By Dutton H.B. No. 3027
76R5461 DRH-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the uniform regulation and application of water
1-3 pollution standards in a municipality and its extraterritorial
1-4 jurisdiction.
1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-6 SECTION 1. Section 401.002, Local Government Code, is
1-7 amended to read as follows:
1-8 Sec. 401.002. PROTECTION OF STREAMS AND WATERSHEDS BY
1-9 HOME-RULE MUNICIPALITY. (a) A home-rule municipality may prohibit
1-10 the pollution or degradation of and may police any portion of a
1-11 stream, drain, recharge feature, recharge area, or tributary
1-12 located in the municipality or its extraterritorial jurisdiction
1-13 that may constitute or recharge the source of water supply of any
1-14 municipality.
1-15 (b) Except as provided for by Subsection (c), water quality
1-16 ordinances, regulations, or methodologies adopted under Subsection
1-17 (a) must have uniform application and cover the entire area of all
1-18 streams, drains, recharge features, recharge areas, or tributaries
1-19 that may constitute the source or recharge of water supply for any
1-20 municipality and that are located in the municipality or its
1-21 extraterritorial jurisdiction [A home-rule municipality may provide
1-22 for the protection of and may police any watersheds].
1-23 (c) A home-rule municipality that adopts water quality
1-24 ordinances, regulations, or methodologies under this section may
2-1 use ordinances, regulations, or methodologies that do not have
2-2 uniform application or cover the entire area only as provided by
2-3 Section 26.901, Water Code [The authority granted by this section
2-4 may be exercised inside the municipality's boundaries or inside
2-5 the municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction or outside the
2-6 municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction only if required to
2-7 meet other state or federal requirements. The authority granted by
2-8 this section for the protection of recharge, recharge areas, or
2-9 recharge features of groundwater aquifers may be exercised outside
2-10 the municipality's boundaries and within the extraterritorial
2-11 jurisdiction provided the municipality exercising such authority
2-12 has a population greater than 750,000 and the groundwater
2-13 constitutes more than 75 percent of the municipality's source of
2-14 water supply].
2-15 (d) This section does not apply to a water quality
2-16 ordinance, regulation, or methodology to the extent the provisions
2-17 of the ordinance, regulation, or methodology are specifically
2-18 required by federal or state law. If federal or state law requires
2-19 a permit for implementing water quality regulations, the
2-20 municipality must provide that any ordinance, rule, regulation,
2-21 order, or methodology adopted to meet the permit is uniformly
2-22 applied and enforced in the entire area of the streams, drains,
2-23 recharge features, recharge areas, or tributaries located in the
2-24 municipality and its extraterritorial jurisdiction.
2-25 (e) Except as provided by this section and Sections 26.177
2-26 and 26.901, Water Code, a home-rule municipality may not regulate
2-27 water pollution in the municipality or its extraterritorial
3-1 jurisdiction.
3-2 SECTION 2. Section 26.177(c), Water Code, is amended to read
3-3 as follows:
3-4 (c) The water pollution control and abatement program
3-5 required by Subsections (a) and (b) of this section must cover the
3-6 entire area of the city and its extraterritorial jurisdiction. A
3-7 program adopted under this section must apply identical water
3-8 quality ordinances or regulations and use identical methodologies
3-9 throughout the city and its extraterritorial jurisdiction and must
3-10 be submitted to the commission for review and approval. The
3-11 commission may adopt rules providing the criteria for the
3-12 establishment of those programs and the review and approval of
3-13 those programs. The rules must provide that to be approved a
3-14 program must meet the requirements of this section, Section 26.901,
3-15 and Section 401.002, Local Government Code.
3-16 SECTION 3. Section 26.180(c), Water Code, is amended to read
3-17 as follows:
3-18 (c) The municipality by ordinance shall adopt a nonpoint
3-19 source water pollution control and abatement program for the
3-20 municipality and its extraterritorial jurisdiction before the
3-21 municipality adopts a resolution or ordinance creating an
3-22 extraterritorial jurisdiction under Section 42.903, Local
3-23 Government Code. Any program adopted under this section must apply
3-24 identical water quality regulations and use identical methodologies
3-25 throughout the municipality and its extraterritorial jurisdiction.
3-26 The municipality shall submit the ordinance creating the program to
3-27 the commission. The commission may not approve the ordinance if
4-1 the ordinance does not meet the requirements of this section and
4-2 Sections 26.177 and 26.901. Notwithstanding any other law requiring
4-3 the adoption of an ordinance creating an extraterritorial
4-4 jurisdiction and approval by the commission, the ordinance creating
4-5 the program becomes effective and is enforceable by the
4-6 municipality on the 90th day after the date the municipality
4-7 submits the ordinance unless the ordinance is disapproved by the
4-8 commission during the 90-day period.
4-9 SECTION 4. Chapter 26, Water Code, is amended by adding
4-10 Subchapter Z to read as follows:
4-11 SUBCHAPTER Z. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
4-12 Sec. 26.901. REQUIREMENTS AND METHODOLOGIES RELATING TO
4-13 CONTROL AND ABATEMENT OF WATER POLLUTION WITHIN CITY OR ITS
4-14 EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION. (a) The commission, a local
4-15 government, or any other governmental agency or political
4-16 subdivision of the state that establishes, enacts, or enforces a
4-17 water quality regulation or uses a methodology that relates to the
4-18 control or abatement of water pollution and applies to a river
4-19 basin or groundwater aquifer within a city or a city's
4-20 extraterritorial jurisdiction shall apply and enforce the
4-21 regulation, or use the methodology, uniformly throughout the entire
4-22 area of the river basin or groundwater aquifer that is located in
4-23 the city and its extraterritorial jurisdiction.
4-24 (b) The commission, a local government, or any other
4-25 governmental agency or political subdivision of the state with
4-26 water pollution control authority may:
4-27 (1) use differing water quality regulations for
5-1 residential, commercial, or industrial land use categories if the
5-2 regulation for each category is identical and uniformly applied
5-3 throughout the city and its extraterritorial jurisdiction; or
5-4 (2) use differing methodologies as provided by
5-5 Subsection (c) that result in achievement of uniform water quality
5-6 regulation for the applicable land use category of residential,
5-7 commercial, or industrial land throughout the city and its
5-8 extraterritorial jurisdiction.
5-9 (c) To use differing methodologies, the commission, local
5-10 government, or other governmental agency or political subdivision
5-11 with water pollution control authority shall establish and
5-12 administer a program of regular monitoring to demonstrate that the
5-13 methodologies result in compliance with the water quality
5-14 regulation for the applicable land use category of residential,
5-15 commercial, or industrial. The monitoring program of a local
5-16 government, a governmental agency other than the commission, or a
5-17 political subdivision must be submitted to and approved by the
5-18 commission before the use of differing methodologies, and monthly
5-19 monitoring reports from the system must be filed with the
5-20 commission. If the monitoring reports indicate that the differing
5-21 methodologies are achieving the applicable water quality regulation
5-22 for less than six months during any one calendar year, the
5-23 commission may order that the differing methodologies may no
5-24 longer be used, and the governmental entity using the methodologies
5-25 shall then use only identical methodologies for each land use
5-26 category. The approval of any monitoring program reviewed by the
5-27 commission is a contested case under Chapter 2001, Government Code.
6-1 (d) This section does not apply to:
6-2 (1) a water quality regulation or methodology to the
6-3 extent that it is specifically required by federal law; or
6-4 (2) a water quality regulation or methodology of a
6-5 city to the extent that it is specifically required by state law.
6-6 (e) If federal or state law requires a permit for
6-7 implementing water quality regulations or methodologies, a city
6-8 must provide that any ordinance, rule, regulation, order, or
6-9 methodology adopted to meet the permit is uniformly applied and
6-10 enforced throughout the entire area of the city and its
6-11 extraterritorial jurisdiction.
6-12 SECTION 5. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
6-13 (b) A water quality ordinance, regulation, rule, or
6-14 methodology that is in effect on the effective date of this Act
6-15 that does not comply with the changes in law made by this Act is
6-16 void.
6-17 SECTION 6. The importance of this legislation and the
6-18 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
6-19 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
6-20 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
6-21 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.