Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) The purpose of
the Texas Coastal Management Program (CMP) is to make more effective and
efficient use of public funds and to more effectively and efficiently manage
coastal natural resource areas (CNRAs) and the activities that may affect them.
The program is based on goals and policies that guide the use and development
of CNRAs, preserve and protect CNRAs, and improve government processes. Under
the Coastal Coordination Act, the commissioner of the General Land Office
(commissioner) is charged with adopting rules promulgating the CMP goals and
policies. The Coastal Coordination Act requires agency or subdivision actions
to comply with these goals and policies.
(b) The commissioner will exercise authority
pursuant to the Coastal Coordination Act in the following ways.
(1) The commissioner will study and review
the principal coastal problems of state concern. This review will include
examination of the current status and future trends of CNRAs; examination of
conflicts between competing uses of CNRAs; and examination of policy issues
with respect to local, state, or national interests and concerns related to
CNRAs. The commissioner will examine alternative regulatory and other
management approaches to these problems, identify data collection and research
needs, and foster public education and participation.
(2) The commissioner will coordinate the
performance of agencies, subdivisions, and programs by promulgating goals and
policies to guide and serve as the basis for consistency review of agency and
subdivision actions. The commissioner will examine the goals and policies in
this chapter annually to review the effectiveness of the program and will
propose revisions to the goals and policies, as necessary.
(3) The commissioner will coordinate the
measures required to resolve identified coastal problems and make coastal
management processes more visible, accessible, coherent, consistent, and
accountable by reviewing agency and subdivision actions for consistency with
the goals and policies in this chapter. Agency and subdivision actions subject
to consistency review are those set forth in Texas Natural Resources Code,
§
33.2051 and
§
33.2053. The
commissioner shall employ consistency review of agency and subdivision rules
and policies as the primary technique for ensuring that agency and subdivision
actions are consistent with the CMP goals and policies in this
chapter.
(4) The commissioner will
adopt guidance and procedural rules for the review of federal agency actions,
activities, and outer continental shelf plans that incorporated the provisions
of the federal regulations governing those reviews. The commissioner shall
employ consistency review to ensure that federal agency actions, activities,
and outer continental shelf plans are consistent with the CMP goals and
policies in this chapter.
(5) The
commissioner will implement a grants program to award funds to coastal local
governments and other qualified entities for the planning and implementation of
projects that address environmental problems affecting the coastal area, to
promote sustainable economic development, and otherwise further the CMP goals
and policies. The commissioner shall establish the procedures for making any
determination related to awarding a grant. For each year or for each grant
cycle, the commissioner shall promulgate guidance for the grants program
describing the deadlines, schedule, eligibility requirements, funding policies,
and approval process.
(c) As directed in the Coastal Coordination
Act, the General Land Office (GLO) will act as the lead agency in coordinating
and implementing the CMP, in cooperation with other state agencies that have
duties relating to coastal matters. The GLO, in coordination with other
agencies and subdivisions, shall prepare a biennial report reviewing the
effectiveness of the CMP as required by Texas Natural Resources Code, §
33.204(f).
On or before January 15 of each odd-numbered year, the GLO shall send the
report to the legislature .
(d) The
CMP will help local governments improve their ability to manage CNRAs and human
activities affecting those resources.
