About Clean Coast Texas

Recognizing the need to enhance the management of the nation's coastal natural resources, Congress passed the Protecting Coastal Waters Act in 1990, also referred to as §6217 of the Coastal Zone Act Reauthorization Amendments (CZARA). The act requires every state participating in a Coastal Nonpoint Source Program to develop and implement management measures that mitigate non-point source pollution and restore and protect coastal waters.

To meet these new requirements, the Texas General Land Office (GLO) worked with other state agencies to establish the Texas Coastal Nonpoint Source Pollution Control Program in 1996 under the leadership of the Texas Coastal Management Program. Texas submitted its Nonpoint Source Pollution Program to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for review in 1998 and received conditional approval in 2003.

Since then, Texas has worked closely with NOAA and EPA to ensure all management measures are sufficiently met. As a result, in May 2022, NOAA and EPA granted Texas full approval of its Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program.

Administered by GLO, the Texas Coastal Nonpoint Source Pollution Program comprises six networked agencies that coordinate to implement approved management measures. The responsibilities of each agency are described below. These agencies coordinate programs and staff activities on an ongoing basis. Regular meetings and communications among program staff are frequent.
 

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Launched in in January 2021, the Clean Coast Texas Collaborative encompasses a dynamic team of scientists, educators, engineers and communication professionals, who are working with communities throughout the Texas Coastal Zone to address stormwater management and water quality concerns.

The Texas General Land Office serves as the lead state agency with program efforts coordinated by The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University in collaboration with Texas A&M AgriLife, Texas Community Watershed Partners, Texas Sea Grant, Doucet & Associates, and Anchor QEA.

• Final Report: Years 1 & 2
• Final Report: Year 3

Resilient development in the Texas Coastal Zone can be achieved with sustainable site design practices and techniques, such as the preservation of natural features and the use of conservation design in new developments. By preserving natural areas — such as wetlands, riparian areas, waterways and floodplains — we not only protect our water resources, but also ensure that natural buffers remain to serve as our first line of defense during floods and other natural disasters.

Protecting and preserving natural features is also a key component of conservation design, which takes an individualized approach to development projects. By clustering construction in specific areas and leaving open, natural spaces in others, we can take advantage of a site’s natural features that manage stormwater at no cost to developers. Often, conservation developments have the twofold benefit of reducing costs and increasing property value due to built-in access to these preserved natural spaces.

Other benefits that have been shown to result from properly enacted, sustainable site design approaches include:

• Environmental benefits such as: pollution abatement and reduction, erosion control, protection of downstream water resources and riparian area, water quality improvements, increased groundwater recharge, and habitat improvements
• Land value and public safety benefits such as: reduced downstream flooding and property damage, real estate value and property tax revenue, lot yield, aesthetic value, increased access to public spaces, improved quality of life, and greater public participation in community
• Economic benefits such as: growth of industries that are directly dependent on the quality and quantity of the water resources in Texas’ coastal areas - such as tourism, recreation, and commercial fishing