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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, Mexico's failure to fulfill its water deliveries to |
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the United States according to the stipulations of a 1944 treaty |
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between the two countries significantly harms the interests of |
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Texas; and |
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WHEREAS, The Rio Grande is both an interstate and |
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international river arising in the mountains of Colorado and |
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flowing in a southerly direction through New Mexico, where it forms |
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the border between the United States and Mexico beginning near El |
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Paso; the river is a shared and vital resource providing municipal |
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water for millions of Texans and irrigation water for hundreds of |
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thousands of acres in Texas; and |
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WHEREAS, Below Fort Quitman, the waters of the Rio Grande are |
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apportioned to the United States and to Mexico per the terms of the |
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1944 Treaty, "Utilization of Waters of the Colorado and Tijuana |
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Rivers and of the Rio Grande"; Article IV of the treaty requires |
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that inflows from certain named tributaries of the Rio Grande be |
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apportioned one-third to the United States and two-thirds to |
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Mexico; and |
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WHEREAS, The 1944 Treaty specifically requires that "this |
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third shall not be less, as an average amount in cycles of five |
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consecutive years, than 350,000 acre-feet (431,721,000 cubic |
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meters) annually"; Mexico is allowed to deliver less than this |
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annual average amount of water during a five-year cycle only in the |
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event of an extraordinary drought, and not all years in a delivery |
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cycle reflect extraordinary drought conditions; and |
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WHEREAS, Many municipal, industrial, and agricultural water |
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users in Texas rely almost exclusively on these waters from the Rio |
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Grande for their water supplies; it is thus critical to the state's |
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interests that, during years in which extraordinary drought is not |
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present, Mexico take all necessary measures to address accumulated |
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water delivery deficits; and |
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WHEREAS, During the current five-year delivery cycle, which |
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began on October 25, 2010, Mexico has failed to deliver an amount of |
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water equal to the annual average required by the 1944 Treaty, and |
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the deficit amount so far exceeds 390,000 acre-feet; and |
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WHEREAS, Several irrigation districts in the Lower Rio Grande |
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Valley of Texas are now projecting they will exhaust their |
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irrigation water reserves by mid-year 2013 as a result; these same |
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irrigation districts deliver municipal water to almost all of the |
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cities in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas; and |
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WHEREAS, The 1944 Treaty requires that the United States |
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Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission, which |
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is a subdivision of the United States Department of State, ensure |
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compliance with the terms of the 1944 Treaty; and |
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WHEREAS, The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has |
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conveyed and communicated these issues and concerns to the |
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International Boundary and Water Commission, and it is vital that |
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the IBWC and the state department recognize the critical |
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socioeconomic importance of this issue; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby respectfully urge the U.S. Department of State and the |
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United States Section of the International Boundary and Water |
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Commission to take appropriate action to ensure that Mexico |
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complies with the 1944 Treaty and that it takes all necessary steps |
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to make deliveries to the United States a priority during its annual |
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water allocation deliberations; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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copies of this resolution to the secretary of state of the United |
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States and to the commissioner of the International Boundary and |
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Water Commission, United States and Mexico. |