83R24556 SLB-F
	By: Callegari, Lucio III, Larson, et al.	H.B. No. 2334
	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2334:
	By:  Keffer	C.S.H.B. No. 2334

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the regulation, development, and treatment of brackish
	and marine water.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  (a)  With this state facing an ongoing drought,
	continuing population growth, and the need to remain economically
	competitive, this state must secure and develop plentiful and
	cost-effective water supplies to meet the ever-increasing demand
	for water. The purpose of this Act is not to hinder conservation
	efforts, because such efforts help reduce the need for new sources
	of water, or to hinder current development of fresh groundwater,
	fresh surface water, water reclamation, or aquifer storage and
	recovery. However, this state must explore every water resource in
	order to balance the supply and demand for water, one of the most
	precious resources of this state.
	(b)  Brackish groundwater and marine seawater are
	potentially new sources of public drinking water for this state.
	This state has an estimated 880 trillion gallons of brackish
	groundwater and access to over 600 quadrillion gallons of marine
	seawater from the Gulf of Mexico. The purpose of this Act is to
	streamline the process and reduce the cost and regulation of
	desalination.
	SECTION 2.  Section 11.085, Water Code, is amended by adding
	Subsection (w) to read as follows:
	(w)  This section does not apply to a transfer of water that
	has been diverted from the Gulf of Mexico to a location in a river
	basin or coastal basin.
	SECTION 3.  Section 11.121, Water Code, is amended to read as
	follows:
	Sec. 11.121.  PERMIT REQUIRED. Except as provided in
	Sections 11.142, 11.1421, [and] 11.1422, and 11.1423 [of this
	code], no person may appropriate any state water or begin
	construction of any work designed for the storage, taking, or
	diversion of water without first obtaining a permit from the
	commission to make the appropriation.
	SECTION 4.  Section 11.1311, Water Code, is amended by
	amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to read as
	follows:
	(b)  The board may transfer interests in a permit issued
	under Subsection (a) [this section] to a municipality, river
	authority, other political subdivision, or water supply
	corporation organized under Chapter 67 as otherwise provided by
	law.
	(b-1)  In this subsection, "marine seawater" has the meaning
	assigned by Section 11.1423, and "brackish water" means water that
	contains a total dissolved solids concentration of more than 1,000
	milligrams per liter and is not marine seawater. On submission of an
	application to the commission, the commission shall issue without a
	hearing a permit to use the bed and banks of any flowing natural
	stream in the state to convey marine seawater or brackish water.
	The commission shall adopt rules to implement a procedure for
	application for a permit to convey marine seawater or brackish
	water consistent with this subsection. A flowing natural stream
	does not include impounded water. The commission shall provide
	notice and an opportunity for hearing for an application for a
	permit to convey marine seawater or brackish water into or through a
	lake, reservoir, or other impoundment.
	SECTION 5.  Subchapter D, Chapter 11, Water Code, is amended
	by adding Section 11.1423 to read as follows:
	Sec. 11.1423.  PERMIT EXEMPTION FOR USE BY WATER SUPPLY
	ENTITY OF MARINE SEAWATER. (a) In this section:
	(1)  "Marine seawater" means water that contains a
	total dissolved solids concentration based on a yearly average of
	samples taken at the water source of more than 10,000 milligrams per
	liter that is derived from the Gulf of Mexico or an adjacent bay,
	estuary, or arm of the Gulf of Mexico.
	(2)  "Water supply entity" includes:
	(A)  a retail public utility as defined by Section
	13.002;
	(B)  a wholesale water supplier; or
	(C)  an irrigation district operating under
	Chapter 58.
	(b)  Without obtaining a permit, a water supply entity may
	use for any beneficial purpose state water that consists of marine
	seawater.
	(c)  A water supply entity must treat marine seawater so that
	it meets the water quality level of the receiving stream before the
	entity may put the water into a stream under an authorization
	granted under Section 11.042.
	(d)  This section does not prohibit a water supply entity
	from conveying water under this section in any other manner
	authorized by law, including through the use of facilities owned or
	operated by the state if authorized by the state.
	SECTION 6.  Section 16.060, Water Code, is amended to read as
	follows:
	Sec. 16.060.  DESALINATION STUDIES AND RESEARCH. (a) In
	this section, "inland desalination project" means a desalination
	project the primary purpose of which is the development of new
	drinking water.  The term does not include the reuse, recycling, or
	disposal of wastewater.
	(b)  The board shall undertake or participate in research,
	feasibility and facility planning studies, investigations, and
	surveys [as it considers] necessary to further the development of
	cost-effective water supplies from inland and seawater
	desalination in the state.
	(c) [(b)]  The board shall prepare an annual [a biennial]
	progress report on the implementation of inland and seawater
	desalination activities in the state and shall submit it to the
	governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of
	representatives not later than December 1 of each [even-numbered]
	year. The report shall include:
	(1)  results of the board's studies and activities
	relative to inland and seawater desalination during the preceding
	year [biennium];
	(2)  identification and evaluation of research,
	regulatory, technical, and financial impediments to the
	implementation of inland and seawater desalination projects;
	(3)  evaluation of the role the state should play in
	furthering the development of inland and [large-scale] seawater
	desalination projects in the state; [and]
	(4)  the anticipated appropriation from general
	revenues necessary to continue investigating water desalination
	activities in the state during the next biennium; and
	(5)  information regarding state participation in
	public-private partnerships to advance research efforts, implement
	pilot projects, and develop new technologies related to:
	(A)  water transport;
	(B)  brine disposal;
	(C)  pretreatment of brackish water and marine
	seawater; and
	(D)  innovative concentrate management
	strategies.
	(d) [(c)]  The board shall actively pursue federal sources
	of funding for inland and seawater desalination projects in the
	state.
	(e)  In preparing the report described by Subsection (c), the
	board shall incorporate input from water utilities, water
	providers, municipalities, and other public or private entities
	that have an interest in developing and implementing inland or
	seawater desalination projects.
	(f)  The board shall coordinate with the Texas Center for
	Innovative Desalination Technology and any other entity created by
	the state to study, promote, facilitate, or improve the
	development, financing, implementation, or enhancement of inland
	or seawater desalination technology or projects.
	(g)  The board shall coordinate with each agency identified
	in the report to provide assistance with applicable regulatory
	requirements to improve implementation of inland or seawater
	desalination technology or projects.
	SECTION 7.  Section 341.001, Health and Safety Code, is
	amended by adding Subdivisions (1-a), (2-a), and (4-a) to read as
	follows:
	(1-a)  "Brackish water" means water that contains a
	total dissolved solids concentration of more than 1,000 milligrams
	per liter. The term does not include marine seawater.
	(2-a)  "Desalination facility" means a facility used
	for the treatment of brackish water or marine seawater to remove
	dissolved mineral salts and other dissolved solids.
	(4-a)  "Marine seawater" means water that contains a
	total dissolved solids concentration based on a yearly average of
	samples taken at the water source of more than 10,000 milligrams per
	liter that is derived from the Gulf of Mexico or an adjacent bay,
	estuary, or arm of the Gulf of Mexico.
	SECTION 8.  Subchapter C, Chapter 341, Health and Safety
	Code, is amended by adding Section 341.0359 to read as follows:
	Sec. 341.0359.  DESALINATION OF WATER FOR DRINKING WATER.
	(a) This section applies only to a desalination facility that is
	intended to produce water for the public drinking water supply.
	This section does not apply to a desalination facility used to
	produce nonpotable water.
	(b)  The commission shall adopt rules to:
	(1)  allow water treated by a desalination facility to
	be used as public drinking water; and
	(2)  ensure that water treated by a desalination
	facility meets the requirements of Section 341.031 and rules
	adopted under that section.
	(c)  A person may not begin construction of a desalination
	facility unless the commission approves in writing the plans and
	specifications for the facility.
	(d)  A person may not begin construction of a desalination
	facility that treats brackish water for the purpose of removing
	secondary drinking water contaminants unless the commission
	approves in writing a report containing:
	(1)  a computer model acceptable to the commission;
	(2)  a pilot study with a minimum 40-day run duration
	without treatment intervention to meet federal and state safe
	drinking water standards;
	(3)  data from a similar system installed at another
	brackish water desalination facility that treats source water of a
	similar or lower quality; or
	(4)  a full-scale verification study with a minimum
	40-day run duration without treatment intervention to meet federal
	and state safe drinking water standards.
	(e)  A person may not begin construction of a desalination
	facility that treats brackish water for the purpose of removing
	primary drinking water contaminants unless the commission approves
	in writing a report containing:
	(1)  a computer model acceptable to the commission;
	(2)  a pilot study with a minimum 40-day run duration
	without treatment intervention to meet federal and state safe
	drinking water standards;
	(3)  data from a similar system installed at another
	brackish water desalination facility that treats source water of a
	similar or lower quality; or
	(4)  a full-scale verification study with a minimum
	40-day run duration without treatment intervention to meet federal
	and state safe drinking water standards.
	(f)  A person may not begin construction of a desalination
	facility that treats marine seawater unless the commission approves
	in writing a report containing:
	(1)  a computer model acceptable to the commission;
	(2)  a pilot study with a minimum 40-day run duration
	without treatment intervention to meet federal and state safe
	drinking water standards;
	(3)  data from a similar system installed at another
	marine seawater desalination facility that treats source water of a
	similar or lower quality; or
	(4)  a full-scale verification study with a minimum
	40-day run duration without treatment intervention to meet federal
	and state safe drinking water standards.
	(g)  Not later than the 100th day after the date the
	commission receives the report for a proposed desalination
	facility, the commission shall review the report and issue an
	exception response letter that may contain conditions for approval.
	(h)  Not later than the 60th day after the date the
	commission receives the plans and specifications for a proposed
	desalination facility, the commission shall review the plans and
	specifications and issue a response letter that may contain
	conditions for approval.
	(i)  A person violates this section if the person fails to
	meet a condition for approval in a letter issued to the person under
	Subsection (g) or (h).
	SECTION 9.  Chapter 111, Education Code, is amended by
	adding Subchapter J to read as follows:
	SUBCHAPTER J. TEXAS CENTER FOR INNOVATIVE
	DESALINATION TECHNOLOGY
	Sec. 111.131.  DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
	(1)  "Boards" means the board of regents of the
	University of Houston System and the board of regents of The
	University of Texas System.
	(2)  "Center" means the Texas Center for Innovative
	Desalination Technology established under this subchapter.
	Sec. 111.132.  ESTABLISHMENT. (a) The Texas Center for
	Innovative Desalination Technology is established as a partnership
	between the University of Houston, The University of Texas at
	Brownsville, and The University of Texas at El Paso.
	(b)  The organization, control, and management of the center
	are vested in the boards, and the respective institutions shall
	execute a memorandum of understanding for that purpose.
	(c)  The center shall be hosted by the University of
	Houston's Cullen College of Engineering, The University of Texas at
	Brownsville's College of Science, Mathematics, and Technology, and
	The University of Texas at El Paso's Center for Inland Desalination
	Systems. Participation in the center's activities shall be open to
	any faculty or staff member of each host university who is an active
	researcher in the field of water desalination, engineering,
	hydrology, biology, water supply development, or energy
	efficiency, or in another relevant field as determined by the
	boards.
	Sec. 111.133.  PURPOSE. The center is created to:
	(1)  promote interdisciplinary research, education,
	and training for the development of state-of-the-art products,
	materials, systems, and technologies designed for the desalination
	of seawater from the Gulf of Mexico and brackish water within
	surface and groundwater resources throughout the state; and
	(2)  develop cost-effective, energy-efficient, and
	environmentally sound water desalination, brine disposal, and
	water conveyance technologies that can enhance the potential for
	desalinated water to contribute toward the state's long-term water
	portfolio.
	Sec. 111.134.  POWERS AND DUTIES. The center shall:
	(1)  collaborate with appropriate international,
	federal, state, and local agencies and private business or
	nonprofit entities as necessary to develop innovative desalination
	technologies;
	(2)  research and develop innovative seawater and
	brackish water desalination technologies, including pretreatment
	technologies and improvements, that are energy efficient and cost
	effective, minimize environmental impacts, and offer long-term
	water supply solutions for the state;
	(3)  research and develop brine disposal and reuse
	methods and technologies;
	(4)  research and develop water conveyance systems and
	technologies that may be used to transport desalinated water to
	target use populations;
	(5)  develop test facilities for evaluating the
	performance of new products, materials, or techniques;
	(6)  develop specifications and standards for products
	used for desalinating water, conveying water, and disposing of
	brine;
	(7)  provide public information, education, and
	outreach regarding desalination technologies and appropriate uses
	and conservation methods for desalinated water; and
	(8)  provide data, recommendations, and any other
	information necessary relating to desalination for local,
	regional, or statewide water planning programs and processes.
	Sec. 111.135.  COLLABORATION WITH OTHER ENTITIES. The
	University of Houston, The University of Texas at Brownsville, and
	The University of Texas at El Paso shall encourage public and
	private entities to participate in or support the operation of the
	center and may enter into an agreement with any public or private
	entity for that purpose. An agreement may allow the center to
	provide information, services, or other assistance to an entity in
	exchange for the entity's participation or support.
	Sec. 111.136.  GIFTS AND GRANTS. The boards may solicit,
	accept, and administer gifts and grants from any public or private
	source for the purposes of the center.
	Sec. 111.137.  PERSONNEL. The boards may employ personnel
	for the center as necessary.
	Sec. 111.138.  EXPIRATION. This subchapter expires
	September 1, 2023.
	SECTION 10.  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.
	If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
	effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2013.