31 Tex. Admin. Code § 357.12 - General Regional Water Planning Group Responsibilities and Procedures
(a) Prior to the preparation for the RWPs, in
accordance with the public participation requirements in §
357.21 of this title (relating to
Notice and Public Participation), the RWPGs shall:
(1) hold at least one public meeting at a
central location readily accessible to the public within the regional water
planning area to gather suggestions and recommendations from the public as to
issues that should be addressed or provisions that should be included in the
next regional or state water plan and to discuss the region's process for
conducting interregional coordination;
(2) prepare a scope of work that includes a
detailed description of tasks to be performed, identifies responsible parties
for task execution, a task schedule, task and expense budgets, and describes
interim products, draft reports, and final reports for the planning
process;
(3) approve any amendments
to the scope of work only in an open meeting of the RWPG where notice of the
proposed action was provided in accordance with §
357.21 of this title;
and
(4) designate a Political
Subdivision as a representative of the RWPG eligible to apply for financial
assistance for scope of work and RWP development pursuant to Chapter 355,
Subchapter C of this title (relating to Regional Water Planning
Grants).
(b) In
accordance with the requirements of §
357.21(g)(2) of
this title, an RWPG shall hold a public meeting to determine the process for
identifying potentially feasible WMSs; the process shall be documented and
shall include input received at the public meeting; after reviewing the
potentially feasible strategies using the documented process, then the RWPG
shall list all possible WMSs that are potentially feasible for meeting a Water
Need in the region. The public meeting shall also include a presentation of the
results of the analysis of infeasible WMSs or WMSPs, as defined by Texas Water
Code §
16.053(h)(10),
included in the most recently adopted RWP. Infeasible WMSs or WMSPs shall be
identified based on project sponsor provided information or local knowledge, as
acquired through plan development activities such as surveys, and as determined
based on implementation schedules consistent with implementation by the project
sponsors. The group shall provide notice to all associated project sponsors and
amend its adopted RWP as appropriate based upon the analysis.
(c) The RWPGs shall approve and submit a
Technical Memorandum to the EA after notice pursuant to §
357.21(g)(2) of
this title. The Technical Memorandum shall include:
(1) The most recent population and Water
Demand projections adopted by the Board;
(2) Updated source water Availability
utilized in the RWPA, as entered into the State Water Planning
Database;
(3) Updated Existing
Water Supplies, as entered into the State Water Planning Database;
(4) Identified Water Needs and
surpluses;
(5) The documented
process used by the RWPG to identify potentially feasible WMSs;
(6) The potentially feasible WMSs identified
as of the date of submittal of the Technical Memorandum to the EA, if
any;
(7) A listing of the
infeasible WMSs and WMSPs, as determined by the RWPG pursuant to TWC
§16.053(h)(10) and subsection (b) of this section, or a statement that no
infeasible WMSs or WMSPs were identified by the RWPG;
(8) A summary of the RWPG's interregional
coordination efforts to date; and
(9) During each off-census RWP development,
the RWPG's declaration of intent to pursue simplified planning for that
planning cycle. If the RWPG intends to pursue simplified planning, the RWPG
shall document the process to authorize and initiate subsection (g) of this
section.
(d) The EA
shall evaluate the Technical Memorandum and any declaration of intent to pursue
simplified planning, if applicable, and issue written approval prior to
implementation of simplified planning by the RWPG. If an RWPG has not declared
to pursue simplified planning in their Technical Memorandum, they may proceed
without any additional approvals to develop their IPP. If the RWPG chooses to
rescind their decision to pursue simplified planning, they must do so prior to
executing a contract scope of work and budget amendment with the TWDB. The RWPG
must discuss and act on the decision at a public meeting posted under notice
requirements of §
357.21(g)(1) of
this title.
(e) If applicable, and
approved by the EA, an RWPG may implement simplified planning in off-census
planning cycles in accordance with guidance to be provided by the EA. An RWPG
may only pursue simplified planning if:
(1)
the RWPG determines in its analysis of Water Needs that it has sufficient
Existing Water Supplies in the RWPA to meet all Water Needs for the 50-year
planning period while identifying Existing Water Supplies that are available
for voluntary redistribution in the RWPA or to other RWPAs; or
(2) an RWPG determines, including based on
its analysis of source water Availability, that there are no significant
changes, as determined by the RWPG, to water Availability, Existing Water
Supplies, or Water Demands in the RWPA. A determination that there have been no
significant changes may not be based solely on an aggregated, region-wide basis
without consideration of sub-regional changes.
(f) If an RWPG elects to pursue simplified
planning, it must:
(1) Complete the Technical
Memorandum in subsection (c) of this section and, based upon the analysis,
determine and document whether significant changes have resulted from the most
recently adopted RWP;
(2) Meet new
statutory or other planning requirements that come into effect during the most
recent planning cycle;
(3) where
appropriate, adopt previous RWP or State Water Plan information, updated as
necessary, as the IPP and RWP, in accordance with guidance to be provided by
the EA; and
(4) conduct other
activities upon approval of the EA necessary to complete an RWP that meets rule
and statute requirements, including that no water supply sources to the RWPA be
over-allocated.
(g) If
an RWPG declares intention to pursue simplified planning with the submittal of
its Technical Memorandum, in accordance with subsection (c) of this section,
the RWPG shall hold a public hearing on the intent to pursue simplified
planning for the RWPA, to be held after submitting the Technical Memorandum and
in accordance with §
357.21(g)(3) of
this title. This public hearing is not required for RWPGs that state they will
not pursue simplified planning in their Technical Memorandum.
(h) Following receipt of public comments, the
RWPG shall hold a meeting in accordance with the requirements of §
357.21(g)(1) of
this title to consider comments received and declare implementation of
simplified planning.
(i) Each RWPG
and any committee or subcommittee of an RWPG are subject to Chapters 551
(relating to Open Meetings) and 552 (relating to Public Information),
Government Code.
Notes
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