194 



State-Owned Lands and Islands— Sale or Leasing — Moratorium 



CHAPTER 21 '^ 



S. B. No. 20 



AN ACT Declaring a moratorium on tlie sale or leasing of the surface estate in state-owned 

 submerged lands, beaches, and islands under any existing laws of this state, pending 

 receipt of the Interagency Natural Resources Council study of these submerged lands, 

 beaches, and islands or until May 31, 1973, whichever is earlier ; providing certain exemp- 

 tions ; and declaring an emergency 



Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Texas: 



Section. 1. Pending delivery of ttie final report of tlie Interagency Natural 

 Resources Council to the Legislature covering its comprehensive study and rec- 

 ommendation concerning the state's submerged lands, beaches, islands, estuaries, 

 and estuarine areas pursuant to S. C. R. No. 38 of this 61st Legislature, or until 

 May 31, 1973, whichever date shall first occur, there is hereby declared a mora- 

 torium and suspension of the sale or leasing of, and of the establishment of any 

 bulkhead line on, the surface estate of any state-owned submerged lands, beaches, 

 and islands for any purpose under any existing law of this state. 



Be it provided, however, that this moratorium shall not apply to any application 

 for a lease of state-owned submerged lauds or islands under the provisions of 

 Chapter 377, Acts of the 57th Legislature, Regular Session, 1961, where the sub- 

 merged lands or islands sought to be leased are within 2.500 feet of submerged 

 lands or islands already under lease to the applicant pursuant to the terms of 

 Chapter 377, Acts of the 57th Legislature, Regular Session, 1961. 



It is further provided that this Act shall not be construed to repeal, modify, 

 or suspend the provisions of Chapter 3, Title 67, Revised Civil Statutes of Texas, 

 as amended, as it relates to the powers and duties of the Parks and Wildlife 

 Department with resiDect to all matters pertaining to the sale, taking, carrying 

 away, or disturbing of marl, sand, gravel, or shell of commert-ial value, and all 

 gravel, shells, mud shell, and oyster beds and their protection from free use 

 and unlawful disturbing or appropriation as provided in said Chapter 3. 



Be it provided, however, that this Act shall not apply to any island or peninsula 

 that is not accessible by a public road or common cai-rier ferry facility, so long 

 as such condition shall exist. 



Sec. 2.^ The facts that the state-owned submerged lands, islands, estuaries, and 

 estuarine areas in the Texas Gulf Coast Area, including the submerged lands of 

 the state seaward of the mei'.n of lower low water marks in the Guff of Mexico, 

 and the natural resources and the environmental natural beauty with which they 

 are so richly endowed, constitute an important and valuable property right 

 belonging to the Public Free School Fund and to all of the people of Texas, and 

 they are of immediate and potential value to the present and future generations 

 of Texans ; 



That it is the declared policy of the state that such submerged lands, islands, 

 estuaries, and estuarine areas shall be so managed and used as to insure the 

 conservation, protection, and restoration of such submerged lands, islands, 

 estuaries, and estuarine areas with resources and natural beauty and, consistent 

 with such protection, conservation and restoration, their development and utiliza- 

 tion in a manner that adequately and reasonably maintains a balance between 

 the need for such protection in the intei-est of conserving the natural resources 

 and natural beauty of the state and the need to develop these submerged lands, 

 islands, estuaries, and estuarine areas to further the growth and development 

 of the state ; 



That the people of the Slate of Texas have a primary interest in the correction 

 and prevention of iri-eparable damage to or unreasonable impairmezit of the uses 

 of the coastal waters of the state and inland waters of the state in such estuaries 

 and estuarine areas caused by drainage, waste water disposal, industrial waste 

 disposal, and all other activities that may contribute to the contamination and 

 pollution of such waters ; 



That the people of the State of Texas also have primary interests in the value 

 of such lands, islands, estuaries, and estuarine areas as public property for pro- 

 duction and marketing of oil and gas and other minerals and mineral resources, 

 for the production of living resources, for shell and other fisheries and fishing, 

 hunting, and other recreation, for wildlife conservation, and for health and other 

 uses in which the public at large may participate and enjoy ; 



■!• Vernon's Ann. Civ. St. art. 5415f, § 1. 

 ^ Vernon's Ann. Civ. St. art. 5415f note. 



