BILL ANALYSIS

 

 

Senate Research Center	C.S.S.B. 2885
89R20559 KRM-F	By: Flores
	Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs
	4/22/2025
	Committee Report (Substituted)

 

 

 

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

 

Texas' growing population continues to place significant demands on its local water supplies. Local political subdivisions are committed to sustainable water resource management strategies to support ongoing industrial and economic growth. Numerous local entities have proposed to implement aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) of treated effluent to ensure long-term water security. However, Texas' regulatory framework lacks provisions to permit the use of reclaimed water as injectate in ASR projects, creating a critical barrier to innovative water management.

 

S.B. 2885 seeks to expand the definition of allowable injectate for ASR projects to include reclaimed water that meets federal Safe Drinking Water Act standards.

 

(Original Author's/Sponsor's Statement of Intent)

 

C.S.S.B. 2885 amends current law relating to the use of reclaimed water that has been treated to meet certain standards as part of an aquifer storage and recovery project.

 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

 

Rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in SECTION 1 (Section 27.153, Water Code) of this bill.

 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

 

SECTION 1. Amends Section 27.153, Water Code, by adding Subsection (b-1), as follows:

(b-1) Authorizes the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) by rule or by individual or general permit, notwithstanding Subsection (b)(1) (relating to requiring� TCEQ, in adopting a rule or issuing a permit, to consider whether the injection of water will comply with certain standards), to authorize the injection of reclaimed water that is treated in accordance with standards adopted by TCEQ for that purpose.

 

SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 2025.