TX
Texas House Bill HB2350

Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2350 Compare Versions

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1-By: Zwiener, Walle, Harris H.B. No. 2350
1+87R17202 JAM-F
2+ By: Zwiener H.B. No. 2350
3+ Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2350:
4+ By: Price C.S.H.B. No. 2350
25
36
47 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
58 AN ACT
69 relating to financial assistance provided to political
7- subdivisions by the Texas Water Development Board for water
8- resource restoration projects.
10+ subdivisions by the Texas Water Development Board for nature-based
11+ water quality enhancement projects.
912 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1013 SECTION 1. Section 15.604(b), Water Code, is amended to
1114 read as follows:
1215 (b) The board shall adopt rules specifying the manner in
1316 which any additional state revolving fund hereafter established by
1417 the board, or any capitalization grant under the state water
1518 pollution control revolving fund, the safe drinking water revolving
1619 fund, or any additional state revolving fund, may be used to provide
1720 financial assistance to an eligible applicant for public works.
1821 Such rules shall require financial assistance to be provided for
1922 the purpose or purposes and on the terms authorized by the federal
2023 legislation or federal agency program under which the additional
2124 state revolving fund was established or the capitalization grant
22- was awarded. To the extent not prohibited by board rule or federal
23- law or regulation, the state water pollution control revolving fund
24- established under this subchapter may be used to provide financial
25- assistance for water resource restoration projects described by
26- Section 15.619.
27- SECTION 2. Subchapter J, Chapter 15, Water Code, is amended
28- by adding Section 15.619 to read as follows:
29- Sec. 15.619. WATER RESOURCE RESTORATION PROJECTS. (a) In
30- this section, "water resource restoration project" means
31- nature-based infrastructure that will improve water quality in the
32- political subdivision where the project is located and may include
33- the acquisition of real property and the use of nature-based water
34- treatment technologies.
35- (b) Based on demand, the board may provide financial
36- assistance to a political subdivision for a locally directed and
37- managed water resource restoration project if the political
38- subdivision applicant will bear responsibility for implementation,
39- stewardship, and maintenance of the project.
40- (c) Subject to Section 15.603(d) of this chapter and Section
41- 602(b)(11) of the federal act, the board shall establish a process
42- by which a political subdivision may combine a project funded
43- through the state water pollution control revolving fund that is
44- not for a water resource restoration project with a water resource
45- restoration project. The board may allocate available principal
46- forgiveness for additional subsidization set-asides in the state
47- water pollution control revolving fund for green projects, as those
48- terms are defined by board rule, to the political subdivision to
49- substantially enhance the financial viability of the water resource
50- restoration project.
51- (d) A proposed water resource restoration project must
52- enhance water quality in the state and include the application of
53- best management practices for the primary purpose of water quality
54- protection and improvement. To the extent permitted by federal law
55- and regulation and United States Environmental Protection Agency
56- guidance, a proposed water resource restoration project may
57- include:
25+ was awarded. To the extent not prohibited by board rule, any
26+ additional state revolving fund established under this subchapter
27+ may be used to provide financial assistance for projects described
28+ by Section 17.280.
29+ SECTION 2. Section 17.001(10), Water Code, is amended to
30+ read as follows:
31+ (10) "Water quality enhancement" means the
32+ construction of treatment works or projects described by Section
33+ 17.280 by political subdivisions with loans provided by water
34+ quality enhancement funds.
35+ SECTION 3. Section 17.271, Water Code, is amended to read as
36+ follows:
37+ Sec. 17.271. PURPOSE. The purpose of this subchapter is to
38+ provide for making loans of water quality enhancement funds
39+ authorized by Article III, Sections 49-d-1, 49-d-2, 49-d-6, and
40+ 49-d-7, of the Texas Constitution to political subdivisions of the
41+ state for water quality enhancement [the construction of treatment
42+ works].
43+ SECTION 4. Section 17.272, Water Code, is amended to read as
44+ follows:
45+ Sec. 17.272. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE. The board may use water
46+ quality enhancement funds to provide financial assistance to
47+ political subdivisions for purposes of water quality enhancement,
48+ including projects proposed under the water resource restoration
49+ program established under Section 17.280.
50+ SECTION 5. Section 17.274, Water Code, is amended by adding
51+ Subsection (b) to read as follows:
52+ (b) An application for financial assistance administered
53+ through the water resource restoration program established under
54+ Section 17.280 must include a copy of a resolution approving the
55+ proposed project adopted by the governing body of a municipality or
56+ special purpose district or the commissioners court of a county in
57+ which the proposed project is to be located.
58+ SECTION 6. Section 17.275, Water Code, is amended to read as
59+ follows:
60+ Sec. 17.275. CONSIDERATIONS IN PASSING ON APPLICATION. In
61+ passing on an application from a political subdivision for
62+ financial assistance for water quality enhancement purposes, the
63+ board shall consider:
64+ (1) the water quality needs of the waters into which
65+ effluent from the treatment works will be discharged, the benefit
66+ of the treatment works to such water quality needs, the
67+ relationship of the treatment works to the overall, statewide water
68+ quality needs; and the relationship of the treatment works to water
69+ quality planning for the state;
70+ (2) the availability of revenue to the political
71+ subdivision, from all sources, for the ultimate repayment of the
72+ cost of the treatment works, including interest; [and]
73+ (3) whether the political subdivision has been
74+ designated, pursuant to Section 26.082 of this code, to provide a
75+ regional system to serve all or part of the waste disposal needs of
76+ a defined area, the development of such systems being the declared
77+ policy of the legislature; and
78+ (4) whether the political subdivision proposes a
79+ project through the water resource restoration program established
80+ under Section 17.280.
81+ SECTION 7. Section 17.279, Water Code, is amended to read as
82+ follows:
83+ Sec. 17.279. LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS. If there is
84+ insufficient money available to fund all applications under this
85+ subchapter, the board shall give preference to applications for
86+ political subdivisions that:
87+ (1) the board finds cannot reasonably finance the
88+ treatment works without assistance from the state;
89+ (2) propose a project through the water resource
90+ restoration program established under Section 17.280 that provides
91+ a significant improvement to water quality in the relevant
92+ watershed; or
93+ (3) propose a project through the water resource
94+ restoration program established under Section 17.280 that affects a
95+ disadvantaged community, as determined by board rule.
96+ SECTION 8. Subchapter F, Chapter 17, Water Code, is amended
97+ by adding Section 17.280 to read as follows:
98+ Sec. 17.280. WATER RESOURCE RESTORATION PROGRAM. (a) In
99+ this section:
100+ (1) "Program" means the water resource restoration
101+ program.
102+ (2) "Project" means nature-based infrastructure that
103+ will improve water quality in the political subdivision where the
104+ project is located and includes the acquisition of real property
105+ and the use of nature-based water treatment technologies.
106+ (b) The board shall establish and administer the water
107+ resource restoration program to assist in enhancing water quality
108+ in the state through the provision of financial assistance to
109+ political subdivisions for locally directed projects.
110+ (c) The board shall establish a process by which a political
111+ subdivision may combine a project funded through a state revolving
112+ fund with a project under the program so that the total cost of both
113+ projects does not exceed the cost of the project funded through the
114+ state revolving fund.
115+ (d) A proposed project must be compatible with the goals of
116+ the program and include the application of best management
117+ practices for the primary purpose of water quality protection and
118+ improvement. A proposed project may include:
58119 (1) the preservation or restoration of regional scale
59120 natural landscape features, including forests, floodplains, and
60121 wetlands;
61122 (2) practices that reduce impervious cover in a
62123 watershed;
63124 (3) practices that increase water infiltration and
64125 retention, including the use of bioretention, trees, green roofs,
65126 permeable pavements, rain gardens, constructed wetlands, and
66127 cisterns;
67128 (4) the implementation of green streets in public
68129 rights-of-way;
69130 (5) the implementation of a comprehensive street tree
70131 or urban forestry program to manage stormwater and enhance tree
71132 health;
72133 (6) the expanded use of tree box filters;
73134 (7) stormwater collection and distribution systems,
74135 including cisterns, separate stormwater sewer systems, and
75136 downspout disconnection systems that use onsite stormwater
76137 management and remove stormwater from sewer systems;
77138 (8) soil quality enhancement activities;
78- (9) the restoration of native grasses and vegetation
79- that improve water infiltration;
139+ (9) the removal and replacement of turf with native
140+ grasses and vegetation that improve water infiltration;
80141 (10) the establishment or restoration of permanent
81142 riparian buffers, floodplains, wetlands, and other natural
82143 features including vegetative buffers, grass swales, soft
83144 bioengineered stream banks, and stream daylighting;
84145 (11) the management of wetlands to improve water
85146 quality and support water infiltration and retention; and
86147 (12) sustainable landscaping to improve hydrologic
87148 processes.
88- (e) A proposed water resource restoration project may not
89- include:
149+ (e) A proposed project may not include:
90150 (1) passive recreation activities and trails
91151 including bike trails, playgrounds, athletic fields, picnic
92152 tables, and picnic grounds;
93153 (2) non-permeable surface parking lots;
94154 (3) stormwater ponds or dirt-lined detention basins
95155 that serve an extended or filtration function;
96156 (4) in-line and end-of-pipe treatment systems that
97157 only filter or detain stormwater without the use of natural plants
98158 and trees;
99159 (5) underground stormwater control and treatment
100160 devices, including hydrodynamic separators, baffle systems for
101161 grit, trash removal, and oil and grease separators;
102162 (6) stormwater conveyance systems, including pipes
103163 and concrete channels, that are not soil or vegetation based;
104164 (7) hardening, channelizing, dredging, or
105165 straightening streams or stream banks;
106166 (8) street sweepers, sewer cleaners, and vacuum trucks
107167 unless they support nature-based infrastructure projects; and
108168 (9) supplemental environmental projects required as a
109- part of an agreed order or consent decree.
110- (f) A water resource restoration project may not include the
111- acquisition of property, an interest in property, or improvements
112- to property through the use of eminent domain.
113- (g) The board shall establish a means of prioritizing water
114- resource restoration projects.
115- (h) An application for financial assistance for a water
116- resource restoration project under this section must include a
117- viability assessment that includes:
169+ part of a consent decree.
170+ (f) A project may not include the acquisition of property,
171+ an interest in property, or improvements to property through the
172+ use of eminent domain.
173+ (g) The board shall adopt rules to establish a means of
174+ prioritizing projects in disadvantaged communities. The board
175+ shall include the following criteria to determine whether a
176+ political subdivision seeking financing under this section is a
177+ disadvantaged community:
178+ (1) median household income in the community as a
179+ percentage of statewide household income;
180+ (2) annual water and sewer rates as a percentage of
181+ median household income in the community;
182+ (3) families below the poverty level in the community
183+ as a percentage of the statewide number of families below the
184+ poverty level;
185+ (4) per capita outstanding debt of the wastewater
186+ system serving the community as a percentage of median household
187+ income in the community; and
188+ (5) cost-effectiveness calculated by determining
189+ construction costs of the proposed project per user.
190+ (h) An application for the financing of a project under this
191+ section must include a viability assessment that includes:
118192 (1) the ability of the applicant to provide proper
119193 oversight and management through a certified operator; and
120194 (2) the financial ability of the users to support the
121- long-term maintenance of the water resource restoration project.
122- SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
195+ long-term maintenance of the project.
196+ (i) The board shall adopt rules necessary for the
197+ implementation and administration of this section.
198+ SECTION 9. Not later than September 1, 2022, the Texas Water
199+ Development Board shall adopt rules necessary to implement Section
200+ 17.280, Water Code, as added by this Act.
201+ SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.