The American Shore and Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA) was founded in 1926 by individuals who recognized the need for an organized effort to combat erosion, a serious problem in many coastal areas. The Texas Chapter of ASBPA was formed in 2005 and is dedicated to preserving, protecting and enhancing the beaches, shores and other coastal resources of Texas.
Under the Federal Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA), five Gulf of Mexico states — Texas, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana – and the counties or parishes bordering the Gulf of Mexico receive a guaranteed, direct annual federal payout of royalties from offshore oil and gas development in federal waters of the Gulf. Possibly you are familiar with GOMESA funding as the law was passed in 2006. In Texas, GOMESA funds are administered by the General Land Office (GLO) and can be used for a variety of coastal projects and there is no federal match requirement for GOMESA funds.
GOMESA royalty sharing payments have at times been substantial and at other times almost unnoticeable. The revenue share is a function of oil and gas production, state and county population, miles of shoreline, and the distance from the lease sites to the receiving government entity. Under the 2006 federal law, GOMESA Phase II took effect in FY 2017. Phase II substantially increases the royalty revenue payments available to the State and Texas coastal counties. Unfortunately, there is no set aside of GOMESA funds for cities and that is the issue the resolution seeks to address.
Under Phase II the State of Texas for 2017 receive $40.5 million from the Federal Government of a maximum annual cap of $100 million, which as mentioned above that the GLO will handle, and the Texas coastal counties will receive $10.1 million, which comes directly from the Federal Government. The level of state and county payouts will change year-to-year but are guaranteed through 2055.
The Texas Chapter would like the Counties to continue to receive their funds but the purpose of the Resolution is also to allocate funds to Texas Coastal Cities in the same amount allocated to the Counties. From the $40.5 million that Texas will receive we request the GLO to allocate $10.1 million to the Texas coastal cities, reducing the amount to Texas to $30.4 million. The counties will still receive their $10.1 million. The Texas ASBPA Chapter has sent a resolution to the GLO since they handle these funds.
We have attached the Texas ASBPA Chapter Board Resolution as well as a draft of a similar resolution for your county/city to initiate and approve. The proposed Resolution requests that the state set aside an amount equal to the annual county share ($10.1M in FY17) but reserved that for cities that have line state-mandated coastal responsibilities under the Dune Protection Act (DPA), Open Beaches Act (OBA), Coastal Management Program (CMP), Coastal Erosion Protection and Response Act (CEPRA), and the Erosion Response Plan (ERP). The counties will still receive their funds and will not have to distribute any to the cities. We feel this is a real win win for the counties and cities and we would appreciate if you could adopt the resolution and forward to the General Land Office, attention:
The Honorable George P. Bush, Land Commissioner
Texas General Land Office
1700 N Congress Ave./P.O. Box 12873
Austin, Texas 78701
Please let me know where we can be of assistance. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
Jerry Mohn
President
P.S. The Texas ASBPA Chapter acknowledges Board Member Peter Ravella and former Board Member Reuben Trevino in initiating this well-deserved project.