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House Bill 3391 |
House Author: Miller, Doug |
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Effective: 9-1-11 |
Senate Sponsor: Seliger |
House Bill 3391 amends the Water Code to include the promotion of rainwater harvesting for potable and nonpotable purposes at public and private facilities as a public policy of the state to provide for the conservation and development of the state's natural resources. The bill amends the Finance Code to authorize financial institutions to consider making loans for developments that will use harvested rainwater as the sole source of water supply. The bill amends the Government Code to require adopted State Energy Conservation Office procedural design standards to require that on-site reclaimed system technologies for potable indoor use and landscape watering be incorporated into the design and construction of each new state building with certain characteristics and to require such standards to require that rainwater harvesting system technology for potable and nonpotable indoor use and landscape watering be incorporated into the design and construction of each new state building with certain other characteristics.
The bill amends the Health and Safety Code to require the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) by rule to provide that if a structure is connected to a public water supply system and has a rainwater harvesting system the structure must have appropriate cross-connection safeguards. TCEQ is required to develop certain rules regarding the installation and maintenance of rainwater harvesting systems that are used for indoor potable purposes and connected to a public water supply system. The bill requires a person who intends to connect a rainwater harvesting system to a public water supply system for use for potable purposes to receive the consent of the municipality in which the rainwater harvesting system is located or the owner or operator of the public water supply system before connection. The bill prohibits a municipality or the owner or operator of a public water supply system from being held liable for any adverse health effects allegedly caused by the consumption of water collected by a rainwater harvesting system that is connected to a public water supply system and is used for potable purposes if the municipality or the public water supply system is in compliance with applicable sanitary drinking water standards adopted by TCEQ.
The bill amends the Local Government Code to encourage each municipality and county to promote rainwater harvesting at residential, commercial, and industrial facilities through incentives; require the Texas Water Development Board to ensure that training on rainwater harvesting is available for the members of the permitting staffs of municipalities and counties at least quarterly; and require certain members, and encourage others, to periodically receive appropriate training regarding rainwater harvesting standards and their relation to permitting.
The bill prohibits a municipality or county from denying a building permit solely because the facility will implement rainwater harvesting but authorizes a municipality or county to require that a rainwater harvesting system comply with the minimum state standards established for such a system. The bill encourages each school district to implement rainwater harvesting at district facilities.
The bill amends the Property Code to include in the written notice a seller of residential real property comprising not more than one dwelling unit is required to give to the purchaser of the property language disclosing whether the seller is aware of any rainwater harvesting system connected to the property's public water supply that is able to be used for indoor potable purposes. The bill authorizes a property owners' association to regulate the installation of a rainwater harvesting system under certain conditions.