Please accept this letter of support from the Sierra Club Coastal Bend Group for the “Implementation Plan for Two Total Maximum Daily Loads for Bacteria at Cole and Ropes Parks Beaches in Corpus Christi Bay (I-Plan).”  When water testing at the Cole and Ropes Parks beaches revealed that bacteria levels in the water exceeded water quality standards for recreational use, the beaches landed on EPA’s 303(d) list for polluted waters.  In July 2012 a community-led stakeholder group was formed, the Cole and Ropes Parks Bacteria Reduction Implementation Plan Coordination Committee (CARP), which has been meeting since then to create the final I-Plan.

We believe the I-Plan lays out reasonable and measurable steps to improve water quality at the Parks’ beaches.  We also believe that implementation of this common-sense, voluntary approach, would benefit residents and visitors alike to the city of Corpus Christi, by reducing bacteria in the water at Cole and Ropes Parks beaches. Cleaner, safer water at our City park beaches is both a highly desirable and achievable outcome of this I-Plan.

We look forward to the positive results this I-Plan will have for reducing bacteria at Cole and Ropes Parks beaches, thus ensuring the safety and health of our community members and visitors.

Sent on August 8, 2016 to

Mr. Chris Loft
Total Maximum Daily Load Program
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
MC-203
P.O. Box 13087
Austin, TX 78711-3087