SECTION 27.1. Coastal Management Program Boundary

(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.

Attached Graphic

(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.

Source Note: The provisions of this §27.1 adopted to be effective November 19, 1993, 18 TexReg 8221; amended to be effective December 27, 1994, 19 TexReg 9877; amended to be effective November 3, 1995, 20 TexReg 8661; amended to be effective December 15, 1997, 22 TexReg 12076; transferred effective December 1, 2022, as published in the Texas Register October 28, 2022, 47 TexReg 7301; amended to be effective July 10, 2023, 48 TexReg 3672