Honorable Allan Ritter, Chair, House Committee on Natural Resources
FROM:
John S O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB3602 by Garza (Relating to a restriction on permits authorizing direct discharges of waste or pollutants into water in certain areas associated with the Barton Springs segment of the Edwards Aquifer.), As Introduced
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would establish minimum standards for pollution removal from stormwater that enters the Edwards Aquifer. The bill would define “water treatment facility” as a facility that utilizes best management practices approved by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) in a pollution abatement plan for the purpose of filtering out and removing pollutants such as total suspended solids (TSS) from stormwater runoff from commercial, residential, industrial or retail developments that are located within the recharge zone of the Edwards Aquifer.
The bill would provide that the TCEQ may not approve the use or installation of a new water treatment facility in a pollution abatement plan unless the water treatment facility has been shown to remove 85 percent or more of TSS from the stormwater runoff required to be treated prior to its discharge into the recharge zone of the Edwards Aquifer.
Cost to the TCEQ in implementing the provisions of the bill are not expected to be signficant.
Local Government Impact
Local governments constructing water treatment facilities in the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone could incur additional costs upon passage of the bill. The cost would depend on the size of a facility and the technology that would be needed to meet the minimum standards required by the bill and by TCEQ rules as compared to the cost of a facility the local government would otherwise construct under current law.