This agreement is to fund the state of texas' water quality management planning program to improve impaired water and protect unimpaired waters across the state by conducting planning that informs and…

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 6 awarded the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) $1,967,000 under the Water Quality Management Planning program (CFDA 66.454) on September 1, 2025, with completion targeted for August 31, 2027. Funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), this formula grant supports comprehensive water quality management planning activities designed to improve impaired waters and protect unimpaired waters across Texas by informing and supporting implementation of Clean Water Act programs. The award encompasses 25 subaward projects and mandates that TCEQ allocate at least 40 percent of funds to regional or interstate watershed management planning agencies unless a waiver is approved by EPA. Primary activities include TCEQ project administration and oversight, grant development and contract management consistent with Clean Water Act Section 205(j), and implementation of water quality management initiatives aligned with the State of Texas Water Quality Management Plan and the Texas Nonpoint Source Management Program.

Sub-recipients implementing specific planning and monitoring activities include the Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program (CBBEP), which administers program activities and conducts long-term seagrass monitoring in coastal estuarine systems; Research Applied Technology Education Service, Inc. (RATES), which collects water quality and hydrologic data characterizing nonpoint source pollution in the Brownsville Ship Channel and San Martin Lake; and multiple regional planning organizations including the Houston Galveston Area Council, North Central Texas Council of Governments, Coastal Bend Council of Governments, South East Texas Regional Planning Commission, and Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council. These sub-awardees perform water quality management plan development, Clean Water State Revolving Fund loan project review for consistency with planning requirements, water quality education and outreach program development, and coordination with TCEQ to advance regional water quality objectives.

This agreement is to fund the state of texas' water quality management planning program to improve impaired water and protect unimpaired waters across the state by conducting planning that informs and supports implementation of clean water act programs. In accordance with clean water act section 205(j)(3), unless a waiver request is approved by the environmental protection agency, the recipient will jointly develop workplans with and provide at least 40% of this award to regional or interstate watershed management planning agencies. This agreement is supported by funding provided under the infrastructure investment and jobs act (IIJA) (PL 117-58). This agreement includes 25 subaward projects listed in the workplan and in section a.23.b.activities:the activities to be performed by the coastal bend bays and estuary program (cbbep) include the following water quality management planning activities: project #1: tceq project administration - to develop and administer the grant and contracts consistent with clean water act (CWA) section 205(j) to perform water quality management activities directed to achieve the goals of the state of texas water quality management plan, the coastal bend bays plan, and the texas nonpoint sources source management program. Project #2: coastal bend bays and estuaries program (cbbep) project administration - coastal bend bays and estuaries program (cbbep) - to effectively administer, coordinate, and monitor all work performed under this project including technical and financial supervision and preparation of status reports. Project #3: long-term seagrass monitoring in coastal bend estuarine systems - coastal bend bays and estuaries program (cbbep) - to provide an update on the status of texas coastal seagrass populations with a particular focus on the coastal bend bays and estuaries program (cbbep) area, as part of the texas seagrass monitoring program. An assessment of corpus christi BAY (CCB), the upper laguna madre (ULM), and baffin BAY (BB) will be conducted. Project #4: coastal bend watershed education: classroom visits - coastal bend bays and estuaries program (cbbep) - to support an education and outreach program that cultivates personal responsibility for water quality and polluting behaviors in the coastal bend. This program will connect urban and rural communities of bays and estuaries by educating the public about urban waters, the effects of polluting behavior, and the impacts land use transitions have on water quality. Project # 5: identification of cattle-associated fecal pollution and its impact on human health in oyster harvesting waters - coastal bend bays and estuaries program (cbbep) - to quantify cattle-associated fecal pollution in oyster harvesting waters and perform a human health risk assessment to estimate health risks associated with recreation and seafood consumption. Project #6: nueces delta environmental monitoring - coastal bend bays and estuaries program (cbbep) - the performing party will continue maintaining one current real-time salinity monitoring station on the rincon bayou. The salinity sensor will be used to trace freshwater inflows from freshwater pumping events via the rincon bayou pipeline from the nueces river and will report water temperature, conductivity, and salinity every 30 minutes. Data from this salinity station is being used to aid in the development of management strategies for the rincon bayou pipeline. The center for coastal studies the harte research institute at texas agricultural and mechanical university at corpus christi uses the salinity data provided from the salinity stations to support various projects involving sampling in the nueces delta. Data from these salinity stations are also utilized by the university of texas (UT) at austin and the university of texas (UT) marine science institute in port aransas to support various modeling projects which are investigating the intera