Bill Text: TX HB1902 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Enrolled

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Bill Title: Relating to the regulation and use of graywater and alternative onsite water.

Sponsorship: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2015-06-16 - Effective immediately [HB1902 Detail]

Download: Texas-2015-HB1902-Enrolled.html

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H.B. No. 1902

AN ACT
relating to the regulation and use of graywater and alternative
onsite water.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 341.039, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 341.039. [GRAYWATER] STANDARDS FOR GRAYWATER AND
ALTERNATIVE ONSITE WATER. (a) The commission by rule shall adopt
and implement minimum standards for the indoor and outdoor use and
reuse of treated graywater and alternative onsite water for:
(1) irrigation and other agricultural purposes;
(2) domestic use, to the extent consistent with
Subsection (c);
(3) commercial purposes; and
(4) industrial purposes.
(a-1) The standards adopted by the commission under
Subsection (a)(2) must allow the use of graywater and alternative
onsite water for toilet and urinal flushing.
(b) The standards adopted by the commission under
Subsection (a) must assure that the use of graywater or alternative
onsite water is not a nuisance and does not threaten human health or
damage the quality of surface water and groundwater in this state.
(b-1) The commission by rule may adopt and implement rules
providing for the inspection and annual testing of a graywater or
alternative onsite water system by the commission.
(b-2) The commission shall develop and make available to the
public a regulatory guidance manual to explain the rules adopted
under this section.
(c) The commission may not require a permit for the domestic
use of less than 400 gallons of graywater or alternative onsite
water each day if the water [graywater]:
(1) originates from a private residence;
(2) is used by the occupants of that residence for
gardening, composting, [or] landscaping, or indoor use as allowed
by rule, including toilet or urinal flushing, at the residence;
(3) is collected using a system that may be diverted
[overflows] into a sewage collection or on-site wastewater
treatment and disposal system;
(4) is, if required by rule, stored in surge tanks
that:
(A) are clearly labeled as nonpotable water;
(B) restrict access, especially to children; and
(C) eliminate habitat for mosquitoes and other
vectors;
(5) uses piping clearly identified as a nonpotable
water conduit, including identification through the use of purple
pipe, purple tape, or similar markings;
(6) is generated without the formation of ponds or
pools of graywater or alternative onsite water;
(7) does not create runoff across the property lines
or onto any paved surface; and
(8) is distributed by a surface or subsurface system
that does not spray into the air.
(d) Each builder is encouraged to:
(1) install plumbing in new housing in a manner that
provides the capacity to collect graywater or alternative onsite
water from all allowable sources; and
(2) design and install a subsurface graywater or
alternative onsite water system around the foundation of new
housing in a way that minimizes foundation movement or cracking.
(e) In this section:
(1) "Alternative onsite water" means rainwater,
air-conditioner condensate, foundation drain water, storm water,
cooling tower blowdown, swimming pool backwash and drain water,
reverse osmosis reject water, or any other source of water
considered appropriate by the commission.
(2) "Graywater" [, "graywater"] means wastewater from
clothes-washing machines, showers, bathtubs, hand-washing
lavatories, and sinks that are not used for disposal of hazardous or
toxic ingredients. The term does not include wastewater:
(A) [(1)] that has come in contact with toilet
waste;
(B) [(2)] from the washing of material,
including diapers, soiled with human excreta; or
(C) [(3)] from sinks used for food preparation or
disposal.
SECTION 2. Section 366.012(a), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) To assure the effective and efficient administration of
this chapter, the commission shall:
(1) adopt rules governing the installation of on-site
sewage disposal systems, including rules concerning the:
(A) review and approval of on-site sewage
disposal systems; and
(B) temporary waiver of a permit for an emergency
repair; and
(2) adopt rules under this chapter that:
(A) encourage the use of economically feasible
alternative techniques and technologies for on-site sewage
disposal systems that can be used in soils not suitable for
conventional on-site sewage disposal;
(B) address the separation of graywater, as
defined by Section 341.039, in a residence served by an on-site
sewage disposal system; [and]
(C) allow for an adjustment in the size required
of an on-site sewage disposal system if the system is used in
conjunction with a graywater system that complies with the rules
adopted under Section 341.039; and
(D) require on-site sewage disposal systems,
including risers and covers, installed after September 1, 2012, to
be designed to prevent access to the system by anyone other than:
(i) the owner of the system; or
(ii) a person described by Section
366.071(a) or (b).
SECTION 3. Section 26.0311, Water Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (b-1) to read as
follows:
(a) In this section, "graywater" has the meaning provided by
Section 341.039, Health and Safety Code [means wastewater from
clothes washing machines, showers, bathtubs, handwashing
lavatories, and sinks that are not used for disposal of hazardous or
toxic ingredients. The term does not include wastewater:
[(1) that has come in contact with toilet waste;
[(2) from the washing of material, including diapers,
soiled with human excreta; or
[(3) from sinks used for food preparation or
disposal].
(b-1) The standards adopted by the commission under
Subsection (b)(2) must allow the use of graywater for toilet and
urinal flushing.
SECTION 4. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
shall adopt the standards required by Sections 341.039 and 366.012,
Health and Safety Code, as amended by this Act, and Section 26.0311,
Water Code, as amended by this Act, not later than January 1, 2017.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1902 was passed by the House on April
28, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 143, Nays 0, 2 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 1902 on May 21, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 144, Nays 0,
2 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1902 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 20, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor