Public Affairs - Shoal Point

Texas City receives Army permit for Shoal Point Facility

GALVESTON -- Today the City of Texas City received the okay from the US Army Corps of Engineers to construct the proposed Shoal Point Container Terminal to be located on approximately 400 acres south of Texas City and adjacent to the Texas City Ship Channel. Department of the Army Permit No. 21979 will allow construction of the three phase project which is to be completed by 2019.

"Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has issued the Water Quality Certification," said Col. Leonard Waterworth, District Engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. "This was the final step before we could finalize the record of decision to issue the permit."

"The permit process has been open and unbiased. We have considered alternatives, have taken into consideration comments from the public and the resource agencies, have weighed environmental and economic benefits and detriments. Our decision is a sound one, based upon all we have learned during the process," continued the colonel.

The permit document has been given to the city for their signature. Upon return of the document for the colonel's signature, the permit is finalized.

The proposed project also includes the construction of a 45-acre intertidal marsh area as mitigation for the loss of approximately 13.3 acres of saltwater wetland during the project's construction.

The proposed project is located on and adjacent to Shoal Point, approximately 700 acres of land, located in the southwestern part of Galveston Bay, south of the Texas City Dike and adjacent to the Texas City Ship Channel. Approximately 100 acres of the site was known as Snake Island, but the area has been built up by the placement of dredged material and the entire acreage is now known as Shoal Point.

The permit allows the project to be constructed in three phases. Phase I includes the construction of an access road, a 125-acre container yard and two berths with associated dredging. Phase I doubles the size with a second 125-acre container yard, two berths and a turning basin and the deepening of the Texas City Channel. Phase III includes building a 150-acre container yard ad the final two berths. Full build-out of the facility may be completed by 2016.

As the project is built, the dredged material will be used beneficially. Construction of a beneficial uses site of approximately 357 acres, will replace the portion of the Shoal Point dredged material placement area that would be utilized for the development. Another approximately 1,353 acres of beneficial use sites will be built during the next 50 years.

In order to alleviate any problems that could arise from an increase in roadway traffic, the cities of Texas City and La Marque and Galveston County are working with the Texas Department of Highways to possibly expedite planned improvements at the intersection of Interstate 45 with State Highways 3 and 146.