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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the adoption by the Texas Commission on Environmental |
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Quality of salinity requirements for bays and estuaries. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 26, Water Code, is amended |
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by adding Section 26.0231 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 26.0231. SALINITY OF BAYS AND ESTUARIES. The |
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commission shall incorporate in standards set under Section 26.023: |
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(1) numeric salinity gradients for bays and estuaries |
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where site-specific salinity studies exist; and |
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(2) narrative salinity criteria for bays and estuaries |
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listing specific species within bays and estuaries to support |
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attainable estuarine dependent aquatic life. |
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SECTION 2. (a) The Texas Commission on Environmental |
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Quality shall ensure that water quality standards set by the |
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commission under Section 26.023, Water Code, comply with Section |
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26.0231, Water Code, as added by this Act, in the first revision of |
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the commission's relevant rules that occurs after the effective |
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date of this Act. |
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(b) Not later than September 1, 2026, the Texas Commission |
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on Environmental Quality shall publish on its Internet website a |
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report on the results of long-term studies conducted between 2003 |
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and 2025 by the commission and other state agencies of estuarine |
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salinity gradients. The report must assess, based on available |
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information from stakeholders and the studies, the effects of |
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additional wastewater loading, desalination, and changes in |
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hydrological conditions and rainfall on estuarine salinity |
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gradients and estuarine dependent wildlife. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |