San Bernard re-opening postponed

By Erin McKeon
The Facts

Published August 20, 2008

Work to re-open the mouth of the San Bernard River has been postponed for about four months while two agencies more closely examine the project’s impact, the Galveston District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Tuesday.

“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has requested formal consultation because of the impact to 1.1 acres of piping plover critical habitat, which is protected under the Endangered Species Act, as well as potential impact to nesting sea turtles,” Corps officials said in a press release.

Also, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has requested a water quality certification.

“Once these two requirements are met, then the contracting bidding process can proceed,” according to the press release.

Friends of the River San Bernard member Jan Edwards said the river mouth was expected to be open by the end of the year, but now it could be February or later.

Edwards said the delay is a shock to her — and one she is not particularly happy about.

“The community feels that this is an important project to open the mouth of the river and that has not changed,” Edwards said. “The delay is upsetting and the problem at the west gate of the Brazos is not going away. In fact, it’s getting worse every day and navigation issues are dangerous.

“We feel that the best thing for the community is to open the mouth of the river, and because of that, Friends of the River will do anything in its power to help U.S. Fish and Wildlife finish their assessment in as quick a fashion as possible.”

Edwards said U.S. Fish and Wildlife has 90 days to complete its assessment and another 45 days after that to issue a report.

“It doesn’t have to take that long, but they have until then to get it completed,” Edwards said.

In June, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers published an environmental assessment draft that concluded re-opening the mouth of the river would have a positive impact on the wildlife, vegetation and overall quality of the river.

The assessment addressed the issues of the piping plover and nesting sea turtles, saying the habitats would be affected temporarily while the mouth is cleared, but more habitat area would be created after the project is completed.

Piping plovers are a threatened species of bird that nests along the river.

“Though both the community and the Corps of Engineers are anxious for this project to be completed, following these requirements is crucial to its eventual success,” Operations Project Manager Karl Brown said in a prepared press release. “In the long run, the community benefits by ensuring that those environmental issues are addressed.”

The plan, once all assessments are completed, is to dredge a channel 100 feet wide and 10 feet deep to open the blocked river mouth to the Gulf of Mexico.

Silt has choked off the San Bernard from the Gulf, and the river has funneled through the Intracoastal Waterway and into the Brazos River, creating a dangerously violent current at the narrow floodgates. That reason was enough for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to take interest in opening the mouth and begin the process to re-open it.