the national government to |
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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 (WRDA) of 1986 and by |
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developing a program under Section 5056 of WRDA of 2007, |
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Pub. L. No. 110-114, that directs the secretary of the army to |
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rehabilitate and enhance fish and wildlife habitats and to |
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implement long-term monitoring, data collection and analysis, |
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applied research, and adaptive management within the Rio Grande |
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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 WRDA of 2007, |
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which was extended until 2019 in Section 4006 of the Water Resources |
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Reform and Development Act (WRRDA) of 2014, be fully funded so that |
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efforts to solve the salt problem in the reservoir can continue; |
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now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 84th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to appropriate |
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sufficient funds to continue to carry out work related to Section |
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4006 of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014; and, |
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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. |