31 Tex. Admin. Code § 26.22 - Policies for Nonpoint Source (NPS) Water Pollution

(a) State agencies and subdivisions with authority to manage NPS pollution shall cooperate in the development and implementation of a coordinated program to reduce NPS pollution in order to restore and protect coastal waters.

(b) In an area that the TSSWCB identifies as having or having the potential to develop agricultural or silvicultural NPS water quality problems or an area within the coastal zone, the TSSWCB shall establish a water quality management plan certification program that provides, through the local soil and water conservation district, for the development, supervision, and monitoring of voluntary individual water quality management plans for agricultural and silvicultural lands. Each plan must be developed, maintained, and implemented under rules and criteria adopted by the TSSWCB and discharges under such a plan may not cause a violation of state water quality standards established by the TCEQ. The TSSWCB's rules shall certify a plan that satisfies the TSSWCB rules and criteria and discharges which do not cause a violation of state water quality standards established by the TCEQ. This policy is not intended, nor shall it be interpreted, to require the TSSWCB to establish non-voluntary requirements for the development, maintenance, or implementation of individual water quality management plans.

(c) TCEQ rules under Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 366, governing on-site sewage disposal systems, and TCEQ rules under Texas Water Code, Chapter 26, Subchapter I, governing underground storage tanks, shall require that on-site disposal systems and underground storage tanks be located, designed, operated, inspected, and maintained so as to prevent releases of pollutants that may adversely affect coastal waters.

(d) This policy shall not be interpreted or applied so as to require that either a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for stormwater discharges issued under the Clean Water Act, §402(p), or an NPDES permit for a concentrated animal feeding operation, requiring no discharge up to and including a 25-year, 24-hour frequency storm, provide additional NPS pollution control measures in addition to those required in the permit.

Notes

31 Tex. Admin. Code § 26.22

The provisions of this §501.22 adopted to be effective October 6, 2004, 29 TexReg 9407; Entire chapter transferred from Title 31, Chapter 501 by Texas Register, Volume 47, Number 43, October 28, 2022, TexReg 7301, eff. 12/1/2022