Bill Text: TX HB1902 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Comm Sub
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Relating to the regulation and use of graywater and alternative onsite water.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2015-06-16 - Effective immediately [HB1902 Detail]
Download: Texas-2015-HB1902-Comm_Sub.html
Bill Title: Relating to the regulation and use of graywater and alternative onsite water.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2015-06-16 - Effective immediately [HB1902 Detail]
Download: Texas-2015-HB1902-Comm_Sub.html
By: Howard, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Zaffirini) | H.B. No. 1902 | |
(In the Senate - Received from the House April 29, 2015; | ||
May 4, 2015, read first time and referred to Committee on | ||
Agriculture, Water, and Rural Affairs; May 13, 2015, reported | ||
adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the following | ||
vote: Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 13, 2015, sent to printer.) | ||
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 1902 | By: Perry |
COMMITTEE VOTE | ||
YeaNayAbsentPNV | ||
PerryX | ||
ZaffiriniX | ||
CreightonX | ||
HallX | ||
HinojosaX | ||
KolkhorstX | ||
RodríguezX | ||
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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. [ |
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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 [ |
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(1) originates from a private residence; | ||
(2) is used by the occupants of that residence for | ||
gardening, composting, [ |
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by rule, including toilet or urinal flushing, at the residence; | ||
(3) is collected using a system that may be diverted | ||
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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" [ |
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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) [ |
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waste; | ||
(B) [ |
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including diapers, soiled with human excreta; or | ||
(C) [ |
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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; [ |
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(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 [ |
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(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. | ||
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