Agencies

Home Up Agencies Key Names & Numbers Govt. Representatives

Agencies and groups involved with the San Bernard River

State & Federal Agencies

Acronym Authority Fed/State What they provide
TPWD Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept. State Call TPWD for violations of trash on the river banks.
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/texaswater/rivers/
 
TCEQ Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
 		 State The environmental agency for the State.
http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/
TGLO Texas General Land Office State The Texas General Land Office is the management agency for state lands and mineral rights totaling 20.4 million acres. This includes  the Gulf Coast beaches and bays and other "submerged" lands extending 10.3 miles out from the shoreline.

This group leases your space for a pier and boat dock. It is also involved in beach re-nourishment projects which might be interested in the sand at the mouth of the San Bernard. It would be involved in the event of a chemical spill into the river. This group issues determines whether you can remove the silt or saltgrass at your pier. http://www.glo.state.tx.us/   
Phone Numbers:
Executive Office Toll Free: 1-800-998-4GLO (4456). Direct: 512-463-5001
LaPorte Field Office Phone: 281-470-1191

 
TWDB Texas Water Development Board State The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) was created in 1957. It currently:
  Provides loans to local governments for water supply projects; water quality projects including wastewater treatment, municipal solid waste management and nonpoint source pollution control; flood control projects; agricultural water conservation projects; and groundwater district creation expenses

Provides grants and loans for the water and wastewater needs of the state's economically distressed areas

Provides agricultural water conservation funding and water-related research and planning grants

Supports regions in developing their regional water plans that will be incorporated into a statewide water plan for the orderly development, management and conservation of the state's water resources by studying Texas' surface and groundwater resources

 Collects data and conducts studies concerning the fresh-water needs of the state's bays and estuaries

Administers the Texas Water Bank, which facilitates the transfer, sale or lease of water and water rights throughout the state, and administers the Texas Water Trust, where water rights are held for environmental flow maintenance purposes

Maintains a centralized data bank of information on the state's natural resources called the Texas Natural Resources Information System and manages the Strategic Mapping Program, a Texas-based, public and private sector cost-sharing program to develop consistent, large-scale computerized base maps describing basic geographic features of Texas.

http://www.twdb.state.tx.us/home/index.asp
http://www.twdb.state.tx.us/about/general_history/history.asp
 
BCSO Brazoria County Sheriff's Office. County Sheriff: Charles Wagner. The Sheriff's Office patrols the river from time to time. Also the Brazoria County Sheriff Department - Environmental Health now has enforcement powers on the San Bernard River for such things as trash dumping, sewage runoff and sewage dumping into the River and Pollution issues
http://www.brazoria-county.com/sheriff/index.htm
Central & West: (979) 849-2441
South: (979)-265-9310
USACE U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Federal

They tend the dredging of the river.
We are in the Galveston District.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operates under the U.S. Department of Defense. In conjunction with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, owns, operates and maintains the flood control system of the county, which includes the Los Angeles River and its tributaries. The Corps is the primary federal agency regulating wetlands (Clean Water Act, Section 404), although EPA has oversight responsibilities.
http://www.swg.usace.army.mil/

Brazos River Floodgates Status Report
http://www.swg.usace.army.mil/Locks/BrazosLockStatus.asp

NWS National Weather Service Federal Reports current river water level and flow via the National Weather Service West Gulf River Forecast Center
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/wgrfc/stalist.php?funct=obs&shefid=SWYT2
 
USCG U.S. Coast Guard Federal The U.S. Coast Guard regularly patrols the river. I believe they are from the Freeport station. They provides maritime safety, law enforcement, recreational boating safety, and environmental protection information www.uscg.mil
EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Federal Responsible for administering the Clean Water Act. Exercises authority through the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) which oversees discharges from both point sources, such as from business and industry, sewage treatment plants, and non-point sources such as urban runoff. EPA delegates to the states to certify that permitted actions are consistent with the Clean Water Act. Supports environmental enhancement programs and projects
www.epa.gov
 
FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency Federal Provides flood insurance to jurisdictions that meet the criteria for participation in their program. The program was initiated to encourage better flood plain management and reduce damaged in flood-prone areas
www.fema.gov
 
NMFS National Marine Fisheries Service Federal The National Marine Fisheries Services operates under the U.S. Department of Commerce. Mission includes the conservation and management of living marine resources. Activities focus on the coastal zone and estuaries.
www.nmfs.gov
 
USFWS U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Federal The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service operates under the U.S. Department of the Interior. Responsible for the conservation, protection, and enhancement of fish and wildlife and their habitats. Major responsibilities are for migratory birds, candidate species, endangered species, some marine mammals, and freshwater and anadromous fish. Provides technical assistance to agencies for wildlife management, funding for wetlands acquisition, acquisition of areas for protection of migratory birds.
www.fws.gov
 
USNRCS U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service Federal The U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service operates under the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It provides guidance and technical assistance to individuals, cities and counties for conservation of nonfederal lands through Resource Conservation Districts. They provide leadership in partnership efforts to help people conserve, maintain, and improve our natural resources and environment. Programs include Emergency Watershed Protection, Environmental Quality Incentives, Resource Conservation and Development, Soil Survey Programs, Soil and Water Conservation Assistance, Watershed Protection, River Basin, and Flood Operations, Wetlands Reserve & Wildlife Habitat Incentives
www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/
 
GICA Gulf Intracoastal Canal Association Assn "Building, promoting, protecting the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway since 1905"
Mission: http://www.gicaonline.com/pages/about/mission.html
http://www.gicaonline.com/
TW Texas Watch Academic They do the water quality sampling and help with data like what’s needed for the USACE studies.

Texas Watch is a network of trained volunteers and supportive partners working together to gather information about the natural resources of Texas and to ensure the information is available to all Texans. Established in 1991, Texas Watch is administered through a cooperative partnership between Texas State University, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Currently, over 400 Texas Watch volunteers collect water quality data on lakes, rivers, streams, wetlands, bays bayous, and estuaries in Texas.
http://www.texaswatch.geo.txstate.edu/index.asp

Tx. D.O.T. Texas Dept.    of Transportation State http://www.dot.state.tx.us/publications/transportation_planning/giww05.pdf
EP Emergency Planning for Brazoria Co. County Emergency Planning for Brazoria Co.
http://www.brazoria-county.com/em/

 Please send information on other agencies to webmaster.

Other groups

Texas Rivers Protection Association The members of the Texas Rivers Protection Association are concerned about the quality of our remaining
natural rivers. It will sponsor river cleanups, Work for the passage of state legislation beneficial to natural
rivers, strive for increased appreciation and respect for the diverse natural waterways of Texas.
http://www.txrivers.org/
Galveston Bay Estuary Program The Galveston Bay Estuary Program—a non-regulatory program administered by the
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ)—is committed to preserving Galveston Bay for generations to come.  Established in 1989, we are one in a network of twenty-eight U.S.
National Estuary Programs (NEPs) guiding the conservation and restoration of Texas’ largest estuary.
http://www.gbep.state.tx.us/
Brazoria County Shoreline Restoration Task Force The purpose of the Brazoria County Shoreline Restoration Task Force is to cooperatively and effectively evaluate shoreline erosion problems in Brazoria County, Identify and investigate feasible alternatives to restore the shoreline, and maximize State assistance to the region for shoreline restoration projects under the CEPRA, CIAP and other applicable and appropriate State programs.
http://brazoria-county.com/beachtaskforce/index.asp
East Matagorda Bay Foundation East Matagorda Bay Foundation exist to preserve and protect East Matagorda Bay and its estuarine system for future generations.
http://www.eastmatagordabayfoundation.com/