83R24556 SLB-F
 
  By: Callegari, Lucio III, Larson, et al. H.B. No. 2334
 
  Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2334:
 
  By:  Keffer C.S.H.B. No. 2334
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the regulation, development, and treatment of brackish
  and marine water.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  (a)  With this state facing an ongoing drought,
  continuing population growth, and the need to remain economically
  competitive, this state must secure and develop plentiful and
  cost-effective water supplies to meet the ever-increasing demand
  for water. The purpose of this Act is not to hinder conservation
  efforts, because such efforts help reduce the need for new sources
  of water, or to hinder current development of fresh groundwater,
  fresh surface water, water reclamation, or aquifer storage and
  recovery. However, this state must explore every water resource in
  order to balance the supply and demand for water, one of the most
  precious resources of this state.
         (b)  Brackish groundwater and marine seawater are
  potentially new sources of public drinking water for this state.
  This state has an estimated 880 trillion gallons of brackish
  groundwater and access to over 600 quadrillion gallons of marine
  seawater from the Gulf of Mexico. The purpose of this Act is to
  streamline the process and reduce the cost and regulation of
  desalination.
         SECTION 2.  Section 11.085, Water Code, is amended by adding
  Subsection (w) to read as follows:
         (w)  This section does not apply to a transfer of water that
  has been diverted from the Gulf of Mexico to a location in a river
  basin or coastal basin.
         SECTION 3.  Section 11.121, Water Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 11.121.  PERMIT REQUIRED. Except as provided in
  Sections 11.142, 11.1421, [and] 11.1422, and 11.1423 [of this
  code], no person may appropriate any state water or begin
  construction of any work designed for the storage, taking, or
  diversion of water without first obtaining a permit from the
  commission to make the appropriation.
         SECTION 4.  Section 11.1311, Water Code, is amended by
  amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to read as
  follows:
         (b)  The board may transfer interests in a permit issued
  under Subsection (a) [this section] to a municipality, river
  authority, other political subdivision, or water supply
  corporation organized under Chapter 67 as otherwise provided by
  law.
         (b-1)  In this subsection, "marine seawater" has the meaning
  assigned by Section 11.1423, and "brackish water" means water that
  contains a total dissolved solids concentration of more than 1,000
  milligrams per liter and is not marine seawater. On submission of an
  application to the commission, the commission shall issue without a
  hearing a permit to use the bed and banks of any flowing natural
  stream in the state to convey marine seawater or brackish water.
  The commission shall adopt rules to implement a procedure for
  application for a permit to convey marine seawater or brackish
  water consistent with this subsection. A flowing natural stream
  does not include impounded water. The commission shall provide
  notice and an opportunity for hearing for an application for a
  permit to convey marine seawater or brackish water into or through a
  lake, reservoir, or other impoundment.
         SECTION 5.  Subchapter D, Chapter 11, Water Code, is amended
  by adding Section 11.1423 to read as follows:
         Sec. 11.1423.  PERMIT EXEMPTION FOR USE BY WATER SUPPLY
  ENTITY OF MARINE SEAWATER. (a) In this section:
               (1)  "Marine seawater" means water that contains a
  total dissolved solids concentration based on a yearly average of
  samples taken at the water source of more than 10,000 milligrams per
  liter that is derived from the Gulf of Mexico or an adjacent bay,
  estuary, or arm of the Gulf of Mexico.
               (2)  "Water supply entity" includes:
                     (A)  a retail public utility as defined by Section
  13.002;
                     (B)  a wholesale water supplier; or
                     (C)  an irrigation district operating under
  Chapter 58.
         (b)  Without obtaining a permit, a water supply entity may
  use for any beneficial purpose state water that consists of marine
  seawater.
         (c)  A water supply entity must treat marine seawater so that
  it meets the water quality level of the receiving stream before the
  entity may put the water into a stream under an authorization
  granted under Section 11.042.
         (d)  This section does not prohibit a water supply entity
  from conveying water under this section in any other manner
  authorized by law, including through the use of facilities owned or
  operated by the state if authorized by the state.
         SECTION 6.  Section 16.060, Water Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 16.060.  DESALINATION STUDIES AND RESEARCH. (a) In
  this section, "inland desalination project" means a desalination
  project the primary purpose of which is the development of new
  drinking water.  The term does not include the reuse, recycling, or
  disposal of wastewater.
         (b)  The board shall undertake or participate in research,
  feasibility and facility planning studies, investigations, and
  surveys [as it considers] necessary to further the development of
  cost-effective water supplies from inland and seawater
  desalination in the state.
         (c) [(b)]  The board shall prepare an annual [a biennial]
  progress report on the implementation of inland and seawater
  desalination activities in the state and shall submit it to the
  governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of
  representatives not later than December 1 of each [even-numbered]
  year. The report shall include:
               (1)  results of the board's studies and activities
  relative to inland and seawater desalination during the preceding
  year [biennium];
               (2)  identification and evaluation of research,
  regulatory, technical, and financial impediments to the
  implementation of inland and seawater desalination projects;
               (3)  evaluation of the role the state should play in
  furthering the development of inland and [large-scale] seawater
  desalination projects in the state; [and]
               (4)  the anticipated appropriation from general
  revenues necessary to continue investigating water desalination
  activities in the state during the next biennium; and
               (5)  information regarding state participation in
  public-private partnerships to advance research efforts, implement
  pilot projects, and develop new technologies related to:
                     (A)  water transport;
                     (B)  brine disposal;
                     (C)  pretreatment of brackish water and marine
  seawater; and
                     (D)  innovative concentrate management
  strategies.
         (d) [(c)]  The board shall actively pursue federal sources
  of funding for inland and seawater desalination projects in the
  state.
         (e)  In preparing the report described by Subsection (c), the
  board shall incorporate input from water utilities, water
  providers, municipalities, and other public or private entities
  that have an interest in developing and implementing inland or
  seawater desalination projects.
         (f)  The board shall coordinate with the Texas Center for
  Innovative Desalination Technology and any other entity created by
  the state to study, promote, facilitate, or improve the
  development, financing, implementation, or enhancement of inland
  or seawater desalination technology or projects.
         (g)  The board shall coordinate with each agency identified
  in the report to provide assistance with applicable regulatory
  requirements to improve implementation of inland or seawater
  desalination technology or projects.
         SECTION 7.  Section 341.001, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended by adding Subdivisions (1-a), (2-a), and (4-a) to read as
  follows:
               (1-a)  "Brackish water" means water that contains a
  total dissolved solids concentration of more than 1,000 milligrams
  per liter. The term does not include marine seawater.
               (2-a)  "Desalination facility" means a facility used
  for the treatment of brackish water or marine seawater to remove
  dissolved mineral salts and other dissolved solids.
               (4-a)  "Marine seawater" means water that contains a
  total dissolved solids concentration based on a yearly average of
  samples taken at the water source of more than 10,000 milligrams per
  liter that is derived from the Gulf of Mexico or an adjacent bay,
  estuary, or arm of the Gulf of Mexico.
         SECTION 8.  Subchapter C, Chapter 341, Health and Safety
  Code, is amended by adding Section 341.0359 to read as follows:
         Sec. 341.0359.  DESALINATION OF WATER FOR DRINKING WATER.
  (a) This section applies only to a desalination facility that is
  intended to produce water for the public drinking water supply.
  This section does not apply to a desalination facility used to
  produce nonpotable water.
         (b)  The commission shall adopt rules to:
               (1)  allow water treated by a desalination facility to
  be used as public drinking water; and
               (2)  ensure that water treated by a desalination
  facility meets the requirements of Section 341.031 and rules
  adopted under that section.
         (c)  A person may not begin construction of a desalination
  facility unless the commission approves in writing the plans and
  specifications for the facility.
         (d)  A person may not begin construction of a desalination
  facility that treats brackish water for the purpose of removing
  secondary drinking water contaminants unless the commission
  approves in writing a report containing:
               (1)  a computer model acceptable to the commission;
               (2)  a pilot study with a minimum 40-day run duration
  without treatment intervention to meet federal and state safe
  drinking water standards;
               (3)  data from a similar system installed at another
  brackish water desalination facility that treats source water of a
  similar or lower quality; or
               (4)  a full-scale verification study with a minimum
  40-day run duration without treatment intervention to meet federal
  and state safe drinking water standards.
         (e)  A person may not begin construction of a desalination
  facility that treats brackish water for the purpose of removing
  primary drinking water contaminants unless the commission approves
  in writing a report containing:
               (1)  a computer model acceptable to the commission;
               (2)  a pilot study with a minimum 40-day run duration
  without treatment intervention to meet federal and state safe
  drinking water standards;
               (3)  data from a similar system installed at another
  brackish water desalination facility that treats source water of a
  similar or lower quality; or
               (4)  a full-scale verification study with a minimum
  40-day run duration without treatment intervention to meet federal
  and state safe drinking water standards.
         (f)  A person may not begin construction of a desalination
  facility that treats marine seawater unless the commission approves
  in writing a report containing:
               (1)  a computer model acceptable to the commission;
               (2)  a pilot study with a minimum 40-day run duration
  without treatment intervention to meet federal and state safe
  drinking water standards;
               (3)  data from a similar system installed at another
  marine seawater desalination facility that treats source water of a
  similar or lower quality; or
               (4)  a full-scale verification study with a minimum
  40-day run duration without treatment intervention to meet federal
  and state safe drinking water standards.
         (g)  Not later than the 100th day after the date the
  commission receives the report for a proposed desalination
  facility, the commission shall review the report and issue an
  exception response letter that may contain conditions for approval.
         (h)  Not later than the 60th day after the date the
  commission receives the plans and specifications for a proposed
  desalination facility, the commission shall review the plans and
  specifications and issue a response letter that may contain
  conditions for approval.
         (i)  A person violates this section if the person fails to
  meet a condition for approval in a letter issued to the person under
  Subsection (g) or (h).
         SECTION 9.  Chapter 111, Education Code, is amended by
  adding Subchapter J to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER J. TEXAS CENTER FOR INNOVATIVE
  DESALINATION TECHNOLOGY
         Sec. 111.131.  DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
               (1)  "Boards" means the board of regents of the
  University of Houston System and the board of regents of The
  University of Texas System.
               (2)  "Center" means the Texas Center for Innovative
  Desalination Technology established under this subchapter.
         Sec. 111.132.  ESTABLISHMENT. (a) The Texas Center for
  Innovative Desalination Technology is established as a partnership
  between the University of Houston, The University of Texas at
  Brownsville, and The University of Texas at El Paso.
         (b)  The organization, control, and management of the center
  are vested in the boards, and the respective institutions shall
  execute a memorandum of understanding for that purpose.
         (c)  The center shall be hosted by the University of
  Houston's Cullen College of Engineering, The University of Texas at
  Brownsville's College of Science, Mathematics, and Technology, and
  The University of Texas at El Paso's Center for Inland Desalination
  Systems. Participation in the center's activities shall be open to
  any faculty or staff member of each host university who is an active
  researcher in the field of water desalination, engineering,
  hydrology, biology, water supply development, or energy
  efficiency, or in another relevant field as determined by the
  boards.
         Sec. 111.133.  PURPOSE. The center is created to:
               (1)  promote interdisciplinary research, education,
  and training for the development of state-of-the-art products,
  materials, systems, and technologies designed for the desalination
  of seawater from the Gulf of Mexico and brackish water within
  surface and groundwater resources throughout the state; and
               (2)  develop cost-effective, energy-efficient, and
  environmentally sound water desalination, brine disposal, and
  water conveyance technologies that can enhance the potential for
  desalinated water to contribute toward the state's long-term water
  portfolio.
         Sec. 111.134.  POWERS AND DUTIES. The center shall:
               (1)  collaborate with appropriate international,
  federal, state, and local agencies and private business or
  nonprofit entities as necessary to develop innovative desalination
  technologies;
               (2)  research and develop innovative seawater and
  brackish water desalination technologies, including pretreatment
  technologies and improvements, that are energy efficient and cost
  effective, minimize environmental impacts, and offer long-term
  water supply solutions for the state;
               (3)  research and develop brine disposal and reuse
  methods and technologies;
               (4)  research and develop water conveyance systems and
  technologies that may be used to transport desalinated water to
  target use populations;
               (5)  develop test facilities for evaluating the
  performance of new products, materials, or techniques;
               (6)  develop specifications and standards for products
  used for desalinating water, conveying water, and disposing of
  brine;
               (7)  provide public information, education, and
  outreach regarding desalination technologies and appropriate uses
  and conservation methods for desalinated water; and
               (8)  provide data, recommendations, and any other
  information necessary relating to desalination for local,
  regional, or statewide water planning programs and processes.
         Sec. 111.135.  COLLABORATION WITH OTHER ENTITIES. The
  University of Houston, The University of Texas at Brownsville, and
  The University of Texas at El Paso shall encourage public and
  private entities to participate in or support the operation of the
  center and may enter into an agreement with any public or private
  entity for that purpose. An agreement may allow the center to
  provide information, services, or other assistance to an entity in
  exchange for the entity's participation or support.
         Sec. 111.136.  GIFTS AND GRANTS. The boards may solicit,
  accept, and administer gifts and grants from any public or private
  source for the purposes of the center.
         Sec. 111.137.  PERSONNEL. The boards may employ personnel
  for the center as necessary.
         Sec. 111.138.  EXPIRATION. This subchapter expires
  September 1, 2023.
         SECTION 10.  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 September 1, 2013.