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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the issuance by the Texas Commission on Environmental |
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Quality of permits to authorize the diversion of state water from |
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the Gulf of Mexico or a bay or arm of the Gulf of Mexico for |
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desalination and use for industrial purposes. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 11.1405, Water Code, is amended by |
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amending Subsection (g) and adding Subsection (g-1) to read as |
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follows: |
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(g) The commission: |
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(1) shall [may] include any provision in a permit |
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issued under this section that the commission considers necessary |
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to comply with the environmental flow standards established under |
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Section 11.1471; |
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(2) may limit a point of diversion to an area located |
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outside of a sensitive habitat based on the environmental flow |
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analyses and recommended environmental flow regimes developed by |
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the applicable basin and bay expert science team under Section |
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11.02362; and |
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(3) may deny a permit for a diversion of state water |
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under this section if the point of diversion is in close proximity |
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to a sensitive habitat such as an oyster reef or seagrass bed. |
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(g-1) The commission by rule shall establish standards to |
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minimize impingement and entrainment caused by a permitted |
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diversion of state water from a bay or arm of the Gulf of Mexico. |
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SECTION 2. Not later than December 1, 2026, the Texas |
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Commission on Environmental Quality shall adopt or amend rules |
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necessary to implement the changes in law made by this Act. |
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SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
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an application for a permit for the diversion of state water that is |
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submitted to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on or |
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after the effective date of this Act. An application for a permit |
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that was submitted to the commission before the effective date of |
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this Act is governed by the law in effect at the time the |
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application was submitted, and the former law is continued in |
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effect for that purpose. |
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SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |