CORPUS CHRISTI - The Nueces River Authority has announced the opening of the formal public comment period for the draft Lower Nueces River Watershed Protection Plan.
The public comment period for the draft plan will be October 26 through November 25, 2015.
To facilitate public comment, the Nueces River Authority’s project coordinator Rocky Freund, will be available November 17, 2015 from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. at Nueces County Commissioner Mike Pusley’s Calallen office next to the Hilltop Community Center, located at 11425 Leopard Street in Corpus Christi, Texas 78410, and November 18, 2015 from 12:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. at the Mathis Public Library, located at 103 Lamar Street in Mathis, Texas 78368.
"People may stop at either location and ask questions or provide comment to me during this time," Freund said. In addition, comments may be emailed to Freund at rfreund [at] nueces-ra [dot] org, or mailed to 400 Mann Street, Suite 1002, Corpus Christi, Texas 78401.
The Nueces River, from Wesley E. Seale Dam at Lake Corpus Christi to the saltwater barrier dam in Corpus Christi, was identified for watershed protection plan development because of its role as the drinking water source for the Coastal Bend and due to concerns about high total dissolved solids, as reported in the Texas Water Quality Inventory published by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
"Thanks to the partnership’s participation and the involvement of area residents and other stakeholders, we now have a draft watershed protection plan for this important watershed," Freund said. A copy of the draft watershed protection plan is available for download on the project webpage at http://www.nuecesriverpartnership.org, along with other project-specific information.
"We want to allow stakeholders the opportunity to comment on the plan so we can ensure that it accurately reflects their ideas and vision for improving and protecting water quality in the river," said Con Mims, executive director of the Nueces River Authority. "Once this is accomplished, we will move forward with its implementation."
Funding for the development of the Lower Nueces River Watershed Protection Plan was provided through a Clean Water Act Section 319(h) grant from the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.