This section lets the commission permit certain seawater desalination diversions for industrial use, and it also allows some diversions without a permit when the subsection (a) conditions do not apply.
Sec. 11.1405. DESALINATION OF SEAWATER FOR USE FOR INDUSTRIAL PURPOSES. (a) The commission may issue a permit under this section to authorize a diversion of state water from the Gulf of Mexico or a bay or arm of the Gulf of Mexico for desalination and use for industrial purposes if: (1) the point of diversion is located less than three miles seaward of any point located on the coast of this state; or (2) the seawater contains a total dissolved solids concentration based on a yearly average of samples taken monthly at the water source of less than 20,000 milligrams per liter. (b) A person may divert state water from the Gulf of Mexico or a bay or arm of the Gulf of Mexico for desalination and use for industrial purposes without obtaining a permit if Subsection (a) does not apply. (c) A person who diverts and uses state water that consists of marine seawater under a permit issued under Subsection (a) or as authorized by Subsection (b) must determine the total dissolved solids concentration of the seawater at the water source by monthly sampling and analysis and provide the data collected to the commission. A person may not begin construction of a facility for the diversion of marine seawater for the purposes provided by this section without obtaining a permit until the person has provided data to the commission based on the analysis of samples taken at the water source over a period of at least one year demonstrating that Subsection (a)(2) does not apply. A person who has begun construction of a facility for the diversion of marine seawater for the purposes provided by this section without obtaining a permit because the person has demonstrated that Subsection (a)(2) does not apply is not required to obtain a permit for the facility if the total dissolved solids concentration of the seawater at the water source subsequently changes so that Subsection (a)(2) applies. (d) A permit application under this section must be submitted as required by commission rule. (e) The commission is not required to make a finding of water availability for an application under this section. (f) The commission shall evaluate whether any proposed diversion under this section is consistent with any applicable environmental flow standards established under Section 11.1471. (g) The commission may include any provision in a permit issued under this section that the commission considers necessary to comply with the environmental flow standards established under Section 11.1471. (h) The commission shall adopt rules providing an expedited procedure for acting on an application for a permit under Subsection (a). The rules must provide for notice, an opportunity for the submission of written comment, and an opportunity for a contested case hearing regarding commission actions relating to an application for a permit. Added by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 829 (H.B. 4097), Sec. 4, eff. June 17, 2015.