79S10523 SMH-F
By: Puente H.B. No. 79
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to water conservation.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 1.003, Water Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 1.003. PUBLIC POLICY. It is the public policy of the
state to provide for the conservation and development of the
state's natural resources, including:
(1) the control, storage, preservation, and
distribution of the state's storm and floodwaters and the waters of
its rivers and streams for irrigation, power, and other useful
purposes;
(2) the reclamation and irrigation of the state's
arid, semiarid, and other land needing irrigation;
(3) the reclamation and drainage of the state's
overflowed land and other land needing drainage;
(4) the conservation and development of its forest,
water, and hydroelectric power;
(5) the navigation of the state's inland and coastal
waters; [and]
(6) the maintenance of a proper ecological environment
of the bays and estuaries of Texas and the health of related living
marine resources; and
(7) the voluntary stewardship of public and private
lands to benefit the water in the state, as defined by Section
26.001.
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 1, Water Code, is amended
by adding Section 1.004 to read as follows:
Sec. 1.004. FINDINGS AND POLICY REGARDING LAND STEWARDSHIP.
(a) The legislature finds that voluntary land stewardship enhances
the efficiency and effectiveness of this state's watersheds by
helping to increase surface water and groundwater supplies,
resulting in a benefit to the natural resources of this state and to
the general public. It is therefore the policy of this state to
encourage voluntary land stewardship as a significant water
management tool by providing assistance to landowners to conduct
those activities.
(b) "Land stewardship," as used in this code, is the
voluntary practice of managing land to conserve or enhance suitable
landscapes and the ecosystem values of the land. Land stewardship
includes land and habitat management, wildlife conservation, and
watershed protection. Land stewardship practices include runoff
reduction, prescribed burning, managed grazing, brush management,
erosion management, reseeding with native plant species, riparian
management and restoration, and spring and creek-bank protection,
all of which benefit the water resources of this state.
SECTION 3. Section 11.002, Water Code, is amended by adding
Subdivision (15) to read as follows:
(15) "Best management practices" means those
voluntary efficiency measures developed by the commission and the
board that save a quantifiable amount of water, either directly or
indirectly, and that can be implemented within a specified time
frame.
SECTION 4. Subsection (b), Section 11.0235, Water Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) Maintaining the biological soundness of the state's
rivers, lakes, bays, and estuaries is of great importance to the
public's economic health and general well-being. The legislature
encourages voluntary water and land stewardship to benefit the
water in the state, as defined by Section 26.001.
SECTION 5. Subchapter E, Chapter 13, Water Code, is amended
by adding Section 13.146 to read as follows:
Sec. 13.146. WATER CONSERVATION PLAN. The commission shall
require a retail public utility that provides potable water service
to a population of 3,300 or more to submit to the executive
administrator of the board a water conservation plan based on
specific targets and goals developed by the retail public utility
and using appropriate best management practices, as defined by
Section 11.002, or other water conservation strategies. For
purposes of this section, the population served by a retail public
utility shall be determined on the basis of the population
estimates contained in the most recent regional water plan adopted
for the regional water planning area in which the retail public
utility's service area is located.
SECTION 6. Section 13.502, Water Code, is amended by adding
Subsections (f) through (i) to read as follows:
(f) Before the executive director may approve a request to
change from submetered billing to allocated billing under
Subsection (e), the property owner or manager must submit
documentation to the commission in support of the request as
provided by Subsection (i). The executive director shall assign
commission staff who are knowledgeable in water billing issues to
review the documentation and make a recommendation to the executive
director concerning whether to approve or disapprove the request.
In reviewing the documentation, the staff shall consider whether
needed repairs or problems are routine in nature or are
extraordinary and constitute good cause for the billing change.
The executive director may not approve the request unless the
property owner or manager demonstrates that all reasonable steps
were taken to ensure the proper installation and maintenance of the
submetering system and that the circumstances reasonably justify
the billing change.
(g) The commission by rule shall require a property owner or
manager requesting a billing change under Subsection (e) to provide
timely notice to affected tenants of the request. The notice must
include information relating to the manner in which a tenant may
comment to the commission on the request.
(h) If the executive director does not approve a request for
a billing change under Subsection (e), the executive director shall
provide to the property owner or manager an explanation of why the
request was disapproved. Disapproval of a request does not
preclude a property owner or manager from submitting subsequent
requests.
(i) A property owner or manager who submits a request for a
billing change under Subsection (e) must submit with the request
any relevant and detailed information necessary to support the
request, including:
(1) if the request is based on equipment failures:
(A) at least one independent itemized bid
indicating the number of submeters that are malfunctioning or that
need to be replaced and the cost of the equipment and labor to
replace the submeters;
(B) copies of any relevant repair or service
invoices during the previous 12 months; and
(C) an explanation of why the equipment failed
before the end of the equipment's expected useful life, if
applicable; and
(2) if the request is based on meter reading or billing
problems:
(A) copies of any resident complaints, any
correspondence with billing companies, and any correspondence from
the commission regarding consumer complaints directly attributable
to billing company problems; and
(B) an affidavit by the property owner or manager
regarding efforts to find alternative service providers that
includes an explanation of why alternative providers could not be
used.
SECTION 7. Subsection (b), Section 15.102, Water Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) The loan fund may also be used by the board to provide:
(1) grants or loans for projects that include
supplying water and wastewater services in economically distressed
areas or nonborder colonias as provided by legislative
appropriations, this chapter, and board rules, including projects
involving retail distribution of those services; and
(2) grants for:
(A) projects for which federal grant funds are
placed in the loan fund;
(B) projects, on specific legislative
appropriation for those projects; or
(C) water conservation, desalination, brush
control, weather modification, regionalization, and projects
providing regional water quality enhancement services as defined by
board rule, including regional conveyance systems.
SECTION 8. Chapter 16, Water Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter K to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER K. WATER CONSERVATION
Sec. 16.401. STATEWIDE WATER CONSERVATION PUBLIC AWARENESS
PROGRAM. (a) The executive administrator shall develop and
implement a statewide water conservation public awareness program
to educate residents of this state about water conservation. The
program shall take into account the differences in water
conservation needs of various geographic regions of the state and
shall be designed to complement and support existing local and
regional water conservation programs.
(b) The executive administrator is required to develop and
implement the program required by Subsection (a) in a state fiscal
biennium only if the legislature appropriates sufficient money in
that biennium specifically for that purpose.
Sec. 16.402. WATER CONSERVATION PLAN REVIEW. (a) Each
entity that is required to submit a water conservation plan to the
commission under this code shall submit a copy of the plan to the
executive administrator.
(b) Each entity that is required to submit a water
conservation plan to the executive administrator, board, or
commission under this code shall report annually to the executive
administrator on the entity's progress in implementing the plan.
(c) The executive administrator shall review each water
conservation plan and annual report to determine compliance with
the minimum requirements and submission deadlines developed under
Subsection (e).
(d) The board may notify the commission if the board
determines that an entity has violated this section or a rule
adopted under this section. Notwithstanding Section 7.051(b), a
violation of this section or of a rule adopted under this section is
enforceable in the manner provided by Chapter 7 for a violation of a
provision of this code within the commission's jurisdiction or of a
rule adopted by the commission under a provision of this code within
the commission's jurisdiction.
(e) The board and commission jointly shall adopt rules:
(1) identifying the minimum requirements and
submission deadlines for the water conservation plans described by
Subsection (b) and the annual reports required by that subsection;
and
(2) providing for the enforcement of this section and
rules adopted under this section.
SECTION 9. Section 17.125, Water Code, is amended by adding
Subsection (b-2) to read as follows:
(b-2) The board shall give priority to applications for
funds for implementation of water supply projects in the state
water plan by entities that:
(1) have already demonstrated significant water
conservation savings; or
(2) will achieve significant water conservation
savings by implementing the proposed project for which the
financial assistance is sought.
SECTION 10. Section 26.003, Water Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 26.003. POLICY OF THIS SUBCHAPTER. It is the policy of
this state and the purpose of this subchapter to maintain the
quality of water in the state consistent with the public health and
enjoyment, the propagation and protection of terrestrial and
aquatic life, and the operation of existing industries, taking into
consideration the economic development of the state; to encourage
and promote the development and use of regional and areawide waste
collection, treatment, and disposal systems to serve the waste
disposal needs of the citizens of the state; to encourage the
voluntary stewardship of public and private lands to benefit the
water in the state; and to require the use of all reasonable methods
to implement this policy.
SECTION 11. Subchapter A, Chapter 2165, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 2165.008 to read as follows:
Sec. 2165.008. WATER CONSERVATION SYSTEMS FOR STATE
BUILDINGS. (a) The commission may contract with a private vendor,
at no cost to the state, to install electronic water conservation
systems on toilets, sinks, and showers in state buildings.
(b) A private vendor contracting with the commission under
this section must:
(1) demonstrate that the electronic water
conservation systems used will yield an annual cost savings, as
verified by the Texas Water Development Board, of at least 50
percent of the amount of current plumbing operation costs;
(2) have a minimum of five years of verifiable
experience with retrofit installations in public buildings;
(3) use technological equipment that has a five-year
history of use in public buildings;
(4) have demonstrable experience with the use and
reuse of gray water; and
(5) have demonstrable experience with the use of
rainwater harvesting.
(c) A contract between the commission and a private vendor
under this section must include a provision that will ensure a
budget-neutral or positive fiscal impact on the state.
(d) The commission shall contract for the installation of
the conservation systems in at least 15 state buildings designated
by the commission. In designating a state building under this
subsection, the commission shall consider:
(1) the building where the greatest amount of savings
can be achieved;
(2) the age of the building; and
(3) the potential operational and security concerns of
the building.
(e) A private vendor that contracts with the commission
under this section may not receive any remuneration under the
contract until cost savings to the state have been verified by the
Texas Water Development Board.
(f) Not later than December 31, 2006, the commission shall
submit a progress report to the lieutenant governor, the speaker of
the house of representatives, and the Legislative Budget Board.
The report must include an evaluation of the initial installation
of the water conservation systems, the effectiveness of the
technology used, and the amount of cost savings to the state. The
commission may request assistance from the state auditor and the
Legislative Budget Board with the preparation of the report and the
calculation of savings.
SECTION 12. Chapter 401, Local Government Code, is amended
by adding Section 401.006 to read as follows:
Sec. 401.006. IRRIGATION SYSTEMS. (a) A municipality with
a population of 5,000 or more by ordinance shall require an
installer of an irrigation system:
(1) to hold a license issued under Section 1903.251,
Occupations Code; and
(2) to obtain a permit before installing a system
within the territorial limits or extraterritorial jurisdiction of
the municipality.
(b) The ordinance shall include minimum standards and
specifications for designing, installing, and operating irrigation
systems in accordance with Section 1903.053, Occupations Code, and
any rules adopted by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
under that section.
(c) A municipality may employ or contract with a licensed
plumbing inspector or a licensed irrigator to enforce the
ordinance.
(d) This section does not apply to an on-site sewage
disposal system, as defined by Section 366.002, Health and Safety
Code.
SECTION 13. Subsection (b), Section 1903.053, Occupations
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(b) The commission shall [may] adopt:
(1) standards relating to:
(A) the design, installation, and operation of
[for] irrigation systems;
(B) [that include] water conservation; and
(C) the duties and responsibilities of licensed
irrigators; and
(2) rules that provide for effective enforcement of
those standards[, irrigation system design and installation, and
compliance with municipal codes].
SECTION 14. (a) Section 13.502, Water Code, as amended by
this Act, applies to a request to change from submetered billing to
allocated billing for which the Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality has not issued a final decision before the effective date of
this Act.
(b) Sections 15.102 and 17.125, Water Code, as amended by
this Act, apply only to an application for financial assistance
filed with the Texas Water Development Board on or after the
effective date of this Act. An application for financial assistance
filed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law
in effect on the date the application was filed, and the former law
is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 15. (a) Not later than December 1, 2005, the Texas
Building and Procurement Commission shall submit a request for
proposals from private vendors to provide water conservation
systems under Section 2165.008, Government Code, as added by this
Act.
(b) The initial installation of the water conservation
systems described by Subsection (a) of this section shall begin not
later than February 1, 2006, and shall be completed by January 1,
2008.
SECTION 16. (a) Not later than January 1, 2007, a
municipality with a population of 5,000 or more shall adopt an
ordinance under Section 401.006, Local Government Code, as added by
this Act.
(b) Not later than June 1, 2006, the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality shall adopt rules as required by Section
1903.053, Occupations Code, as amended by this Act, to take effect
January 1, 2007.
SECTION 17. This Act takes effect immediately if it
receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
effect, this Act takes effect November 1, 2005.