Texas Administrative Code
Title 31 - NATURAL RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION
Part 16 - COASTAL COORDINATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Chapter 503 - COASTAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAM BOUNDARY
Section 503.1 - Coastal Management Program Boundary
Universal Citation: 31 TX Admin Code ยง 503.1
Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) General Description of the Coastal Management Program Boundary. The coastal management program boundary delineates the coastal zone. The inland part of the boundary is a modification of the coastal facility designation line, which is the line the State of Texas adopted under the Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act of 1991 (Texas Natural Resources Code, Chapter 40) to describe areas where oil spills are likely to enter coastal waters. Generally, the boundary encompasses the area within Texas lying seaward of the coastal facility designation line. It also includes coastal wetlands landward of the coastal facility designation line. The boundary includes areas within the following Texas counties: Cameron, Willacy, Kenedy, Kleberg, Nueces, San Patricio, Aransas, Refugio, Calhoun, Victoria, Jackson, Matagorda, Brazoria, Galveston, Harris, Chambers, Jefferson, and Orange. The seaward reach of the boundary extends into the Gulf of Mexico to the limit of state title and ownership under the Submerged Lands Management Act (43 United States Code, §§1301 et seq), that is, three marine leagues. The following maps outline the coastal management program boundary.
(b) Particular Description of the Coastal Management Program Boundary. The boundary is more particularly described in terms of the inland boundary, the boundary with the State of Louisiana, the seaward boundary, the boundary with the Republic of Mexico, and the excluded federal lands.
(1) The inland boundary. The inland boundary
encompasses the following areas:
(A) Roadway
portion of boundary. The boundary begins at the International Toll Bridge in
Brownsville, thence northward along U.S. Highway 77 to the junction of Paredes
Lines Road (FM Road 1847) in Brownsville, thence northward along FM Road 1847
to the junction of FM Road 106 east of Rio Hondo, thence westward along FM Road
106 to the junction of FM Road 508 in Rio Hondo, thence northward along FM Road
508 to the junction of FM Road 1420, thence northward along FM Road 1420 to the
junction of State Highway 186 east of Raymondville, thence westward along State
Highway 186 to the junction of U.S. Highway 77 near Raymondville, thence
northward along U.S. Highway 77 to the junction of FM Road 774 in Refugio,
thence eastward along FM Road 774 to the junction of State Highway 35 south of
Tivoli, thence northward along State Highway 35 to the junction of State
Highway 185 between Bloomington and Seadrift, thence northwestward along State
Highway 185 to the junction of FM Road 616 in Bloomington, thence northeastward
along FM Road 616 to the junction of State Highway 35 east of Blessing, thence
southward along the State Highway 35 to the junction of FM Road 521 north of
Palacios, thence northeastward along FM Road 521 to the junction of State
Highway 36 south of Brazoria, thence northward along State Highway 36 to the
junction of State Highway 332 in Brazoria, thence eastward along State Highway
332 to the junction of FM Road 2004 in Lake Jackson, thence northeastward along
FM Road 2004 to the junction of Interstate Highway 45 between Dickinson and La
Marque, thence northwestward along Interstate Highway 45 to the junction of
Interstate Highway 610 in Houston, thence east and northward along Interstate
Highway 610 to the junction of Interstate Highway 10 in Houston, thence
eastward along Interstate Highway 10 to the Louisiana State line.
(B) Tidal portion of the boundary. The
boundary runs at a distance of 100 yards inland from the mean high tide line
along each of the following tidal river and stream segments from the points
where they intersect the roadway boundary described in subparagraph (A) of this
paragraph:
(i) on the Arroyo Colorado, to a
point 100 meters (110 yards) downstream of Cemetery Road south of Port
Harlingen in Cameron County;
(ii)
on the Nueces River, to Calallen Dam 1.7 kilometers (1.1 miles) upstream of
U.S. Highway 77 in Nueces/San Patricio County;
(iii) on the Guadalupe River, to the
Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority Salt Water Barrier 0.7 kilometers (0.4 mile)
downstream of the confluence of the San Antonio River in Calhoun and Refugio
Counties;
(iv) on the Lavaca River,
to a point 8.6 kilometers (5.3 miles) downstream of U.S. Highway 59 in Jackson
County;
(v) on the Navidad River,
to Palmetto Bend Dam in Jackson County;
(vi) on Tres Palacios Creek, to a point 0.6
kilometer (1.0 mile) upstream of the confluence of Wilson Creek in Matagorda
County;
(vii) on the Colorado
River, to a point 2.1 kilometers (1.3 miles) downstream of the Missouri-Pacific
Railroad in Matagorda County;
(viii) on the San Bernard River, to a point
3.2 kilometers (2.0 miles) upstream of State Highway 35 in Brazoria
County;
(ix) on Chocolate Bayou, to
a point 4.2 kilometers (2.6 miles) downstream of State Highway 35 in Brazoria
County;
(x) on Clear Creek, to a
point 100 meters (110 yards) upstream of FM Road 528 in Galveston/Harris
County;
(xi) on Buffalo Bayou, to a
point 400 meters (440 yards) upstream of Shepherd Drive in Harris
County;
(xii) on the San Jacinto
River, to Lake Houston Dam in Harris County;
(xiii) on Cedar Bayou, to a point 2.2
kilometers (1.4 miles) upstream of Interstate Highway 10 in Chambers/Harris
County;
(xiv) on the Trinity River,
to the border between Chambers and Liberty Counties;
(xv) on the Neches River, to a point 11.3
kilometers (7.0 miles) upstream of Interstate Highway 10 in Orange County;
and
(xvi) on the Sabine River, to
Morgan Bluff in Orange County.
(C) Wetlands portion of boundary. Except for
the part of the boundary adjacent to the Trinity and Neches rivers, the
boundary includes wetlands lying within one mile inland of the mean high tide
lines of the tidal river and stream segments identified in subparagraph (B) of
this paragraph.
(i) Adjacent to the Trinity
River, the boundary includes wetlands within the area located between the mean
high tide line on the western shoreline of the river and Farm-to-Market Road
565 and Farm-to-Market Road 1409, and wetlands within the area located between
the mean high tide line on the eastern shoreline of that portion of the river
and Farm-to-Market Road 563.
(ii)
Adjacent to the Neches River, the boundary includes wetlands within one mile of
the mean high tide line on the western shoreline of the river, and wetlands
within the area located between the mean high tide line on the eastern
shoreline of that portion of the river and Farm-to-Market Road 105.
(2) The boundary with
the State of Louisiana. The boundary with the State of Louisiana begins in
Orange County at Morgans Bluff, the northernmost extent of tidal influence,
along the adjudicated boundary between the State of Texas and the State of
Louisiana, as established by the United States Supreme Court in Texas v.
Louisiana, 410
U.S.702(1973); thence it
continues in a southerly direction along the adjudicated boundary out into the
Gulf of Mexico until it intersects the seaward boundary.
(3) The seaward boundary. The seaward
boundary is that line marking the seaward limit of Texas title and ownership
under the Submerged Lands Act (43 United States Code,
§1301 et seq), as recognized by the
United States Supreme Court in United States v. Louisiana et al.,
364 U.S.
502(1960).
(4) The boundary with the Republic of Mexico.
The boundary with the Republic of Mexico begins at a point three marine leagues
into the Gulf of Mexico where the line marking the seaward limit of Texas title
and ownership under the Submerged Lands Act (43 United States Code,
§§1301 et seq) intersects the
international boundary between the United States and the Republic of Mexico, as
established pursuant to the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo (February 2, 1848)
between the United States and the Republic of Mexico; thence it continues in a
westerly direction along the international border with the Republic of Mexico
until it meets the International Toll Bridge in Brownsville.
(5) The excluded federal lands. The excluded
federal lands are those lands owned, leased, held in trust by, or whose use is
otherwise by law subject solely to the discretion of the federal government,
its officers or agents.
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