On January 10, 1997, the State of Texas received federal approval of the Coastal Management Program (CMP) (62 Federal Register pp. 1439 - 1440). Under federal law, federal agency activities and actions affecting the Texas coastal zone must be consistent with the CMP goals and policies identified in 31 TAC Chapter 26. Requests for federal consistency review were deemed administratively complete for the following project(s) during the period of April 1, 2024 to April 5, 2024.  As required by federal law, the public is given an opportunity to comment on the consistency of proposed activities in the coastal zone undertaken or authorized by federal agencies.  Pursuant to 31 TAC §§30.20(f), 30.30(h), and 30.40(e), the public comment period extends 30 days from the date published on the Texas General Land Office web site. The notice was published on the web site on Friday, April 12, 2024.  The public comment period for this project will close at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday May 12, 2024.

Federal License and Permit Activities:

Applicant: Brownsville Navigation District

Location: The project site is located on of a 167‐acre parcel adjacent to the Brownsville Ship Channel (BSC) owned by the Port of Brownsville located approximately 9 miles northeast of Brownsville on the northern side of the BSC and south of Brownsville‐Port Isabel Highway and Old State Highway 48 in Cameron County, Texas.

Latitude and Longitude: 25.980572, -97.330879

Project Description: The applicant proposes to develop a 167‐acre parcel on the BSC to be utilized as a marine terminal (Project) for the receiving, handling, storage, and transport of raw materials, including iron ore and scrap steel. The proposed Project would construct a bulk carrier dock, barge dock, a conveyor belt system, stockpiles for raw materials, and on‐site and off‐site rail lines for transportation of materials to Pesquería, Mexico. The Project also includes the associated dredging of a bulk carrier berth and basin and a barge berth and basin. A one‐mile extension of the existing shortline railroad and a tie‐in to the proposed on‐site railroad is also included in this Project.

Construction would take place from both the waterside from within the BSC and from the land. No cofferdams or other dewatering methods would be required. Construction of the steel pipe pile‐supported docks would require driving 60‐inch (in) diameter steel pipe piles to support the dock structure. Based on a preliminary design, it is believed an impact hammer may be required to drive the piles to design depths. Mechanical excavation and hydraulic dredging would occur within of the BSC to construct the docks and deepen the berths and basins. Riprap would be placed within open water below the mean high tide line within the BSC for shoreline protection. The bulk carrier dock would require placement of 14,193.12 cubic yards (3.78 acres) of riprap within the footprint of the dock. The barge dock would require placement of 2,685.0 cubic yards (0.85 acre) of riprap. The applicant anticipates dredging with a cutterhead dredge. Dredging operations for the construction of the bulk carrier berth and basin would consist of approximately 1.28 million cubic yards (MCY) of dredged material. Additionally, the barge berth and basin dredging would consist of 0.14 MCY of dredged material. A total of approximately 1.42 MCY material would be dredged and placed in Port of Brownsville‐owned Dredged Material Placement Areas (DMPA) 5A or 5B, located on the south side of the BSC. It is expected that at full operation, 3.1 million tons/year of imported iron ore and 0.1 million tons/year of steel scrap would be imported at the facility for transfer into rail cars for delivery to the steelmaking plant in Pesquería.

The purpose of the Project is to receive, handle, store, and transport iron ore and scrap steel to a Ternium electric steelmaking plant in Pesquería, Mexico. The purpose of the steelmaking plant and this associated Project is to meet new regional steel content requirements established for the automotive industry by the United States‐Mexico‐Canada Agreement (USMCA), formally known as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which demands that at least 70% of the steel used in the automotive industry must be melted in the region.  The proposed Project would impact a total of 34.11 acres of the Brownsville Ship Channel, a TNW, but no special aquatic sites, including oyster reef, seagrass, or submerged aquatic vegetation, would be impacted. Therefore, no compensatory mitigation is proposed for this Project.

Type of Application: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit application #SWG-2024-00136.  This application will be reviewed pursuant to Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act.  Note: The consistency review for this project may be conducted by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality as part of its certification under §401 of the Clean Water Act.    

CMP Project No: 24-1202-F1

Further information on the applications listed above, including a copy of the consistency certifications or consistency determinations for inspection, may be obtained from the Texas General Land Office Public Information Officer at 1700 N. Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas 78701, or via email at pialegal@glo.texas.gov. Comments should be sent to the Texas General Land Office Coastal Management Program Coordinator at the above address or via email at federal.consistency@glo.texas.gov.