MOST ESSENTIAL COASTAL WETLAND CERTIFICATION

(a) In selecting and certifying coastal wetland most essential to the public interest, and in assigning priorities of acquisition to coastal wetland, the land office and the acquiring agency shall consider the following criteria: (1) whether the land is coastal wetland within the definition, intent, and purpose of this subchapter; (2) whether the state owns the coastal wetland or claims title to it, which title can be validated by bringing an appropriate action in a court of law; (3) whether the biological, geological, or physical characteristics of the coastal wetland, including the interrelationship of the coastal wetland with other coastal wetland, is essential to the public interest; (4) the degree to which the coastal wetland is in danger of being altered, damaged, or destroyed, and the imminence of that danger; and (5) the cost of acquiring the coastal wetland. (b) The legislature declares that certifications, assignments of priority for acquisition, and revocations of certifications made pursuant to Section 33.235 of this code are made only for the purpose of administering the provisions of this subchapter. No certifications, assignments of priority for acquisition, or revocations of certification shall be grounds for an inference, or admissible in a court of law to prove, that any coastal wetland is of greater or lesser value than any other coastal wetland for any purpose other than administering the provisions of this subchapter. (c) A certification made pursuant to this subchapter shall expire one year from the date of certification. (d) If on or before the expiration date of such certification the acquiring agency files suit in a court of law to condemn the certified coastal wetland, the certification shall extend until the suit is settled, dismissed, or otherwise terminated. (e) If a contract of sale between the state and the owner of the certified coastal wetland is entered into on or before the expiration date of the certification, the certification shall extend until title to the coastal wetland is conveyed to the state or the contract is rescinded, invalidated, or otherwise terminated.