85R14483 TYPED
By: Lucio III H.B. No. 2894
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to desalinated seawater and a requirement that the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality provide expedited
consideration of certain applications to amend water rights.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 11.122, Water Code, is amended by adding
Subsections (b-1) and (b-2) to read as follows:
(b-1) An existing water right holder that begins using
desalinated seawater after acquiring the water right has a right to
expedited consideration of an application for an amendment to the
water right, provided that the amendment:
(1) authorizes the applicant to divert water from a
diversion point that is different from or in addition to the point
or points from which the applicant was authorized to divert water
before the requested amendment;
(2) authorizes the applicant to divert from the
different or additional diversion point an amount of water equal to
or less than the amount of the desalinated seawater used by the
water right holder;
(3) authorizes the applicant to divert from all of the
diversion points authorized by the water right an amount of water
equal to or less than the amount of water the applicant was
authorized to divert under the water right before the requested
amendment; and
(4) does not authorize the water diverted from the
different or additional diversion point to be transferred to
another river basin.
(b-2) For purposes of Subsection (b-1), expedited
consideration of an application requires the executive director or
the commission to prioritize the technical review of the
application over the technical review of applications that are not
subject to Subsection (b-1).
SECTION 2. Section 2003.047, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (e-3) and adding Subsection (e-6) to read as
follows:
(e-3) The deadline specified by Subsection (e-2) or (e-6),
as applicable, may be extended:
(1) by agreement of the parties with the approval of
the administrative law judge; or
(2) by the administrative law judge if the judge
determines that failure to extend the deadline would unduly deprive
a party of due process or another constitutional right.
(e-6) For a matter pertaining to an application described by
Subsection 11.122(b-1), Water Code, the administrative law judge
must complete the proceeding and provide a proposal for decision to
the commission not later than the 270th day after the date that the
matter was referred to the office.
SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
an application for an amendment to a water right that is filed with
the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on or after the
effective date of this Act. An application filed with the
commission before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
law as it existed immediately before the effective date of this Act,
and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.