HBA-NLM H.B. 3027 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3027
By: Dutton
Land & Resource Management
4/7/1999
Introduced


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Current law does not require ordinances, enacted by a city, to apply
uniformly through the municipality or its extraterritorial jurisdiction.
The purpose of this bill is to require cities which enact certain
ordinances relating to the control or abatement of pollution of air or
water to be applied uniformly throughout the municipality or its
extraterritorial jurisdiction. H.B. 3027 provides that adopted water
quality ordinances, regulations, or methodologies must have uniform
applications and cover the entire area of all streams, drains, recharge
features, recharge areas, or tributaries that may constitute the source or
recharge of water supply for any municipality and that are located in the
municipality or its extraterritorial jurisdiction. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 401.002, Local Government Code, as follows:

Sec. 401.002.  PROTECTION OF STREAMS AND WATERSHEDS BY HOME-RULE
MUNICIPALITY.  (a)  Authorizes a home-rule municipality to police any
portion of a stream, drain, recharge feature, recharge area, or tributary
located in the municipality or its extraterritorial jurisdiction. 

(b)  Provides that water quality ordinances, regulations, or methodologies
adopted under Subsection (a) must have uniform applications and cover the
entire area of all streams, drains, recharge features, recharge areas, or
tributaries that may constitute the source or recharge of water supply for
any municipality and that are located in the municipality or its
extraterritorial jurisdiction, except as provided for by Subsection (c).
Deletes existing text relating to a home-rule municipality's  authority to
provide for the protection of and to police any watersheds. 

(c)  Authorizes a home-rule municipality that adopts water quality
ordinances, regulations, or methodologies under this section to use certain
procedures as provided by Section 26.901 (Requirements and Methodologies
Relating to Control and Abatement of Water Pollution Within City or its
Extraterritorial Jurisdiction), Water Code.  Deletes existing text relating
to the use of the authority granted by this section. 

(d)  Provides that this section does not apply to a water quality
ordinance, regulation, or methodology to the extent the provisions of such
are specifically required by federal or state law.  Provides that the
municipality must provide that any ordinance, regulation, or methodology
adopted to meet the permit is uniformly applied and enforced in the entire
area of the streams, drains, recharge features, recharge areas, or
tributaries located in the municipality and its extraterritorial
jurisdiction, if federal or state law requires a permit for implementing
water quality regulations. 

(e)  Prohibits a home-rule municipality from regulating water pollution in
the municipality or its extraterritorial jurisdiction, except as provided
by this section and Sections 26.177  (Water Pollution Control Duties of
Cities) and 26.901, Water Code.  

SECTION 2.  Amends Section 26.177(c), Water Code, to provide that the water
pollution control and abatement program otherwise required by this section
must cover the entire area of the city and its extraterritorial
jurisdiction.  Provides that a program adopted under this section must
apply identical water quality ordinances or regulations and use identical
methodologies throughout the city and its extraterritorial jurisdiction.
Provides that the rules must provide that to be approved a program must
meet the requirements of this section, Section 26.901, Water Code, and
Section 401.002 (Protection of Streams and Watersheds by Home-Rule
Municipalites), Local Government Code. 

SECTION 3.  Amends Section 26.180(c), Water Code, to prohibit the Texas
Natural Resource Conservation Commission (commission) from approving the
ordinance if the ordinance does not meet the requirements of this section
and Sections 26.177 and 26.901.  Makes a conforming change. 

SECTION 4.  Amends Chapter 26, Water Code, by adding Subchapter Z, as
follows: 

SUBCHAPTER Z.  MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Sec. 26.901.  REQUIREMENTS AND METHODOLOGIES RELATING TO CONTROL AND
ABATEMENT OR WATER POLLUTION WITHIN CITY OR ITS EXTRATERRITORIAL
JURISDICTION. (a) Requires certain entities to apply and enforce the
regulation, or use the methodology, uniformly throughout the entire area of
the river basin or groundwater aquifer that is located in the city and its
extraterritorial jurisdiction. 

(b)  Authorizes certain entities to use differing water quality regulations
for residential, commercial, or industrial land use categories, and
differing methodologies that result in achievement of uniform water quality
regulation, as provided. 
 
(c)  Requires certain entities with water pollution control authority to
use differing methodologies to establish and administer a program of
regular monitoring to demonstrate that the methodologies result in
compliance with the water quality regulation for the applicable land use
category of residential, commercial, or industrial.  Provides that the
monitoring program of certain entities must be submitted to and approved by
the commission before the use of differing methodologies, and provides that
monthly monitoring reports from the system must be filed with the
commission.  Authorizes the commission  to order that the differing
methodologies may no longer be used, and requires the governmental entity
using the methodologies to then use only identical methodologies for each
land use category, if the monitoring reports indicate that the differing
methodologies are achieving the applicable water quality regulation for
less than six months during any one calendar year. Provides that the
approval of any monitoring program reviewed by the commission is a
contested case under Chapter 2001(Administrative Procedure), Government
Code.  

(d)  Provides that this section does not apply to  a water quality
regulation or methodology to the extent that it is specifically required by
federal law, or a water quality regulation or methodology of a city to the
extent that it is specifically required by state law.  

(e)  Provides that  if federal or state law requires a permit for
implementing water quality regulations or methodologies, a city must
provide that any ordinance, rule, regulation, order, or methodology adopted
to meet the permit is uniformly applied and enforced throughout the entire
area of the city and its extraterritorial jurisdiction. 

SECTION 5.  (a)  Effective date: September 1, 1999.

(b)  Specifies that a water quality ordinance, regulation, rule, or
methodology that is in effect on the effective date of this Act that does
not comply with the changes in law made by this Act is void.  

 SECTION 6.  Emergency clause.