Program

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller and the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) will administer a $280 million grant agreement between the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and TDA. This funding will provide essential economic relief to eligible farmers and producers in the Rio Grande Valley who continue to endure Mexico’s ongoing failure to meet its water delivery obligations under the 1944 Water Treaty.

Under the grant agreement, TDA will oversee the program's implementation, including managing the sign-up process and distributing payments. Eligible producers who experienced water delivery losses in calendar years 2023 and 2024 will receive direct payments through this program.

Eligibility

Agricultural Producers who had agricultural use acreage in the following counties will be eligible for the program:

• Brewster
• Cameron
• Hidalgo
• Kinney
• Jim Hogg
• Maverick
• Presidio
• Starr
• Terrell
• Webb
• Willacy
• Valverde
• Zapata

Definitions

Acre-Foot of Water means the amount of water needed to cover one acre (43,560 square feet) with one foot of water.

Eligible Producer is an agriculture producer who had acreage in at least one of the Lower Rio Grande River Valley Water Districts on which the producer was farming and was eligible for water allocations for agricultural use in the Lower Rio Grande River Valley Water Districts system as a permit holder either individually, or through a water irrigation district during calendar year 2023 and/or calendar year 2024. In addition, an Eligible Producer is a person or legal entity that must be a:

• citizen of the United States;
• resident alien; for purposes of this part, resident alien means “lawful alien” as defined in 7 CFR part 1400;
• partnership consisting solely of citizens or resident aliens of the United States;
• corporation, limited liability corporation, or other farm organizational structure organized under State law consisting solely of citizens or resident aliens of the United States; and
•  Indian Tribe or Tribal organization, as defined in section 4(b) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).

Eligible Water Losses means the loss in acre-feet of water of permitted use of surface water in the Lower Rio Grande River Valley Water Districts in Texas due to Mexico’s failure to deliver water per the 1944 Water Treaty.

Legal entity means an entity created under Federal or State law and that has a purpose or intent of:

• Owning land or an agricultural commodity, product, or livestock; or
• Producing an agricultural commodity, product, or livestock.

Lower Rio Grande Valley Water District means a local, governmental entity that is responsible for managing and providing water services, including supply, treatment, and distribution to residents and businesses. These are also called irrigation districts.

Permit Holder means someone who obtains water rights in either of the following ways since in Texas, surface water is owned by the state and is held by the state in trust for the public. A person may file a permit and obtain a “water right” from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for diverting a volume of acre-feet of water. This permit allows the permit holder the right to use water with restrictions, but ownership remains with the State of Texas. Alternatively, persons utilizing water from the Rio Grande Valley River Basin for agricultural irrigation purposes may work through a state irrigation district.