Sec. 11.02362. DEVELOPMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL FLOW REGIME RECOMMENDATIONS

(a) For the purposes of this section, the advisory group, not later than November 1, 2007, shall define the geographical extent of each river basin and bay system in this state for the sole purpose of developing environmental flow regime recommendations under this section and adoption of environmental flow standards under Section 11.1471.

(b) The advisory group shall give priority in descending order to the following river basin and bay systems of the state for the purpose of developing environmental flow regime recommendations and adopting environmental flow standards:

(1) the river basin and bay system consisting of the Trinity and San Jacinto Rivers and Galveston Bay and the river basin and bay system consisting of the Sabine and Neches Rivers and Sabine Lake Bay;

(2) the river basin and bay system consisting of the Colorado and Lavaca Rivers and Matagorda and Lavaca Bays and the river basin and bay system consisting of the Guadalupe, San Antonio, Mission, and Aransas Rivers and Mission, Copano, Aransas, and San Antonio Bays; and

(3) the river basin and bay system consisting of the Nueces River and Corpus Christi and Baffin Bays, the river basin and bay system consisting of the Rio Grande, the Rio Grande estuary, and the Lower Laguna Madre, and the Brazos River and its associated bay and estuary system.

(c) For the river basin and bay systems listed in Subsection (b)(1):

(1) the advisory group shall appoint the basin and bay area stakeholders committee not later than November 1, 2007;

(2) the basin and bay area stakeholders committee shall establish a basin and bay expert science team not later than March 1, 2008;

(3) the basin and bay expert science team shall finalize environmental flow regime recommendations and submit them to the basin and bay area stakeholders committee, the advisory group, and the commission not later than March 1, 2009, except that at the request of the basin and bay area stakeholders committee for good cause shown, the advisory group may extend the deadline provided by this subdivision;

(4) the basin and bay area stakeholders committee shall submit to the commission its comments on and recommendations regarding the basin and bay expert science team's recommended environmental flow regime not later than September 1, 2009; and

(5) the commission shall adopt the environmental flow standards as provided by Section 11.1471 not later than September 1, 2010.

(d) The advisory group shall appoint the basin and bay area stakeholders committees for the river basin and bay systems listed in Subsection (b)(2) not later than September 1, 2008, and shall appoint the basin and bay area stakeholders committees for the river basin and bay systems listed in Subsection (b)(3) not later than September 1, 2009. The advisory group shall establish a schedule for the performance of the tasks listed in Subsections (c)(2) through (5) with regard to the river basin and bay systems listed in Subsections (b)(2) and (3) that will result in the adoption of environmental flow standards for that river basin and bay system by the commission as soon as is reasonably possible. Each basin and bay area stakeholders committee and basin and bay expert science team for a river basin and bay system listed in Subsection (b)(2) or (3) shall make recommendations to the advisory group with regard to the schedule applicable to that river basin and bay system. The advisory group shall consider the recommendations of the basin and bay area stakeholders committee and basin and bay expert science team as well as coordinate with, and give appropriate consideration to the recommendations of, the commission, the Parks and Wildlife Department, and the board in establishing the schedule.

(e) For a river basin and bay system or a river basin that does not have an associated bay system in this state not listed in Subsection (b), the advisory group shall establish a schedule for the development of environmental flow regime recommendations and the adoption of environmental flow standards. The advisory group shall develop the schedule in consultation with the commission, the Parks and Wildlife Department, the board, and the pertinent basin and bay area stakeholders committee and basin and bay expert science team. The advisory group may, on its own initiative or on request, modify a schedule established under this subsection to be more responsive to particular circumstances, local desires, changing conditions, or time-sensitive conflicts. This subsection does not prohibit, in a river basin and bay system for which the advisory group has not yet established a schedule for the development of environmental flow regime recommendations and the adoption of environmental flow standards, an effort to develop information on environmental flow needs and ways in which those needs can be met by a voluntary consensus-building process.

(f) The advisory group shall appoint a basin and bay area stakeholders committee for each river basin and bay system in this state for which a schedule for the development of environmental flow regime recommendations and the adoption of environmental flow standards is specified by or established under Subsection (c), (d), or (e). Chapter 2110, Government Code, does not apply to the size, composition, or duration of a basin and bay area stakeholders committee. Each committee must consist of at least 17 members. The membership of each committee must:

(1) reflect a fair and equitable balance of interest groups concerned with the particular river basin and bay system for which the committee is established; and

(2) be representative of appropriate stakeholders, including the following if they have a presence in the particular river basin and bay system for which the committee is established:

(A) agricultural water users, including representatives of each of the following sectors:

(i) agricultural irrigation;

(ii) free-range livestock; and

(iii) concentrated animal feeding operation;

(B) recreational water users, including coastal recreational anglers and businesses supporting water recreation;

(C) municipalities;

(D) soil and water conservation districts;

(E) industrial water users, including representatives of each of the following sectors:

(i) refining;

(ii) chemical manufacturing;

(iii) electricity generation; and

(iv) production of paper products or timber;

(F) commercial fishermen;

(G) public interest groups;

(H) regional water planning groups;

(I) groundwater conservation districts;

(J) river authorities and other conservation and reclamation districts with jurisdiction over surface water; and

(K) environmental interests.

(g) Members of a basin and bay area stakeholders committee serve five-year terms expiring March 1. If a vacancy occurs on a committee, the remaining members of the committee by majority vote shall appoint a member to serve the remainder of the unexpired term.

(h) Meetings of a basin and bay area stakeholders committee must be open to the public.

(i) Each basin and bay area stakeholders committee shall establish a basin and bay expert science team for the river basin and bay system for which the committee is established. The basin and bay expert science team must be established not later than six months after the date the basin and bay area stakeholders committee is established. Chapter 2110, Government Code, does not apply to the size, composition, or duration of a basin and bay expert science team. Each basin and bay expert science team must be composed of technical experts with special expertise regarding the river basin and bay system or regarding the development of environmental flow regimes. A person may serve as a member of more than one basin and bay expert science team at the same time.

(j) The members of a basin and bay expert science team serve five-year terms expiring April 1. A vacancy on a basin and bay expert science team is filled by appointment by the pertinent basin and bay area stakeholders committee to serve the remainder of the unexpired term.

(k) The science advisory committee shall appoint one of its members to serve as a liaison to each basin and bay expert science team to facilitate coordination and consistency in environmental flow activities throughout the state. The commission, the Parks and Wildlife Department, and the board shall provide technical assistance to each basin and bay expert science team, including information about the studies conducted under Sections 16.058 and 16.059, and may serve as nonvoting members of the basin and bay expert science team to facilitate the development of environmental flow regime recommendations.

(l) Where reasonably practicable, meetings of a basin and bay expert science team must be open to the public.

(m) Each basin and bay expert science team shall develop environmental flow analyses and a recommended environmental flow regime for the river basin and bay system for which the team is established through a collaborative process designed to achieve a consensus. In developing the analyses and recommendations, the science team must consider all reasonably available science, without regard to the need for the water for other uses, and the science team's recommendations must be based solely on the best science available. For the Rio Grande below Fort Quitman, any uses attributable to Mexican water flows must be excluded from environmental flow regime recommendations.

(n) Each basin and bay expert science team shall submit its environmental flow analyses and environmental flow regime recommendations to the pertinent basin and bay area stakeholders committee, the advisory group, and the commission in accordance with the applicable schedule specified by or established under Subsection (c), (d), or (e). The basin and bay area stakeholders committee and the advisory group may not change the environmental flow analyses or environmental flow regime recommendations of the basin and bay expert science team.

(o) Each basin and bay area stakeholders committee shall review the environmental flow analyses and environmental flow regime recommendations submitted by the committee's basin and bay expert science team and shall consider them in conjunction with other factors, including the present and future needs for water for other uses related to water supply planning in the pertinent river basin and bay system. For the Rio Grande, the basin and bay area stakeholders committee shall also consider the water accounting requirements for any international water sharing treaty, minutes, and agreement applicable to the Rio Grande and the effects on allocation of water by the Rio Grande watermaster in the middle and lower Rio Grande. The Rio Grande basin and bay expert science team may not recommend any environmental flow regime that would result in a violation of a treaty or court decision. The basin and bay area stakeholders committee shall develop recommendations regarding environmental flow standards and strategies to meet the environmental flow standards and submit those recommendations to the commission and to the advisory group in accordance with the applicable schedule specified by or established under Subsection (c), (d), or (e). In developing its recommendations, the basin and bay area stakeholders committee shall operate on a consensus basis to the maximum extent possible.

(p) In recognition of the importance of adaptive management, after submitting its recommendations regarding environmental flow standards and strategies to meet the environmental flow standards to the commission, each basin and bay area stakeholders committee, with the assistance of the pertinent basin and bay expert science team, shall prepare and submit for approval by the advisory group a work plan. The work plan must:

(1) establish a periodic review of the basin and bay environmental flow analyses and environmental flow regime recommendations, environmental flow standards, and strategies, to occur at least once every 10 years;

(2) prescribe specific monitoring, studies, and activities; and

(3) establish a schedule for continuing the validation or refinement of the basin and bay environmental flow analyses and environmental flow regime recommendations, the environmental flow standards adopted by the commission, and the strategies to achieve those standards.

(q) In accordance with the applicable schedule specified by or established under Subsection (c), (d), or (e), the advisory group, with input from the science advisory committee, shall review the environmental flow analyses and environmental flow regime recommendations submitted by each basin and bay expert science team. If appropriate, the advisory group shall submit comments on the analyses and recommendations to the commission for use by the commission in adopting rules under Section 11.1471. Comments must be submitted not later than six months after the date of receipt of the analyses and recommendations.

(r) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this section, in the event the commission, by permit or order, has established an estuary advisory council with specific duties related to implementation of permit conditions for environmental flows, that council may continue in full force and effect and shall act as and perform the duties of the basin and bay area stakeholders committee under this section. The estuary advisory council shall add members from stakeholder groups and from appropriate science and technical groups, if necessary, to fully meet the criteria for membership established in Subsection (f) and shall operate under the provisions of this section.

(s) Each basin and bay area stakeholders committee and basin and bay expert science team is abolished on the date the advisory group is abolished under Section 11.0236(m).

Added by Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1351 , Sec. 1.07, eff. September 1, 2007. Added by Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1430 , Sec. 1.07, eff. September 1, 2007.