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In 1987, in reauthorizing the Clean Water Act, the U.S. Congress established the National Estuaries Program
(NEP) to help manage and plan nationally significant estuaries threatened by pollution, development and overuse. In Texas, both Galveston Bay and the Coastal Bend Bays area surrounding Corpus
Christi Bay have been designated as national estuaries, making them eligible for federal and state funds to develop comprehensive management plans under the NEP. The designation of the
560-square-mile Galveston Bay Estuarine System is particularly significant, since more than 60 percent of the wastewater produced in Texas flows into Galveston Bay.*
A five-year assessment study of Galveston Bay preceeded the development of a management plan that addresses
water quality, habitat, wildlife, and human health aspects of the estuary. The Galveston Bay Plan was submitted by the Galveston Bay Estuary Program in 1994 and approved by the EPA in 1995.* In 1995, the TNRCC (now called the TCEQ) commissioners established the Galveston Bay Council, a 41-member council that advises the state agencies. In 1999, the Texas Legislature passed the Texas Estuaries Act, which designated the TCEQ as the entity responsible for implementing the Coastal Management Plan. The Galveston Bay Plan outlined nine major action areas, which include over 70 individual actions which need to be addressed. According to the TCEQ, in the first five years of the plan, some progress was made on virtually all 70 actions, with either substantial or significant progress made on 60 percent of them.* Among the most important action taken thus far
has been the restoration and protection of over 4,500 acres of marsh habitat, and addressing non-point source pollution sources through stormwater discharge permits. One of the major problems
impacting the implementation of the Galveston Bay Plan has been the lack of funding, with the Texas Legislature often slashing budget requests to enact action plans.
The Coastal Bend Bays & National Estuary Program was established in 1992 and began with a four-year effort
to identify the problems in the 600-square-mile estuarine "Coastal Bend" system and develop a management plan, known as the Coastal Bend Bays Plan. The
study area includes Aransas and Corpus Christi bays and the Upper Laguna Madre, and is bounded on the east by a series of barrier islands, including Padre Island. The Management Plan was approved by EPA in 1998. A non-profit organization was established in 1999 to lead implementation of the plan, although the actual program office is run by the TCEQ.* Some of the initial activities have included a
wetlands restoration project, an analysis of agricultural point-source runoff to Baffin Bay, and an urban non-point-source pollution reduction project for small municipalities.* Perhaps the major problem facing the estuaries is the lack of freshwater flow from the Nueces River, causing pollutants to concentrate in the estuaries. The lack of fresh water is due both to low rainfall and to the increasing demand for water in a growing Corpus Christi.* Another problem facing the area, as well as other areas in Texas, is red tide, a condition caused by a tiny
organism that can kill fish and shellfish almost instantly and is also harmful to humans.
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