On January 10, 1997, the State of Texas received federal approval of the Coastal Management Program (CMP) (62 Federal Register pp. 1439 - 1440). Under federal law, federal agency activities and actions affecting the Texas coastal zone must be consistent with the CMP goals and policies identified in 31 TAC Chapter 26. Requests for federal consistency review were deemed administratively complete for the following project(s) during the period of August 3, 2026 to August 7, 2026. As required by federal law, the public is given an opportunity to comment on the consistency of proposed activities in the coastal zone undertaken or authorized by federal agencies. Pursuant to 31 TAC §§30.20(f), 30.30(h), and 30.40(e), the public comment period extends 30 days from the date published on the Texas General Land Office web site. The notice was published on the web site on Friday, August 14, 2026. The public comment period for this project will close at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 13, 2026.
Federal License and Permit Activities:
Applicant: Targa Downstream LLC
Location: The project site is located in the Houston Ship Channel (HSC) near Station 860+00, at 1050 Jefferson Road, in Harris County, Texas.
Latitude and Longitude: 29.744587, -95.185331
Project Description: The applicant proposes to install approximately 1,215 feet of new bulkhead, a new ship dock, barge dock, pipe racks, access road, three new 60-inch-diameter breasting dolphins, one new 60-inch-diameter mooring dolphin, and nine breasting fenders fastened to the bulkhead wall to construct the proposed Patriot Terminal on a 16.6-acre site adjacent to the Houston Ship Channel (HSC). The proposed ship dock will be 90-foot-long and 45-foot-wide and oriented parallel to the HSC and directly abut the newly installed bulkhead wall. The ship dock will match the modified elevations and will be supported by twenty-four 24-inch-square concrete piles pneumatically installed to a depth to ensure structural integrity. The proposed barge dock will be 100-foot-long and 45-foot-wide and oriented parallel to the HSC. The barge dock infrastructure will be elevated approximately 3 feet above existing grade to 12 feet above the mean high water (MHW) line and will be supported by twenty-one 24-inch-square concrete piles pneumatically installed to a depth to ensure structural integrity. A staircase will be attached to the proposed barge dock allowing access to the breasting fenders fastened to the bulkhead wall. The proposed project would support one 750-foot-long vessel and two 300-foot-long barges positioned parallel to the HSC. The terminal would have a 255-foot setback from the HSC in order to not impede vessel traffic. Site preparation, including the demolition and removal of existing bulkhead and docking structures, will be completed first.
Following site preparation, the new bulkhead would be installed approximately 50 feet landward of the previously existing bulkhead in uplands, and approximately 5,000 cubic yards (CY) of material will be mechanically excavated from 0.9 acre of dry land in front of the new bulkhead. Approximately 240,000 CY of material would be mechanically and/or hydraulically dredged from an additional 5.1 acres channelward of the new bulkhead to a maximum depth of -47 feet mean lower low water (MLLW) and within 0.9 acres to a maximum depth of -18.44 feet MLLW adjacent to the proposed barge dock. The total dredge and excavation footprint consists of 6.9 acres. All dredged/excavated material will be placed within public or private upland confined dredge material placement areas (DMPAs) or beneficial use (BU) site, including but not limited to Targa Dynegy DMPA, Clinton DMPA, Pinto Lion Jacintoport DMPA, Stimson House Tract DMPA, and East and West Jones DMPA. Additionally, Targa proposes 10 years of future maintenance dredging to maintain a depth of -47 feet MLLW at the ship docks.
The applicant stated that the purpose of the proposed Patriot Terminal project is to offer clients the opportunity to load, transport, and export petroleum and petroleum products gathered from pipelines/storage facilities and sold on the domestic/international market. Construction of the proposed project would provide the intermodal transportation capabilities necessary to fulfill strategic corporate expansion initiatives and stability within a growing market.
The applicant has stated that they have avoided and minimized environmental impacts to waters of the United States (U.S.) associated with the proposed activity by designing the proposed Patriot Terminal project components to be the minimal needed to meet the project purpose. Temporary impacts to waters of the U.S. will be minimized through the use of best management practices (BMPs) during construction activities. The excavation and temporary side casting of material will be completed using BMPs. As such, material temporarily side-cast will be placed at nearby locations of the highest elevations practical to prevent potential adverse effects as a result of the proposed construction activities. The proposed project would demolish the existing bulkhead and dock structures and construct a new dock with a larger setback from the HSC to ensure navigational safety for incoming and outgoing vessel traffic, as well as neighboring and on-site personnel. The applicant has not proposed any compensatory mitigation because there would be no loss of waters of the United States, nor would there be any impacts to special aquatic sites. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will determine the type and amount of compensatory mitigation necessary to offset losses of waters of the U.S. which may result from the proposed activity in accordance with 33 CFR § 332.
Type of Application: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit application # SWG-2015-00725. This application will be reviewed pursuant Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899. Note: The consistency review for this project may be conducted by The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality as part of its certification under §401 of the Clean Water Act.
CMP Project No: 26-1202-F1
Further information on the applications listed above, including a copy of the consistency certifications or consistency determinations for inspection, may be obtained from the Texas General Land Office Public Information Officer at 1700 N. Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas 78701, or via email at pialegal@glo.texas.gov. Comments should be sent to the Texas General Land Office Coastal Management Program Coordinator at the above address or via email at federal.consistency@glo.texas.gov.