TITLE: Relating to a restriction on permits authorizing direct discharges of waste or pollutants into water in certain areas associated with the Barton Springs segment of the Edwards Aquifer.

SUMMARY: Relating to a restriction on permits authorizing direct discharges of waste or pollutants into water in certain areas associated with the Barton Springs segment of the Edwards Aquifer.

FULL TEXT:
AN ACT relating to a restriction on permits authorizing direct discharges of waste or pollutants into water in certain areas associated with the Barton Springs segment of the Edwards Aquifer. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 26, Water Code, is amended by adding Section 26.0463 to read as follows: Sec. 26.0463. MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR POLLUTION REMOVAL FOR STORMWATER ENTERING THE EDWARDS AQUIFER. (a) In this section, "water treatment facility" means a facility that utilizes best management practices approved by the Commission on Environmental Quality in a water pollution abatement plan for the purpose of filtering out and removing pollutants such as total suspended solids from stormwater runoff from commercial, residential, industrial or retail developments that are located within the recharge zone of the Edwards Aquifer. (b) The commission may not: (1) approve the use or installation of a new water treatment facility in a water pollution abatement plan unless the water treatment facility has been shown to remove 85% or more of the total suspended solids from the stormwater runoff required to be treated prior to its discharge into the recharge zone of the Edwards Aquifer. SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only to an application for a permit or permit amendment that is submitted to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on or after the effective date of this Act. An application for a permit or permit amendment that was submitted to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect at the time the application was filed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.