Port of Beaumont - About the port

In accordance with Senate Bill 12 (SB12) – legislation passed by the 80th Texas Legislature requiring political subdivisions to implement cost-effective measures to reduce energy consumption and annually report their progress to the State Energy Conservation Office – the Port of Beaumont has established the following goals to reduce electricity consumption by five percent (5%) annually during the next six years:

1. The use of energy efficient lighting and other electrical appliances on all newly constructed facilities and rehabilitated structures;
2. The retrofit and installation of new energy efficient lighting in port facilities including office and warehouse/transit shed facilities;
3. Port staff will implement energy usage reduction measures ensuring that lighting and other energy using appliances are operated in an efficient manner and that all non-essential uses are eliminated.

ADOPTED BY THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS of the Port of Beaumont Navigation District of Jefferson County, Texas on October 23, 2008. (See resolution)

The Port of Beaumont Navigation District of Jefferson County, Texas is responsible to the taxpayers of its District for the improvement of navigation and the development of maritime shipping and waterborne related commerce to and from its wharves; and for maintenance, development, extension, and improvement of wharf and dock facilities of the Port of Beaumont to promote economic growth in our District and the State of Texas and in the interest of national defense.

Situated 84 miles east of Houston and 270 miles west of New Orleans (Latitude 30°4'6"N, Longitude 94°5'4"W), the Port of Beaumont is accessible from the Gulf of Mexico and Intracoastal Waterway via the federally maintained Sabine-Neches Ship Channel, 42 miles upstream from the Gulf.

The Sabine-Neches Channel is a minimum of 400 feet wide and maintained at a depth of 40 feet. Air draft is 136 feet.

The Intracoastal Waterway and Mississippi River connect Beaumont with a vast inland waterway system serving such cities as Minneapolis, Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City, Louisville, Omaha and Memphis.

The 51st Texas Legislature created the Port of Beaumont in 1949 as a political body and governmental entity of the State of Texas.

Its history as a deepwater port dates to 1908, however, when a canal nine feet deep was dug in the Neches River from Beaumont to the Port Arthur ship channel. In 1916, the channel was deepened to 25 feet and a turning basin scooped out in the bend of the river. Local businessmen, meanwhile, had developed dock facilities on the waterfront. The port channel was deepened to 30 feet in 1922, increasing Beaumont's importance as a shipping center.

In the 1940s, the port reached its current depth of 40 feet. The Port of Beaumont Navigation District covers an area of about 150 square miles, including the City of Beaumont. A six-member board of commissioners, elected by navigation district voters to six-year terms, functions as a board of directors for the port. Since its creation as a governmental entity, the port has steadily expanded and improved its facilities in furthering its role as a major partner in worldwide commerce.