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House Bill 2667 |
House Author: Ritter et al. |
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Effective: 9-1-09 |
Senate Sponsor: Hinojosa |
House Bill 2667 amends the Health and Safety Code to revise the water saving performance standards for plumbing fixtures sold in, distributed in, or imported into Texas. The bill sets out revised performance standards for a sink or lavatory faucet or a faucet aerator, a shower head, a urinal and the associated flush valve, if any, and a toilet. The bill specifies different water saving performance standards for a urinal and its flush valve and a toilet based on whether the fixture is sold, offered for sale, or distributed in Texas before January 1, 2014, or on or after January 1, 2014.
The bill requires a manufacturer to supply to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) certified test results from a laboratory accredited by the American National Standards Institute verifying that a plumbing fixture meets certain water saving performance standards in order to have the fixture included on TCEQ's list of fixtures that are certified as meeting such standards. The bill makes the above-described performance standards and certification requirements inapplicable to a nonwater-supplied urinal and a plumbing fixture that has been certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the WaterSense Program.
The bill authorizes the governing body of a municipality or county to allow the sale of a urinal or toilet that does not comply with those standards that are only applicable on or after January 1, 2014, if a greater amount of water is required to flush a public sewer system in a manner consistent with public health. The bill sets out a phase-in schedule of water saving performance standards for urinals and toilets. The bill prohibits a person from selling, offering for sale, or distributing in Texas a nonwater-supplied urinal for use in this state unless the nonwater-supplied urinal meets certain performance, testing, labeling, and installation requirements set out in the bill. The bill redefines "plumbing fixture" and "toilet," rescinds TCEQ's rulemaking authority for the marking or labeling of plumbing fixtures, and makes conforming changes to the Water Code.