CHAPTER 358
Amended Effective January 2, 2002
§358.1. General
§358.2. Definitions
§358.3. Guidelines
§358.4. State Water Plan
§358.5. Groundwater and Surface Water Use Surveys
§358.6. Pipeline and Facility Reports
SUBCHAPTER A. STATE WATER PLAN DEVELOPMENT
Texas Administrative Code Sections 358.1 - 358.4
These rules are adopted under the authority granted in: Texas Water Code, §6.101, which directs the board to adopt rules necessary to carry out the powers and duties of the board provided by the Texas Water Code and other laws of Texas; Texas Water Code, §16.051, which requires the board, in coordination with the TNRCC and TPWD to adopt by rule guidance principles for the state water plan which reflect the public interest of the entire plan; and Texas Water Code, §16.053, which provides authority for the adoption of these rules to govern regional water plans since it requires that regional water plans be consistent with the guidance principles for the state water plan adopted by the board.
§358.1. General. This subchapter will govern the board’s preparation, development, formulation, and adoption of the state water plan.
Adopted effective March 11, 1998 Amended effective January 2, 2002
§358.2. Definitions. The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Words defined in the applicable provisions of the Texas Water Code, Chapter 16, and not defined here shall have the meanings provided in Chapter 16.
(1) Approved regional water plan - A regional water plan or amendment to an approved regional water plan approved by the board under the Texas Water Code, §16.053 and Chapter 357 of this title (relating to Regional Water Planning Guidelines).
(2) Board - The Texas Water Development Board
(3) Long-term water needs - Those needs which must be met by implementation of water management strategies within the next 30 to 50 years based on federal census years (2040, 2050, etc.).
(4) Near-term water needs - Those needs which must be met by implementation of water management strategies within the next 30 years based on federal census years (2000, 2010, 2020, 2030, etc.).
(5) Regional water plan - Plan or amendment to an adopted or approved regional water plan developed by a regional water planning group for a regional water planning area pursuant to the Texas Water Code, §16.053 and Chapter 357 of this title (relating to Regional Water Planning Guidelines).
(6) Regional water planning area - Area designated pursuant to the Texas Water Code, §16.053 and §357.3 of this title (relating to Designation of Regional Water Planning Areas).
(7) Regional water planning group - Group designated pursuant to the Texas Water Code, §16.053 and §357.4 of this title (relating to Designation of Regional Water Planning Groups) to develop regional water plans.
(8) River and stream segments of unique ecological value - Those river or stream segments that may be identified by the board in coordination with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission or identified in an approved regional water plan based on the following criteria:
(A) biological function - stream segments which display significant overall habitat value including both quantity and quality considering the degree of biodiversity, age, and uniqueness observed and including terrestrial, wetland, aquatic, or estuarine habitats;
(B) hydrologic function - stream segments which are fringed by habitats that perform valuable hydrologic functions relating to water quality, flood attenuation, flow stabilization, or groundwater recharge and discharge;
(C) riparian conservation areas - stream segments which are fringed by significant areas in public ownership including state and federal refuges, wildlife management areas, preserves, parks, mitigation areas, or other areas held by governmental organizations for conservation purposes, or stream segments which are fringed by other areas managed for conservation purposes under a governmentally approved conservation plan;
(D) high water quality/exceptional aquatic life/high aesthetic value - stream segments and spring resources that are significant due to unique or critical habitats and exceptional aquatic life uses dependent on or associated with high water quality; or
(E) threatened or endangered species/unique communities - sites along streams where water development projects would have significant detrimental effects on state or federally listed threatened and endangered species; and sites along streams significant due to the presence of unique, exemplary, or unusually extensive natural communities.
(9) Site of unique value for construction of reservoirs - Those sites identified by the board in coordination with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission or identified in an approved regional water plan where:
(A) site-specific reservoir development is recommended as a specific water management strategy or in an alternative long-term scenario in an adopted regional water plan; or
(B) the location, hydrologic, geologic, topographic, water availability, water quality, environmental, cultural, and current development characteristics, or other pertinent factors make the site uniquely suited for reservoir development to provide water supply for:
(1) the current planning period; or
(2) where it might reasonably be needed to meet needs beyond the 50-year planning period.
(10) State water plan - A comprehensive statewide water plan adopted by the board covering a 50-year planning period, based on federal census years, that incorporates approved regional water plans and that provides for the orderly development, management, and conservation of water resources and preparation for and response to drought conditions, in order that sufficient water will be available at a reasonable cost to ensure public health, safety and welfare, further economic development, and protect the agricultural and natural resources of the entire state.
(11) Water management scenarios - A combination of various water management strategies.
(12) Water management strategies - Any strategy for the management of water resources to provide for identified needs including water conservation and drought response planning including water demand management, reuse of wastewater, expanded use or acquisition of existing supplies including systems optimization, aquifer storage and recovery, conjunctive use of resources, reallocation of reservoir storage to new uses, voluntary redistribution of water including water marketing, regional water bank, sales, leases, options, subordination agreements, and financing agreements, subordination of existing water rights through voluntary agreements, enhancements of yields of existing sources, control of naturally occurring chlorides, interbasin transfers, new supply development including construction and improvement of surface water resources, brush control, precipitation enhancement, desalinization, and water supply that could be made available by cancellation of water rights based on data provided by the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, and other measures.
Adopted effective March 11, 1998
§358.3. Guidelines.
(a) The executive administrator shall prepare, develop, and formulate the state water plan and the board shall adopt a state water plan no later than January 5, 2002, and before the end of each successive five-year period after that date. The executive administrator shall identify the beginning of the 50-year planning period for the state and regional water plans. The executive administrator shall incorporate into the state water plan presented to the board those regional water plans approved by the board pursuant to Chapter 357 of this title (relating to Regional Water Planning Guidelines). The board shall, not less than 30 days before adoption or amendment of the state water plan, publish notice in the Texas Register of its intent to adopt a state water plan and shall mail notice to each regional water planning group. The board shall hold a hearing, after which it may adopt a water plan or amendments thereto.
(b) Development of the state water plan and of regional water plans shall be guided by the following principles:
(1) identification of those policies and actions that may be needed to meet Texas’ near- and long-term water needs and preparation for and response to drought conditions, in order that sufficient water will be available at a reasonable cost to satisfy a reasonable projected use of water to ensure public health, safety and welfare, further economic development, and protect the agricultural and natural resources of the state;
(2) decision-making that is open to and accountable to the public with decisions based on accurate, objective and reliable information with full dissemination of planning results;
(3) consideration of the effect of policies or water management strategies on the public interest of the state, water supply, and those entities involved in providing this supply throughout the entire state;
(4) consideration of all water management strategies the board determines to be potentially feasible when developing plans to meet future water needs and to respond to drought so that cost effective water management strategies which are consistent with long-term protection of the state’s water resources, agricultural resources, and natural resources are considered and pursued;
(5) consideration of opportunities that encourage and result in voluntary transfers of water resources, including but not limited to regional water banks, sales, leases, options, subordination agreements, and financing agreements;
(6) consideration of a balance of economic, social, aesthetic, and ecological viability;
(7) for regional water planning areas without approved regional water plans or water providers for which revised plans are not developed through the regional water planning process, the use of information from the adopted state water plan and other completed studies that are sufficient for water planning shall represent the water supply plan for that area or water provider;
(8) the orderly development, management, and conservation of water resources;
(9) the principles that all surface waters are held in trust by the state, their use is subject to rights granted and administered by the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, and the use of surface water is governed by the prior appropriation doctrine, unless adjudicated otherwise;
(10) protection of existing water rights, water contracts, and option agreements, but the plan may evaluate potential voluntary amendments to water rights, contracts or agreements;
(11) the principle that use of groundwater in Texas is governed by the right of capture doctrine, unless such use is under the authority of a locally controlled groundwater management district;
(12) consideration of recommendations of river and stream segments of unique ecological value to the legislature for potential protection;
(13) consideration of recommendation of sites of unique value for the construction of reservoirs to the legislature for potential protection;
(14) coordination of water planning and management activities of local, regional, state, and federal agencies;
(15) designated water quality and related water uses as shown in the state water quality plan should be improved or maintained;
(16) coordination of water planning and management activities of regional water planning groups to identify common needs and issues and achieve efficient use of water supplies, including the board and the neighboring regional water planning groups, working together to identify common needs, issues, and/or problems and working together to resolve conflicts in a fair, equitable, and efficient manner;
(17) the water management strategies identified in approved regional water plans to meet near-term needs shall be described in sufficient detail to allow a state agency making a financial or regulatory decision to determine if a proposed action before the state agency is consistent with an approved regional water plan;
(18) evaluation of alternative water management strategies using environmental information resulting from site-specific studies, or in the absence of such information, using state environmental planning criteria adopted by the board for inclusion in the state water plan after coordinating with staff of the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department;
(19) consideration of environmental water needs including instream flows and bay and estuary inflows;
(20) planning consistent with all laws applicable to water use for the state and regional water planning area; and
(21) the inclusion of ongoing water development projects which have been issued a permit by the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission or a predecessor agency.
Adopted effective March 11, 1998 Amended effective January 2, 2002
§358.4. State Water Plan. The state water plan shall include summaries for the state and from approved regional water plans, when available, which shall address, at a minimum, the following topics:
(1) basis for planning, including sections on planning history, Texas water statutes, rules, regulations, and Texas’ water supply institutions;
(2) description of methods used for projecting future water demands which shall include methods for projecting future population and water demands for municipal and associated commercial and institutional uses, manufacturing, irrigation, thermal electric power generation, mining, and livestock watering;
(3) description of methods to address water quality problems related to water supply, to ensure public health, safety and welfare, to further economic growth, to protect agricultural and natural resources, to determine water supply availability, and to address drought response planning;
(4) description of future conditions which shall, at a minimum, include:
(A) demands for water;
(B) supplies currently available;
(C) comparison of water demand and supply to identify surpluses or needs of water;
(D) social and economic impact of not meeting needs;
(E) recommended solutions to meet needs, which shall include:
(i) specific recommendations of water management strategies to meet the near-term needs; and
(ii) specific recommendations of water management strategies or alternative management scenarios that meet the long-term needs. An alternative management scenario is a combination of various water management strategies;
(F) needs for which no feasible water management strategy exists; and
(G) descriptions in subparagraphs (A) through (F) of this paragraph shall be presented for each county and basin by the major providers of water for municipal uses and for the following water use categories: municipal and associated commercial and institutional uses; manufacturing; irrigation; thermal electric power generation; mining; and livestock watering;
(5) consideration of recommendations of river and stream segments of unique ecological value and sites of unique value for construction of reservoirs to the legislature for potential protection; and
(6) regulatory, administrative, and legislative recommendations that the board believes are needed and desirable to facilitate the orderly development, management, and conservation of water resources, to facilitate more voluntary water transfers, and the preparation for and response to drought conditions in order that sufficient water will be available at a reasonable cost to ensure public health, safety and welfare, further economic development, and protect the agricultural and natural resources of the entire state.
Adopted effective March 11, 1998 Amended effective January 2, 2002
SUBCHAPTER B. DATA COLLECTION
Texas Administrative Code Sections 358.5 - 358.6
§358.5. Groundwater and Surface Water Use Surveys.
(a) The executive administrator shall conduct surveys at least annually of persons and/or entities using groundwater and surface water to gather data to be used for long-term water supply planning. The survey instrument will identify which responses are required and which are optional. The executive administrator will send the surveys to the appropriate recipients by first-class mail, electronic mail, or both. Recipients shall return the survey to the executive administrator within 60 days of the postmark date or electronic mail sent date. Surveys may be returned to the executive administrator electronically. The executive administrator shall determine if the survey is administratively complete. A survey is administratively complete if all required responses are provided. Incomplete surveys will be returned to the recipient, who will have 60 days from the new postmark date or electronic mail sent date to complete the items found deficient and return the survey to the executive administrator. A person or entity that fails to return their survey within 60 days or correct a survey that is not administratively complete within 60 days is ineligible for funding from board programs. Ineligibility will remain until the incomplete survey instruments are submitted to the executive administrator and determined to be administratively complete. Further, a person who fails to complete and return the survey commits an offense that is punishable as a Class C misdemeanor, pursuant to Texas Water Code §16.012(m).
(b) Survey forms completed and returned by non-governmental entities are excepted by Texas Water Code §16.012 from release under the Texas Public Information Act, Texas Government Code, Chapter 552, unless the person completing and returning the survey authorizes the board in writing to release the survey form pursuant to the Texas Public Information Act.
Adopted effective January 2, 2002
§358.6. Pipeline and Facility Reports
(a) The following entities and persons shall report to the board information on pipelines and other conveyance facilities that they own or operate and that can be used for water conveyance unless the pipeline and other conveyance facility is exempted in subsection (b) of this section:
(1) holders of surface water permits, certified filings for surface water, or certificates of adjudication for surface water;
(2) holders of permits for the export of groundwater from a groundwater conservation district;
(3) retail public water suppliers;
(4) wholesale water providers;
(5) irrigation districts; and
(6) any person or entity transporting groundwater or surface water between points separated by a linear distance of 20 miles or more.
(b) Information shall be reported on a pipeline and other conveyance facility segment that can be used for the conveyance of water unless:
(1) it has been used to transport wastewater, oil, gas, or any hazardous substance identified in 40 CFR, Chapter 1, Part 116, Designation of Hazardous Substances;
(2) it is a retail distribution system pipeline or other retail conveyance facility;
(3) it is a lateral canal or other open channel water conveyance facility that carries water from main canals. For purposes of this subsection, a main canal is a primary water delivery or conveyance canal and a lateral canal is a secondary water delivery canal that carries water from the main canal to the end user;
(4) it is a transmission pipeline of nominal diameter of six inches or less; or
(5) it is a pipeline or other conveyance facility transporting groundwater or surface water between points separated by a linear distance of less than 20 miles.
(c) Report standards. The executive administrator will provide reporting standards for pipeline and other water conveyance facilities information. These standards will be generally similar to the standards and reporting protocols described in the United States Department of Transportation National Pipeline Mapping System standards for Pipeline and Liquefied Natural Gas Operator Submission, dated March 1999. The information shall be reported on a segment-by-segment basis, with a description of which segments connect together. For purposes of this section, a segment is defined as a portion of the pipeline or water conveyance facility with the same attributes.
(1) Content standards. Pipeline and/or conveyance facility segment attributes to be reported include:
(A) owner;
(B) owner’s contact information;
(C) operator;
(D) operator’s contact information;
(E) system name;
(F) nominal diameter of the pipeline segment;
(G) top width and carrying capacity for open channel facility segments;
(H) construction material;
(I) construction date;
(J) whether or not, at the time of reporting, the pipeline or facility is operational; and
(K) other attributes as required by the executive administrator.
(2) Positional reporting standards. Provide the geographic information on the position and alignment of each pipeline and conveyance facility segment using one of the following methods:
(A) provide global position system coordinates with a mean accuracy of no less than +/- 10 meters;
(B) identify existing facilities now being reported on the board’s Texas Strategic Mapping Program (StratMap) hydrography data layer that can be found at www.tnris.state.tx.; or
(C) draw the pipeline or conveyance facility on maps provided by the executive administrator, or modify existing StratMap data, from the board’s statewide digital orthophoto quad data layer, fitting the pipeline or facility to the image as closely as possible (within +/- 10 meters is preferred).
(d) Schedule and standards for responses.
(1) The information shall be submitted to the executive administrator no later than November 30, 2003.
(2) Entities listed under subsection (a) of this section shall report changes to the elements required in subsection (c) of this section within 12 months of their occurrence.
(3) Before November 30, 2008 and every five years thereafter, the reporting entity shall verify the accuracy of the information provided to the executive administrator.
Adopted effective January 2, 2002