31 Tex. Admin. Code § 357.51 - Amendments to Regional Water Plans
(a)
Local Water Planning Amendment Requests. A Political Subdivision in the RWPA
may request an RWPG to consider specific changes to an adopted RWP based on
changed conditions or new information. An RWPG must formally consider such
request within 180 days after its receipt and shall amend its adopted RWP if it
determines an amendment is warranted. If the Political Subdivision is not
satisfied with the RWPG's decision on the issue, it may file a petition with
the EA to request Board review the decision and consider changing the approved
RWP. The Political Subdivision shall send a copy of the petition to the chair
of the affected RWPG.
(1) The petition must
state:
(A) the changed condition or new
information that affects the approved RWP;
(B) the specific sections and provisions of
the approved RWP that are affected by the changed condition or new
information;
(C) the efforts made
by the Political Subdivision to work with the RWPG to obtain an amendment;
and
(D) the proposed amendment to
the approved RWP.
(2) If
the EA determines that the changed condition or new information warrants a
change in the approved RWP, the EA shall request the RWPG to consider making
the appropriate change and provide the reason in writing. The Political
Subdivision that submitted the petition shall receive notice of any action
requested of the RWPG by the EA. If the RWPG does not amend its plan consistent
with the request within 90 days, it shall provide a written explanation to the
EA, after which the EA shall present the issue to the Board for consideration
at a public meeting. Before presenting the issue to the Board, the EA shall
provide the RWPG, the Political Subdivision submitting the petition, and any
Political Subdivision determined by the EA to be affected by the issue 30 days
notice. At the public meeting, the Board may direct the RWPG to amend its RWP
based on the local Political Subdivision's request.
(b) Major Amendments to RWPs and State Water
Plan. An RWPG may amend an adopted RWP at any meeting, after giving notice for
a major amendment and holding a hearing according to §
357.21(g)(3) of
this title (relating to Notice and Public Participation). An amendment is major
if it does not meet the criteria of subsection (c), (d) or (e) of this section.
An RWPG may propose amendments to an approved RWP by submitting proposed
amendments to the Board for its consideration and possible approval under the
standards and procedures of this section.
(1)
Initiation of a Major Amendment. An entity may request an RWPG amend its
adopted RWP. An RWPG's consideration for action to initiate an amendment may
occur at a regularly scheduled meeting.
(2) RWPG Public Hearing. The RWPG shall hold
a public hearing on the amendment pursuant to §
357.21(g)(3) of
this title. The amendment shall be available for agency and public comment at
least seven days prior to the public hearing and 30 days following the public
hearing as required by §
357.21(g)(3) of
this title.
(3) The proposed major
amendment:
(A) Shall not result in an
over-allocation of an existing or planned source of water; and
(B) Shall conform with rules applicable to
RWP development as defined in Subchapters C and D of this chapter.
(4) RWPG Major Amendment Adoption.
The RWPG may adopt the amendment at a regularly scheduled RWPG meeting pursuant
to §357.21(g)(1) after the public hearing held in accordance with
§357.21(g)(3). The amendment shall include response to comments
received.
(5) Board Approval of
Major Amendment. After adoption of the major amendment, the RWPG shall submit
the amendment to the Board which shall consider approval of the amendment at
its next regularly scheduled meeting following EA review of the
amendment.
(c) Minor
Amendments to RWPs and State Water Plan.
(1)
An RWPG may amend its RWP by first providing a copy of the proposed amendment
to the EA for a determination as to whether the amendment would be
minor.
(2) EA Pre-Adoption Review.
The EA shall evaluate the proposed minor amendment prior to the RWPG's vote to
adopt the amendment. An amendment is minor if it meets the following criteria:
(A) does not result in over-allocation of an
existing or planned source of water;
(B) does not relate to a new
reservoir;
(C) does not increase
unmet needs or produce new unmet needs in the adopted RWP unless the increase
in unmet needs or new unmet needs is the result of removing infeasible WMSs
and/or WMSPs in accordance with subsection (g) of this section and Texas Water
Code §
16.053(h)(10);
(D) does not have a significant effect on
instream flows, environmental flows or freshwater flows to bays and
estuaries;
(E) does not have a
significant substantive impact on water planning or previously adopted
management strategies; and
(F) does
not delete or change any legal requirements of the plan.
(3) Determination by EA. If the EA determines
that the proposed amendment is minor, EA shall notify, in writing, the RWPG as
soon as practicable.
(4) RWPG
Public Meeting. After receipt of the written determination from the EA, the
RWPG shall conduct a public meeting in accordance with §
357.21(g)(2) of
this title. The public shall have an opportunity to comment and the RWPG shall
amend the proposed minor amendment based on public comments, as appropriate,
and to comply with existing statutes and rules related to regional water
planning responses. The adopted amendment shall include response to comments
received.
(5) Board Approval of
Minor Amendment. After adoption of the minor amendment, the RWPG shall submit
the amendment to the Board which shall approve the amendment at its next
regularly scheduled meeting unless the amendment contradicts or is in
substantial conflict with statutes and rules relating to regional water
planning.
(d) Amendment
for Water Planning for a Clean Coal Project. An amendment to an RWP or the
State Water Plan to facilitate planning for water supplies reasonably required
for a clean coal project, as defined by Texas Water Code §
5.001, relating to the
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, shall be adopted by the process
described in this section. However, an RWPG may amend the RWP to accommodate
planning for a clean coal project without a public meeting or hearing if the EA
determines that:
(1) the amendment does not
significantly change the RWP; or
(2) the amendment does not adversely affect
other WMSs in the RWP.
(e) Substitution of Alternative WMSs. RWPGs
may substitute one or more evaluated Alternative Water Management Strategies
for a recommended strategy if the strategy originally recommended is no longer
recommended and the substitution of the Alternative WMS is capable of meeting
the same Water Need without over-allocating any source. Before substituting an
Alternative WMS, the RWPG must provide public notice in accordance with §
357.21(g)(1) of
this title and request written approval from the EA. If the EA approves the
substitution, the RWPG must provide public notice in accordance with §
357.21(g)(2) of
this title before taking action to substitute the Alternative WMS.
(f) In the instance of a substitution of an
Alternative WMS or a proposed amendment with a recommended WMS to be supplied
from a different RWPA, the RWPG recommending such strategy shall submit,
concurrently with the submission of the substitution or proposed amendment to
the EA, a copy of the substitution or proposed amendment to the RWPG for the
location of such strategy. The provisions of sections §
357.50(d), (e), (f), and
(h) of this title (related to Adoption,
Submittal, and Approval of Regional Water Plans) and §
357.62 of this title (related to
Interregional Conflicts) shall apply to substitution or amendment to the RWP in
the same manner as those subdivisions apply to an IPP.
(g) Amendment for Infeasible Recommended WMSs
or WMSPs. Following the results of the analysis presented at a public meeting
in accordance with §
357.12(b) of
this title (relating to General Regional Water Planning Group Responsibilities
and Procedures), an RWPG shall amend an adopted RWP to remove an infeasible
recommended WMS or WMSP, as defined by Texas Water Code §
16.053(h)(10).
The RWPG will follow the amendment processes in accordance with subsections
(b), (c), or (e) of this section. An amendment for infeasible recommended WMSs
or WMSPs shall be submitted to the Board by a date established by the EA. The
amendment shall summarize the project components and address why they were
determined to be infeasible. The amendment must also summarize any changes to
unmet needs as a result of removing the infeasible WMS or WMSP. Subsequent
amendments during the planning cycle for infeasible recommended WMS or WMSP may
occur at the discretion of the RWPG based upon information presented to the
RWPG by project sponsors.
(h)
Amending the State Water Plan. Following amendments of RWPs, including
substitutions of Alternative WMSs, the Board shall make any necessary
amendments to the State Water Plan as outlined in §
358.4 of this title (relating to
Guidelines).
(i) Errata to RWPs.
RWPGs may adopt errata to the final RWP to correct minor, non-substantive
errors identified after adoption of the final RWP but prior to adoption of the
corresponding State Water Plan. Before adopting errata to a final RWP, the RWPG
must provide public notice and receive comments in accordance with §
357.21(g)(1) of
this title. Upon adoption of the errata, the RWPG shall submit to the EA an
errata package containing revised pages of the RWP and public comments
received. The EA will notify the RWPG within 60 days whether the errata are
acceptable as errata or will need to be made through the amendment
process.
Notes
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