Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) The RWPGs shall submit their adopted RWPs
to the Board every five years on a date to be disseminated by the EA, as
modified by subsection (g)(2) of this section, for approval and inclusion in
the State Water Plan.
(b) Prior to
the adoption of the RWP, the RWPGs shall submit concurrently to the EA and the
public an IPP. The IPP submitted to the EA must be in the electronic and paper
format specified by the EA. Each RWPG must certify that the IPP is complete and
adopted by the RWPG. In the instance of a recommended WMS proposed to be
supplied from a different RWPA, the RWPG recommending such strategy shall
submit, concurrently with the submission of the IPP to the EA, a copy of the
IPP, or a letter identifying the WMS in the other region along with an internet
link to the IPP, to the RWPG associated with the location of such
strategy.
(c) The RWPGs shall
distribute the IPP in accordance with §
357.21(h)(7)
of this title (relating to Notice and Public Participation).
(d) Within 60 days of the submission of IPPs
to the EA, the RWPGs shall submit to the EA, and the other affected RWPG, in
writing, the identification of potential Interregional Conflicts by:
(1) identifying the specific recommended WMS
from another RWPG's IPP;
(2)
providing a statement of why the RWPG considers there to be an Interregional
Conflict; and
(3) providing any
other information available to the RWPG that is relevant to the Board's
decision.
(e) The RWPGs
shall seek to resolve conflicts with other RWPGs and shall promptly and
actively participate in any Board sponsored efforts to resolve Interregional
Conflicts.
(f) The RWPGs shall
solicit, and consider the following comments when adopting an RWP:
(1) the EA's written comments, which shall be
provided to the RWPG within 120 days of receipt of the IPP; and
(2) any written or oral comments received
from any federal agency, Texas state agency, or the public after the first
public hearing notice is published until at least 60 days after the public
hearing is held pursuant to §
357.21(h)
of this title.
(3) The RWPGs shall
revise their IPPs to incorporate negotiated resolutions or Board resolutions of
any Interregional Conflicts into their final adopted RWPs.
(4) In the event that the Board has not
resolved an Interregional Conflict sufficiently early to allow an involved RWPG
to modify and adopt its final RWP by the statutory deadline, all RWPGs involved
in the conflict shall proceed with adoption of their RWP by excluding the
relevant recommended WMS and all language relevant to the conflict and include
language in the RWP explaining the unresolved Interregional Conflict and
acknowledging that the RWPG may be required to revise or amend its RWP in
accordance with a negotiated or Board resolution of an Interregional
Conflict.
(g) Submittal
of RWPs. RWPGs shall submit the IPP and the adopted RWPs and amendments to
approved RWPs to the EA in conformance with this section.
(1) RWPs shall include:
(A) The technical report and data prepared in
accordance with this chapter and the EA's specifications;
(B) An executive summary that documents key
RWP findings and recommendations;
(C) Documentation of the RWPG's interregional
coordination efforts; and
(D) A
copy of the EA's comments on the IPP and summaries of all written and oral
comments received pursuant to subsection (f) of this section, with a response
by the RWPG explaining how the plan was revised or why changes were not
warranted in response to written comments received under subsection (f) of this
section.
(2) RWPGs shall
submit RWPs to the EA according to the following schedule:
(A) IPPs are due every five years on a date
disseminated by the EA unless an extension is approved, in writing, by the
EA.
(B) Prior to submission of the
IPP, the RWPGs shall upload all required data, metadata and all other relevant
digital information supporting the plan to the Board's State Water Planning
Database. All changes and corrections to this information must be entered into
the Board's State Water Planning Database prior to submittal of a final adopted
plan.
(C) The RWPG shall transfer
copies of all data, models, and reports generated by the planning process and
used in developing the RWP to the EA. To the maximum extent possible, data
shall be transferred in digital form according to specifications provided by
the EA. One copy of all reports prepared by the RWPG shall be provided in
digital format according to specifications provided by the EA. All digital
mapping shall use a geographic information system according to specifications
provided by the EA. The EA shall seek the input from the State Geographic
Information Officer regarding specifications mentioned in this
section.
(D) Adopted RWPs are due
to the EA every five years on a date disseminated by the EA unless, at the
discretion of the EA, a time extension is granted consistent with the timelines
in Texas Water Code §
16.053(i).
(E) Once approved by the Board, RWPs shall be
made available on the Board website.
(h) Upon receipt of an RWP adopted by the
RWPG, the Board shall consider approval of such plan based on the following
criteria:
(1) verified adoption of the RWP by
the RWPG; and
(2) verified
incorporation of any negotiated resolution or Board resolution of any
Interregional Conflicts, or in the event that an Interregional Conflict is not
yet resolved, verified exclusion of the relevant recommended WMS and all
language relevant to the conflict.
(i) Approval of RWPs by the Board. The Board
may approve an RWP only after it has determined that the RWP complies with
statute and rules.
(j) The Board
shall consider approval of an RWP that includes unmet municipal Water Needs
provided that the RWPG includes adequate justification, including that the RWP:
(1) documents that the RWPG considered all
potentially feasible WMSs, including Drought Management WMSs and contains an
explanation why additional conservation and/or Drought Management WMSs were not
recommended to address the need;
(2) describes how, in the event of a repeat
of the Drought of Record, the municipal WUGs associated with the unmet need
shall ensure the public health, safety, and welfare in each Planning Decade
that has an unmet need; and
(3)
explains whether there may be occasion, prior to development of the next IPP,
to amend the RWP to address all or a portion of the unmet need.
(k) Board Adoption of State Water
Plan. RWPs approved by the Board pursuant to this chapter shall be incorporated
into the State Water Plan as outlined in §
358.4 of
this title (relating to Guidelines).
