In 1987, the U.S. Congress established the National Estuary Program (NEP) to promote long-term planning and management of nationally significant estuaries. The Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program (CBBEP) was officially established in early 1994.

The CBBEP’s comprehensive conservation management plan, the Coastal Bend Bays Plan, was formally approved by Governor George W. Bush in 1998 and by the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) in early 1999.

The Program area encompasses 75 miles of estuarine environment along the south-central Texas coastline and includes 12 counties of the region known as the Coastal Bend. This 515 square mile area of water includes all bays, estuaries and bayous in the Copano, Aransas, Corpus Christi, Nueces, Baffin and upper Laguna Madre bay systems. This area includes three of the seven major estuaries on the Texas Coast.

Key Local Funding Partners
In addition to funding provided by the TCEQ and USEPA, the following local entities provide direct cash support to the CBBEP:
• Port of Corpus Christi $75,000 (plus office space and utilities)
• City of Corpus Christi $75,000
• Port Industries of Corpus Christi $75,000
• San Patricio County $30,000
• Nueces County $24,000
• City of Aransas Pass $5,000
• City of Ingleside $5,000
• City of Portland $5,000
• City of Port Aransas $5,000
• City of Rockport $5,000
• Aransas County $5,000