2023 Texas Statutes › Water Code › Title 2 - Water Administration › Subtitle D - Water Quality Control › Chapter 26 - Water Quality Control › Subchapter C. Regional and Area-Wide Systems › Section 26.084. Actions Available to Commission After Designations of Systems

Sec. 26.084.  ACTIONS AVAILABLE TO COMMISSION AFTER DESIGNATIONS OF SYSTEMS.  (a)  After the commission has entered an order as authorized in Section 26.083 of this code, the commission may, after public hearing and after giving notice of the hearing to the persons who in the judgment of the commission may be affected, take any one or more of the following actions:
(1)  enter an order requiring any person discharging or proposing to discharge waste into or adjacent to the water in the state in an area defined in an order entered under Section 26.082 of this code to use a regional or area-wide system designated under Section 26.083 of this code for the disposal of his waste;
(2)  refuse to grant any permits for the discharge of waste or to approve any plans for the construction or material alteration of any sewer system, treatment facility, or disposal system in an area defined in an order entered under Section 26.082 of this code unless the permits or plans comply and are consistent with any orders entered under Sections 26.081 through 26.086 of this code;  or
(3)  cancel or suspend any permit, or amend any permit in any particular, which authorizes the discharge of waste in an area defined in an order entered under Section 26.082 of this code.
(b)  Before exercising the authority granted in this section, the commission shall find affirmatively:
(1)  that there is an existing or proposed regional or area-wide system designated under Section 26.083 of this code which is capable or which in the reasonably foreseeable future will be capable of serving the waste collection, treatment, or disposal needs of the person or persons who are the subject of an action taken by the commission under this section;
(2)  that the owner or operator of the designated regional or area-wide system is agreeable to providing the service;
(3)  that it is feasible for the service to be provided on the basis of waste collection, treatment, and disposal technology, engineering, financial, and related considerations existing at the time, exclusive of any loss of revenue from any existing or proposed waste collection, treatment, or disposal systems in which the person or persons who are the subject of an action taken under this section have an interest;
(4)  that inclusion of the person or persons who are the subject of an action taken by the commission under this section will not suffer undue financial hardship as a result of inclusion in a regional or area-wide system;  and
(5)  that a majority of the votes cast in any election held under Section 26.087 of this code favor the creation of the regional or area-wide system or systems operated by the designated regional entity.
(c)  An action taken by the commission under Section 26.085 of this code, excluding any person or persons from a regional or area-wide system because the person or persons will suffer undue financial hardship as a result of inclusion in the regional or area-wide system, shall be subject to a review at a later time determined by the commission in accordance with the criteria set out in this section, not to exceed three years from the date of exclusion.
(d)  If a person or persons excluded from a regional or area-wide system fail to operate the excluded facilities in a manner that will comply with its permits, the permits shall be subject to cancellation after review by the commission, and the facilities may become a part of the regional or area-wide system.
Amended by Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 255, ch. 121, Sec. 2, eff. Aug. 29, 1977.  Renumbered from Sec. 21.204 and amended by Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2207, ch. 870, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1977.  Amended by Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 795, Sec. 1.095, eff. Sept. 1, 1985;  Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 977, Sec. 26, eff. June 19, 1987.