chasintail
03-12-2007, 12:37 PM
Published March 12, 2007
U.S. Rep. Ron Paul plans to include a $5 million request to fund dredging to open the mouth of the San Bernard River, a spokeswoman for a river advocacy group says.
The funding, which Paul proposes as part of the Energy and Water Appropriations Bill, would pay to open the mouth and use the dredged material to build up the dunes surrounding the river, said Jan Edwards of Friends of the River San Bernard.
“He’s been very impressed with the importance of opening the river’s mouth,” said Tom Lizardo, Paul’s chief of staff.
The river’s mouth began closing in 1990, and it was the main reason for the group’s formation, said Roy Edwards, chairman of the group’s River Mouth Committee.
Opening the mouth would help with current flow problems at the Brazos River’s flood gates, help with area flooding, improve the river’s ecology and the area’s economy, and recover river sand for the area’s beaches, Roy Edwards said.
It took what the closed mouth was costing Texas businesses that use the Intracoastal Waterway to make anyone take notice of the problem, Jan Edwards said.
“We were just trying to get anyone to pay attention to what is going on at the river’s mouth,” she said.
The main problems the closed mouth causes for Texas commerce pertains to the barges that use the Intracoastal Waterway and have to pass through the Brazos River’s west floodgate to get to their destination, said Raymond Butler, executive director of the Gulf Intracoastal Canal Association.
GICA, a nonprofit organization that seeks federal funding to maintain and protect the Intracoastal Waterway, has helped in informing Paul about the problems the clogged river’s mouth poses, and how much money is lost because of it every year.
Butler said 30 million tons of cargo are shipped through the west floodgate each year. With water from the San Bernard flowing backward into the Brazos River and Intracoastal Waterway instead of into the Gulf of Mexico, strong currents are created at the floodgate, making it difficult for barges to push through the tide with their loads, he said.
“Sometimes the barges can’t push through the current, so everything stops,” Butler said. “And they have to wait until the current slows down enough to push through the resistance.”
Another problem is most barges are multiple units together and can be pushed through the floodgate only one at a time because of the strong currents, Butler said.
The total monetary loss per year caused by the delays to Texas businesses that use the waterway is estimated at $1.6 million, Butler said. In addition, the current at times can push a barge into the floodgate, resulting in about $315,000 per year in needed repairs, Butler said.
Part of the $5 million Paul is requesting would be spent on erosion protection for the San Bernard River mouth, such as building jetties, aimed at keeping the mouth from closing again in the future, Butler said.
Paul has more than 40 requests in this year’s energy and water bill, but taking action toward opening the mouth is his top priority, Lizardo said.
The bill is due by Thursday, Lizardo said. The subcommittee was scheduled to take up the bill this week before sending it to the full Appropriations Committee. If Paul’s funding requests survive the committee process, the bill likely won’t be acted on by the full House for several months and then must pass the Senate, Lizardo said.
“The bill won’t be signed into law prior to this fall,” Lizardo said.
U.S. Rep. Ron Paul plans to include a $5 million request to fund dredging to open the mouth of the San Bernard River, a spokeswoman for a river advocacy group says.
The funding, which Paul proposes as part of the Energy and Water Appropriations Bill, would pay to open the mouth and use the dredged material to build up the dunes surrounding the river, said Jan Edwards of Friends of the River San Bernard.
“He’s been very impressed with the importance of opening the river’s mouth,” said Tom Lizardo, Paul’s chief of staff.
The river’s mouth began closing in 1990, and it was the main reason for the group’s formation, said Roy Edwards, chairman of the group’s River Mouth Committee.
Opening the mouth would help with current flow problems at the Brazos River’s flood gates, help with area flooding, improve the river’s ecology and the area’s economy, and recover river sand for the area’s beaches, Roy Edwards said.
It took what the closed mouth was costing Texas businesses that use the Intracoastal Waterway to make anyone take notice of the problem, Jan Edwards said.
“We were just trying to get anyone to pay attention to what is going on at the river’s mouth,” she said.
The main problems the closed mouth causes for Texas commerce pertains to the barges that use the Intracoastal Waterway and have to pass through the Brazos River’s west floodgate to get to their destination, said Raymond Butler, executive director of the Gulf Intracoastal Canal Association.
GICA, a nonprofit organization that seeks federal funding to maintain and protect the Intracoastal Waterway, has helped in informing Paul about the problems the clogged river’s mouth poses, and how much money is lost because of it every year.
Butler said 30 million tons of cargo are shipped through the west floodgate each year. With water from the San Bernard flowing backward into the Brazos River and Intracoastal Waterway instead of into the Gulf of Mexico, strong currents are created at the floodgate, making it difficult for barges to push through the tide with their loads, he said.
“Sometimes the barges can’t push through the current, so everything stops,” Butler said. “And they have to wait until the current slows down enough to push through the resistance.”
Another problem is most barges are multiple units together and can be pushed through the floodgate only one at a time because of the strong currents, Butler said.
The total monetary loss per year caused by the delays to Texas businesses that use the waterway is estimated at $1.6 million, Butler said. In addition, the current at times can push a barge into the floodgate, resulting in about $315,000 per year in needed repairs, Butler said.
Part of the $5 million Paul is requesting would be spent on erosion protection for the San Bernard River mouth, such as building jetties, aimed at keeping the mouth from closing again in the future, Butler said.
Paul has more than 40 requests in this year’s energy and water bill, but taking action toward opening the mouth is his top priority, Lizardo said.
The bill is due by Thursday, Lizardo said. The subcommittee was scheduled to take up the bill this week before sending it to the full Appropriations Committee. If Paul’s funding requests survive the committee process, the bill likely won’t be acted on by the full House for several months and then must pass the Senate, Lizardo said.
“The bill won’t be signed into law prior to this fall,” Lizardo said.
