EMB120 CAPT DECLARES MINIMUM FUEL AND SUBSEQUENTLY AN EMER DUE TO INSUFFICIENT FUEL FOR ANY FURTHER HOLDING OR DELAY.

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BEFORE I LEFT FOR LRD ON SATURDAY; I CALLED DISPATCH TO CONFIRM THE CURRENT TAF WAS CALLING FOR VFR IN LRD. WITH THE CHANGES IN OUR COMPUTER SYS LATELY; SOME OF THE WX HAD BEEN DOUBLE PRINTING ON THE PAPERWORK. MYSELF AND THE DISPATCHER AGREED THAT EVERYTHING LOOKED GOOD BASED ON THE TAF. NO ALTERNATE WAS REQUIRED. ABOUT 55 MI OUT OF LAREDO; A DC8 ON APCH DECLARED AN EMER FOR LOSS OF ALL HYDS. THE WX RPTED ON ATIS WAS 1500 FT OVCST. THE CEILING WAS ACTUALLY AROUND 400-500 FT AND THE FORECAST WAS FOR VFR WITH A 3000 FT CEILING AT THE TIME OF ARR. WITH THAT AS A FORECAST THERE WAS NO REASON FOR AN ALTERNATE; SO WE LEFT THE GATE WITH AROUND 2700 LBS OF FUEL. SINCE THE ACFT AHEAD HAD AN EMER; UNAWARE OF THE CIGS; THEY ATTEMPTED THE APCH AND ZHU ADVISED US TO SLOW DUE TO THE NATURE OF THE PROB. WE ACTUALLY RECEIVED HOLDING INSTRUCTIONS; TOO. THE DC8 STARTED THE APCH; AND ENDED UP GOING MISSED. THEY DIDN'T GET IN UNTIL THEIR THIRD ATTEMPT. WE HAD HEARD SOMETHING ABOUT FLAPS NOT COMING DOWN SO I ASSUMED HE WAS NOT STABILIZED AND WANTED TO HAVE BETTER CTL OF THE ACFT BEFORE PUTTING IT ON THE RWY. THE DC8 WITH THEIR PROB OCCUPIED THE APCH ANYWHERE FROM 15-25 MINS. ONCE THEY WERE ON THE GND; WE WERE VECTORED FOR THE APCH AFTER AN ENTRY INTO THE HOLD. WHEN WE STARTED THE APCH; AND MADE OUR WAY THROUGH 1200 FT MSL; I REALIZED THE WX WASN'T WHAT IT WAS FORECASTED OR RPTED. I HAD THE RWY IN SIGHT ON OUR FIRST ATTEMPT. I CALLED IT AT 1 O'CLOCK POS FOR RWY 32; STRAIGHT IN. THE FO LOOKED AT RWY 35R AND STARTED A L TURN ASSUMING THE CORRECT RWY WAS OFF THE L SIDE. I IMMEDIATELY CORRECTED THE FO AND SAID TO GO R. BY THE TIME THE FO CORRECTED BACK TO THE R AND STARTED TO DSND ONTO THE RWY; I SAID 'WE WON'T MAKE IT AND WE NEED TO GO AROUND.' I CALLED GAR A SECOND TIME AND NOTHING HAPPENED. I TOOK THE AIRPLANE AND INITIATED A GAR MYSELF. WE GOT VECTORED TO A DOWNWIND AND I NOTED MY FUEL SIT. I KNEW IT WAS GOING TO GET TIGHT FOR ANOTHER APCH TO MINIMUMS WITH NOT ENOUGH FUEL TO GO ANYWHERE ELSE. MY FUEL ON THE DOWNWIND LEG WAS 900 LBS WHICH IS APPROX 55 MINS. I DECLARED MINIMUM FUEL WITH HOUSTON AND LAREDO DECIDED TO DECLARE AN EMER; I AGREED. I MADE IT IN ON THE SECOND ATTEMPT AND LANDED WITH 710 LBS OF FUEL. THAT AMOUNT OF FUEL WAS ROUGHLY 45 MINS. THE REASON I DECLARED MINIMUM FUEL WAS FOR OTHER ACFT ON THE APCH. I DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO GET VECTORED 20 MI OUT TO GET IN LINE. I WANTED TO BE #1 FOR THE APCH. ANOTHER ACR WAS VECTORED OFF TO ALLOW US TO GO FIRST. I SHOT THE APCH AND LANDED ON RWY 32.