QUICK HISTORY OF SAN JACINTO RIVER
AND THE LONG FIGHT TO PROTECT IT
1. 1911 TEXAS PARKS & WILDLIFE GRANTED POWER TO ISSUE
PERMITS AND TAX SAND DREDGING-- however dredging for
navigation purposes did not necessarily require a permit
2. 1924 DREDGING BEGAN IN SJ RIVER but with no dam, sand could be
replenished downriver
3. 1940s RIVERSIDE INN BUILT Inn built on old barge
4. 1948 Plan by Albert Thomas, etc. For SJ River to become another Ship
Channel lined by industries and navigable by ocean going ships
5. 1961 LAKE HOUSTON DAM COMPLETED/reservoir for city but no
more new sand could replenish lower SJ River/FLOODING ON
THE LOWER SJ RIVER BECAME PROBLEM
6. 1970 Chrisley Sand dredging Co. requested permit to dredge in SJ River;
Parker Uros. & Horton & Horton were already dredging both on
private property and in public water.
7. 1970 AUG. 18--iST "SAVE THE RIVER" RALLY at Riverside Inn (300
attended) to protest pollution permits to Baroid and Arco (first
citizen protest rally about pollution in Texas) (see article Baytown
Sun 8/20/70); 1ST Injunction/fine by Tx Water Quality Bd against
Arco for exceeding their 1967 permit followed one week after the
rally and Baroid was denied the additional discharge permit it had
requested. San Jacinto River Citizens Assn. (SJRCA) formed.
8. 1970 NOV. 17-2ND "SAVE THE RIVER" RALLY at Riverside Inn (150
attended) to protest dredging permits (Tx Parks & Wildlife received
10 cents a yard tax on sand removed by dredgers from the public
waters of SJ River). (Dredgers took over $10 million of sand a year;
state received a $million in tax revenue)
9. 1970 NOV. 29--article in Houston Chronicle where Tx Parks & Wildlife
promises an engr. study of Sf River before granting any more permits.
Regional Director Marsh in LaPorte office said salaries of 10 members
of his staff are funded by sand tax from our river. He'll conduct a
study tho he believes the problem is natural erosion and the bad
judgment of people building their homes on a river.
10. 1970 DEC Tx Parks & Wildlife conducted engr. study whid~
recommended no further dredg'inv, because of aggravating erosion,
no more sand would come down the river to replenish, and damage
to aquatic life.
11. 1971 JAN. 4--6 SJCRA MEMBERS drove to Austin in ice storm to
hearing on Horton & Horton permit to dredge
12. 1971 FEB. 17--DREDGING BAN IN SJ RIVER FROM LAKE HOUSTON
DAM TO DIAMOND ISLAND issued by Parks & Wildlife due to
protests and engr. study (see article in Baytown Sun and notice from
Tx Parks & Wildlife Executive Director). Permit denied to Chrisley
Sand Dredging.
13. 1972 Clean Water Act by fed. govt. ordered all states to classify their
waterways based on their degree of pollution and use. The goal of
this law was to clean up all U.S. waterways to be fishable and
swimmable by 1983 and the elimination of all polluting disU~arges
into any U.S. waterway by 1985.
14. 1972 FEB.--RENEWAL OF PERMITS DENIED TO PARKER BROS. AND
HORTON AND HORTON: DREDGING BAN EXPANDED TO
MOUTH OF THE SAN lACINTO RIVER AT HOUSTON SHIP
CHANNEL (see letter to the Gilberts from Exec. Dir. of Tx Parks &
Wildlife; articles in Sentinel in March `72 and Harold Scarlett,
Houston Post on Feb. 29, 1972.)
15. 1972 JULY 12--meeting at Magnolia Gardens to protest Diamondhead
Corp. (40 million net worth, $100 million in assets) seeking permit
to deepen and straighten the SJ River all the way to Newport to
bring in superbarges loaded with prefabricated houses. Permit
denied.
16. 1974 SEPT. 11--3RD "SAVE THE RIVER" RALLY at Riverside Inn to
protest attempt by the Tx Water Quality Board (under orders from
EPA to classify all waterways in Tx) to classify the SJ River as unfit
for human contact recreation rendering it usuable for discharge like
the Ship Channel (14 cities and industries already had permits to
use our river as a discharge canal).
17. 1974 OCT. 17--EPA/TX Water Quality Board Hearing in Baytown--our
assn. successfully demanded our river be classified as a known
contact area for human recreation and propagation of fish & wildlife
and that no additional discharge permits be granted. We requested
community training of citizen action groups like ours to sample
outfalls and report to the understaffed policing agencies.
18. 1975 JUNE 30--Army Corps of Engineers Hearing where our assn.
requested that all dredging on private land along the river be
banned because damage to the river, wildlife, and property owners
is the same whether dredging is on private or public property.
19. 1975 JUNE--SJRCA LAWSUIT FILED AGAINST PARKER BROS. FOR
DREDGING WITHOUT A PERMIT BY BANANA BEND FOR 2
YEARS
20. 1975 AUG--RIVERSIDE INN BURNED too many protest rallies held
there perhaps?
21. 1976 JAN.--PARKER BROS. GRANTED PERMIT BY CORPS OF
ENGINEERS BUT SET FIRST EVER CONTROLS ON DREDGERS.
Horton & Horton were fined for dredging without permit.
22. 1980s Dredging on private property adjacent to the river continued with
continuing loss of wetlands and erosion of river banks as well as
private property.
23. 1990 WHITE/CALNAN STUDY for Parks & Wildlife documenting
significant loss of wetlands in SJ River and noting that natural
accretion of sand can provide re-establishment of wetlands.
24. 1991 MARCH 18--SOUTHWESTERN LABORATORIES TESTED CORE
SAMPLE PROVIDED BY PARKER LAFARGE AND REPORTED
ELEVATED MERCURY LEVELS TO TX PARKS & WILDLIFE.
25. 1991 APRIL 2--PARKER LAFARGE DREDGING APPLICATION to
remove 789,000 cubic yards of sand from San Jacinto River site to
Tx Parks & Wildlife and Corps of Engineers
26.1991 APRIL 22--LETTER FROM U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE citing the 1990
White/Calnan study urging the Corps not to grant the permit until
applicant can show why he can't obtain sand from Lake Houston or
a non-river source.
27. 1991 TUNE 10--NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEAlTING IN AUSTIN regarding
Parker LaFarge Permit announced by Tx Parks & Wildlife & Texas
Water Com.
28. 1991 JULY 12--JOINT HEARING IN AUSTIN OF TX WATER
COMMISSION AND TX PARKS & WILDLIFE. Roy Vanya
represented Rio Villa; Brad Christensen represented Highlands; Sen.
Green's office represented by legal assistant--all testified. The 400-
person signature petition Vanya carried was not considered because
he presented it to the Water Commission portion of the hearing
instead of to Parks & Wildlife.
29. 1991 SEPT. 11--TX. WATER COMMISSION LETTER THAT THE
PROJECT WILL NOT CAUSE VIOLATION OF ESTABLISHED TX
WATER QUALITY STANDARDS but establishes standard
provisions to be followed. (see attached conditions)
30. 1991 DEC. 4--Parker LaFarge received letter from Corps of Engineers
suggesting they dredge Lake Houston or other areas with no impact
on environment.
31. 1992 JAN. 13--Parker LaForge responded to Corps that dredging in other
areas like Lake Houston would be cost prohibitive and residents
would likely protest.
32. 1992 JAN.--BRAD CHRISTENSEN'S LETTER TO PARKS & WILDLIFE
WITHDRAWING HIS OBJECTION TO THE PERMIT BECAUSE
PARKER LAFARGE HAD AGREED TO CERTAIN CONDITIONS.
33. 1992 FEB.l8--CORPS OF ENGINEERS LETTER STATED THAT "FUTURE
RIVER FLOW LIKELY TO CAUSE FURTHER EROSION AND LOSS
OF WETLANDS UNLESS DREDGING RESTORES MAIN RIVER
CHANNEL"
34. 1992 MARCH 3--PUBLIC MEETING AT BAYTOWN BOAT CLUB TO
UNITE OPPOSITION TO RESUMPTION OF DREDGING IN MAIN
CHANNEL OF RIVER --I 25 attended from Highlands/Banana
Bend/Rio Villa, etc.
35. 1992 MARCH 31-LETTER FROM PATSY GOSS, FORMER PRESIDENT
OF SAN JACINTO RIVER CITIZENS ASSN., TO PARKS &
WILDLIFE demanding that the 1971 ban on dredging in the San
Jacinto River issued by Parks & Wildlife be enforced and the permit
to Parker LaForge rescinded. Their legal dept. has yet to even find
the ban or the engr. study that recommended it nor any evidence
that the ban was ever lifted.
36. 1992 APRIL 1--PERMIT TO DREDGE GRANTED TO PARKER
LAFARGE
37. 1992 APRIL 30--NEW SAN lACINTO RIVER ASSN. FORMED.
38. 1992 MAY 28, 1992-PARKER LAFARGE BEGAN DREDGING IN THE
MAIN CHANNEL OF SAN JACINTO RIVER/ BAYTOWN BOAT
CLUB
39. 1992 JUNE 4--ANSWER FROM PARKS & WILDLIFE TO SEN. GENE
GREEN'S REQUEST FOR A COPY OF THE 1971 DREDGING BAN
& THE STUDY THAT RECOMMENDED IT claiming there was no
generic ban and no studv had been found.
40. 1992 JUNE 18--"SAVE THE RIVER" RALLY #4 called by new San Jacinto
River Assn. to begin membership drive and further efforts to
protect/preserve/defend our river.
YOU ARE HERE!