HBA-AMW C.S.H.B. 2532 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 2532
By: McReynolds
Natural Resources
4/10/2001
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Texas residents are currently facing growing water demands.  Citizens in
certain areas of Texas rely heavily on groundwater as their water source.
To meet the growing water needs of its citizens, the state will have to use
water efficiently as well as look for other alternatives for water supplies
such as building new water reservoirs.  The Angelina Neches River Authority
(ANRA) has been granted a permit that authorizes the construction of the
Lake Eastex project (project), a dam and reservoir on Mud Creek.  This
project will provide an alternative water source in the surrounding five
county area.  In the past, ANRA has been granted extensions on this project
to facilitate the lengthy development process.  ANRA has applied with the
United States Army Corps of Engineers and is currently awaiting approval on
a permit to allow the discharge of dredged or fill material into the
navigable waters at specified disposal sites.  The current deadline for
commencement on the project is September 1, 2001.  C.S.H.B. 2532 extends
the deadline for commencement of construction on the project to September
1, 2011. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 2532 provides that the legislature finds that the proposed Lake
Eastex project (project) is a rural water project for political
subdivisions and that its construction and development are in the public
interest. The bill extends current deadlines for commencement and
completion of construction and requires construction of the project to
begin not later than September 1, 2011, and be completed not later than
September 1, 2017.  The bill authorizes the Texas Natural Resource
Conservation Commission (TNRCC) to further extend the deadlines for good
cause.  The bill requires TNRCC to issue without notice or hearing an
amendment to the permit extending the deadlines for commencement and
completion of the project.   

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act
takes effect September 1, 2001. 

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 2532 differs from the original bill by requiring construction of
the dam, rather than construction dam, to commence not later than September
1, 2011.  The substitute also differs from the original bill by authorizing
the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission to further extend the
deadlines, rather than further extend such deadlines for good cause.