R-2012-05 Port of Houston’s project to deepen and widen the Bayport Ship Channel/Chambers, Harris Counties

Browse Search

RESOLUTION NO. 2012- CJ A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LA PORTE CONCERNING THE PORT OF HOUSTON'S PROJECT TO DEEPEN AND WIDEN THE BAYPORT SHIP CHANNEL IN CHAMBERS AND HARRIS COUNTIES, TEXAS. WHEREAS, the Port of Houston has submitted Permit Application No. SWG- 2011-01183 to deepen and widen the existing Bayport Ship Channel (BSC), deepen the Turning Basin (TB), deepen a portion of the Bayport Flare (BF), and place the new work dredged material and maintenance material in a proposed beneficial use (BU) site and/or in existing dredged material placement areas (PA); and WHEREAS, the City of La Porte supports the deepening and widening of the Bayport Ship Channel, Turning Basin and the Bayport Flare; and WHEREAS, the existing dredged material placement areas were previously studied and permitted after completion of a formal Environmental Impact Statement (EIS); and WHEREAS, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has made the initial determination that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is not required for the new, proposed open bay Beneficial Use (BU) area, despite the fact that previously permitted Beneficial Use (BU) areas were identified and designed based on a site -specific EIS; and WHEREAS, the proposed Beneficial Use (BU) site was not included in the previous study and EIS for the deepening and widening of the Houston Ship Channel; and WHEREAS, the proposed new Beneficial Use (BU) area has not been fully studied, modeled, designed and proven to not be a threat to water quality from wind, wave and ship wake erosion, tidal and current erosion, and a hazard to navigation for recreational and commercial vessels that use Upper Galveston Bay; and WHEREAS, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has expressed written concerns with the proposed new Beneficial Use (BU) area, including water quality degradation from erosion and suspension of sediments from ship wakes and concerns with adjacent oyster beds, as well as the proposed mitigation of displaced oyster beds.