Every day is Earth Day at the Land Office  
Agency leads way in wind power, oil spill prevention and coastal protection

AUSTIN — Without fines or burdensome regulations, the Texas General Land Office does more for the state’s environment on any given day than any other state agency.

“Most Texans don’t know it, but Land Office professionals are out there working to prevent oil spills, protect invaluable wetlands from erosion, or generate more wind power every day,” said Jerry Patterson, Commissioner of the Texas General Land Office. “As a state agency, earth is our business, both enhancing it and protecting it.” 

The Land Office helps our environment in a number of ways, including the following programs:

•   Sustainable energy

The first utility-scale renewable energy project in Texas was developed on Permanent School Fund land in Culberson County in West Texas.  The West Texas Wind Power Project boasts 112 wind turbines generating 35 megawatts of electricity. It won the U.S. Department of Energy’s prestigious Utility Technology Award in 1996.

Building on this success, Patterson developed a Plan for Sustainable Energy to achieve common-sense steps, including a comprehensive wind-mapping project that will show prospective wind energy developers the best locations for wind farms.  The Land Office is also seeking legislative authority to waive or reduce easement fees for companies building transmission lines over state lands. This will help reduce the cost of transmission lines and make commercial wind energy more competitive.

Working under a grant from the State Energy Conservation Office, the Land Office developed digitized Geographic Information System layers illustrating wind and solar energy classifications, electric utility service area boundaries, electric transmission networks, electric power plant sites, and other useful information for renewable energy development on state land.

• Oil Spill Prevention and Response Program

The Land Office is the lead state agency for preventing and responding to oil spills in state waters. Regional offices in Nederland, La Porte, Port Lavaca, Corpus Christi and Brownsville respond to spills at all hours.  Regional staff members conduct audits, inspections and harbor patrols by boat and vehicle; maintain response equipment; take part in oil spill exercises with private industry; and inform the public about oil spill prevention and response.

The Land Office maintains spill response equipment such as containment boom, skimmers, boats, trucks, pumps, wildlife rehabilitation equipment, communications devices and mobile command posts.  Pre-positioned response trailers are stationed at coastal wildlife refuges.

All facilities that handle oil and pose a threat to coastal waters must submit contingency plans to the Land Office for review and certification. These plans, which are audited periodically, detail spill response strategies, identify sensitive natural resources, and list trained personnel and inventories of spill response equipment.  Over 650 facilities have submitted contingency plans, and more than 7,500 vessels that sail in state waters must also submit contingency plans.

Land Office personnel patrol for unauthorized discharges and monitor the loading and off-loading of petroleum products at refineries.  An education program informs vessel owners and operators about environmental damage caused by small spills and recommends practical prevention measures. Operation Scupper Plug was developed to furnish fuel docks and fishermen with sorbent materials to prevent the accidental discharge of diesel during fueling operations.

Since 1996, the Land Office’s bilge water reclamation facilities have collected and recycled 615,000 gallons of used oil and diesel, and cleaned 867,000 gallons of contaminated water. One gallon of oil can kill half the fish and shrimp larvae in a million gallons of seawater, and decimate plankton, an essential part of the marine food chain. The Land Office has reclamation facilities at Sabine Pass, Palacios, Port Lavaca, Port Isabel, Freeport, Seadrift and Port O’Connor. The Land Office also has a used oil collection facility at Palacios, and the agency partners with other agencies that run reclamation and collection facilities on the Texas coast. 

• Energy Star

The Veterans Land Board, an adjunct of the Land Office, requires all new-construction housing to meet the EPA’s Energy Star standards to qualify for a VLB home loan. The EPA estimates Energy Star standards can reduce a homeowner’s energy bill up to one-third and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, all without sacrificing comfort or convenience. 

• Adopt-A-Beach

Each spring and fall, the Land Office holds statewide Adopt-A-Beach cleanups all along the Texas coast. Since the Land Office held its first Adopt-A-Beach cleanup in 1986, more than 321,000 volunteers have removed more than 6,100 tons of trash from Texas beaches. Volunteers record information on the types of debris found to help identify sources of beach litter.  

• Dune protection

The Land Office is also charged with protecting coastal dunes from human activity. Dunes store sand that slows shoreline erosion and replenishes eroded beaches after storms. They serve unique biological and ecological functions and are habitat for flora and fauna, including threatened and endangered species.

• Coastal erosion

In 1999, the Coastal Erosion Planning and Response Act (CEPRA) was born and the Land Office was charged with its administration. Since then, 31 project partners have worked with the Land Office on 113 projects and studies in 14 coastal counties, helping to restore and preserve eroding beaches, dunes, wetlands and bay shorelines along the Texas coast. Project partners have included federal and state agencies, local governments, property owners associations, estuary programs and non-profit organizations. 

Acting on the public's behalf as a state natural resource trustee, the Land Office assesses damage to and seeks compensation for, or restoration of, natural resources resulting from the unauthorized discharge of oil or release of hazardous substances. The agency’s Coastal Preserve Program oversees conservation of designated state-owned estuarine areas that are environmentally sensitive, and also manages a database on coastal resources codes to help guide development.

• Texas Beach Watch

In 1998, the Texas Beach Watch Program began monitoring for Enterococcus bacteria at selected beaches. Beach water samples are now collected at 161 stations covering 57 beach areas in seven counties, and the program will eventually include 15 counties. Advisory signs are posted at beaches where EPA-recommended standards are exceeded.

• Coastal Texas 2020

This long-term, statewide initiative will unite local, state and federal efforts to promote the environmental and economic health of the Texas coast. One goal of Coastal Texas 2020 is to increase the state’s share of federal funding to fight rapid coastal erosion. Coastal Texas 2020 is designed to implement the vision of a comprehensive approach to coastal issues that mixes local, state and federal funds with money from the private sector, while combining regulatory changes with market-based solutions.

• Solar EPA wastewater treatment plant

The Land Office was recently awarded $381,000 by the Environmental Protection Agency to provide a solar energy system for a municipal water treatment plant near the border with Mexico. The North American Development Bank, which finances water and wastewater projects in the border region of the United States and Mexico, will track the project to determine if similar sustainable energy systems may be practical in other communities. The grant will fund an approximately 60-kilowatt solar power system for the water treatment plant.

In addition to the programs mentioned above, the Texas General Land Office manages about 20 million acres of state lands and mineral-right properties, and houses original Spanish, Mexican, and Republic of Texas land grants and associated documentation. Drilling rights for oil and gas from state lands are handled by the agency, resulting in $302 million for public education this past fiscal year. The Texas Veterans Land Board provides low-cost home, land and home improvement loans for Texas veterans, offers affordable skilled-nursing care for veterans and their spouses, and will soon open the first Texas State Veterans Cemetery. For more information about the Land Office, call (512) 463-5339, or visit our Web site at www.glo.state.tx.us.