Assessing wetland regulations on Texas coastal public lands

Abstract

This report is a part of a growing effort to protect and enhance wetlands in Texas. The Texas Water Commission (TWC), the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), and the General Land Office (GLO) have adopted the goal no overall net loss of wetlands. The GLO drafted wetland's legislation passed by the 72nd Texas Legislature, that directs the GLO and the TPWD to promulgate a plan for protecting and enhancing coastal public wetlands. The legislation also amends current law to encourage acquisition of wetlands by TPWD. In addition, the TWC has proposed new surface water quality standards that include wetlands as surface waters of the state. This is also a time of growing federal concern about wetlands, as evidenced by the newly proposed Coastal America Program, the 1990 Wetland action Plan of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the EPA Gulf of Mexico Program, and the presidents commitment to no net loss of wetlands. The purpose of this study, conducted by the GLO under a cooperative agreement with the EPA-Region 6, is to examine current processes for permitting activities that may affect Texas wetlands and to strengthen and expand the state's role in wetland protection.