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Summary of 86 th Legislative Session Bills that Impact the Texas Water Business
Also Inside: Protecting Your Water Supply During an Emergency How Do We Keep Pharmaceuticals Out of Our Water Supply? Your Texas Rural Water News Source Texas Rural Water Association | www.trwa.org | (512) 472-8591
Protecting Your Water Supply During an Emergency By Jason Knobloch, Environmental Services Director, Texas Rural Water Association Texas is an undeniable target for natural disaster—we have the perfect atmosphere for hurricanes, tornados, floods, fires and even an occasional ice situation. Our fluctuating temperatures and seasons allow for many different emergency events to occur, but we hold strong and bear through it. Part of that process involves us relying heavily on our public water supply. During an event, it is likely not at the forefront of our minds how our utility providers and those who work for them are preparing for the same situation. It is important to understand the great measures your local water utility goes through to prepare for a natural disaster of any type. Some of the practices are: Filling water tanks – Utilities will do what they can to make sure the tanks are completely full before an event. There is a real chance that power could be down, and the well, intake or treatment plant may not be operational to refill tanks and distribute water. In some cases, keeping the tanks full will help the utility keep the tank upright. Water weighs 8.34 lbs. per gallon and that weight will steady a tank in high winds or heavy floods. Turning off valves – Your utility may close off the valve at the tank or road that services your area because it is prone to taking on damage. Understand that a broken line will leak continuously until your utility can find it and fix it. In many events, this may be days due to road access, flooding or other damage. Closing the valve can save water and stop possible contaminations to the supply. Electricity – Utilities are required to have backup power for their water source, but the backup power (generator) may also suffer damage and be unable to perform as expected. Your utility will have backup plans in place for external power in these events. Holding down the fort – Though a common expression, holding down the fort is a reality when a natural disaster is imminent. A piece of pipe can become a projectile in high winds, so your utility will physically strap down all their pipe, equipment and material in the supply yard. Your utility must identify all their vulnerabilities and address them in advance. Public Notices/Disinfection – Your utility goes to great lengths to make sure the water they serve is of the utmost quality, as well as in compliance with the standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. During a disaster, please be aware of posted signs throughout the area such as flyers, painted plywood and/or door-to-door announcements letting everyone know the status of the public water supply, since newspapers and TV broadcasts may not be available during these events. The utility may post a Boil Water Notice as a 2
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precaution in response to low pressure or outages during an event. The notice recommends boiling water at a rigorous boil for two minutes before drinking to eliminate possible bacteria in the water. This is not a problem in most cases, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Emergency Response Plan – Utilities are required to have an Emergency Response Plan in place. This is a task the utility must take on to assess potential risks and vulnerabilities and prepare a plan for them. Though no plan ever prepares you completely, know that your utility has done all the preparations they can to continue to provide safe and potable water in an emergency situation. Mutual Aid Networks – Texas has a mutual aid network for water utilities called the Texas Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network (TXWARN) that facilitates connection between utilities when assistance is needed. In addition, your utility is a member of Texas Rural Water Association (TRWA), a trade association that provides staff and generator resources to its members during emergencies. TRWA is also a TXWARN partner. Through these resources, your utility can get assistance with anything from chemicals needed to backup generators, manpower and equipment. Rest assured your utility has the backing and support of hundreds of utilities across the state to help them get up and running to provide you with quality water as soon as possible. These, of course, are just a few ways your utility may prepare for an emergency event. Your utility may go above and beyond these measures to make sure they are providing you with the best possible service during a natural disaster. Outside of the utility’s preparations, there are a few things you, the customer, can do to help. Store some water – Depending on the event and where you are, it is possible the power will go out and water supply and pressure may be minimal. Store water for your household (drinking, cooking), including for your animals. An average dog needs to drink 8.5 to 17 ounces of water per 10 pounds per day, depending on activity level, size, age and weather. To translate: A 50-pound dog needs between 42 and 84 ounces of water to stay happy and hydrated. Turn off your water – If you have a property that serves a large acreage or livestock, turn off your supply to outlying areas in advance of an event. If something breaks, you may not know you have a leak for some time. These leaks put a burden on the water utility to provide water for consumption to others when it is needed. You can supply your stock once you have confirmed you do not have any issues or leaks but be sure you are not wasting water that could be used for human consumption or safety.
Protect your belongings – With tornados, hurricanes and floods, water damage is a real threat. Follow your insurance company’s suggestions to wrap, pack and store items that are near and dear to you such as pictures, letters, etc. Get Supplies – Understand that just because the hurricane, tornado, fire, etc., didn’t impact you directly, it doesn’t mean it won’t impact you at all. Past hurricanes have caused fuel shortages throughout Texas. I remember seeing a line of cars from my small town stretching to the nearest interstate miles away, many of them stuck in place because they ran out of fuel. On top of that, they didn’t have the
necessary items to sustain them through the crisis. There are many places to find a list of suggested items to prepare in these kinds of events—but make sure to do it in advance. We can never completely prepare for what may come, but it is our responsibility to do what we can to make sure we are safe and secure. Your utility consists of people just like you that do a great deal of preparation for the sake of the public water supply before they consider themselves. Be sure to thank these individuals for the work they do to provide you water service, especially during an emergency situation. Consider what they do; and do your part to prepare as well.
Cultivating the Next Generation of Treatment Operators By Celia Eaves, Professional Development and Training Director, Texas Rural Water Association You may have heard about the need for new operators in the water and wastewater industry. According to reports, the industry is expected to lose between 30 and 50 percent of the workforce due to retirement. The Bureau of Labor Statistics data indicates that the median age of operators in 2018 was slightly older than the national median age of the workforce across all occupations, 49.2 versus 42.2. While it’s not uncommon for workers in the industry to continue working several years past their eligible age for retirement, the industry is still at risk of losing vast amounts of institutional knowledge and the cost of replacing the workforce can be expensive and time consuming. The need to maintain and attract a skilled workforce is vital to both the industry’s ability to implement the growing number of projects in response to increasing regulation and its ability to prepare for future industry challenges. Rigorous regulations have necessitated advancements in water treatment and technology as well as the skills and training required of this workforce. In response, the National Rural Water Association (NRWA) has established a national apprenticeship program guideline for the water and wastewater operations profession to assist utilities to recruit and fill positions with a trained and competent workforce. NRWA certified its National Guideline Standards of Apprenticeship for Water and Wastewater Operation Specialists through the U.S. Department of Labor and this will soon be available through the Texas Rural Water Association (TRWA). TRWA has a long history of training new operators and assisting with the sustainability of water and wastewater systems in their mission to serve the public. With operators responsible for the daily protection of public health for the over 6,000 public water systems in the state of Texas, the risk that unmet workforce needs will place on utilities is too great to ignore. TRWA will be implementing a two-year registered apprenticeship program tailored to transfer the wealth of
experience and knowledge from industry experts to the next generation of system operation specialists. Individuals accepted into the program will receive both on-the-job training and technical instruction while being employed by sponsoring utility systems. The TRWA Apprenticeship Program will include 4,000 hours of on-the-job training and 288 hours of related instruction. While the program will prepare operator apprentices for various levels of licensing examinations, the program is designed to prepare apprentices to be competent in multiple areas of the water or wastewater industry in order to meet industry demands in an ever-evolving environment. Apprentices will receive training through all phases of the industry including safety, operations and maintenance; security and emergency response; laws and regulations; and utility management. Upon satisfactory completion of the requirements of the apprenticeship program, the apprentice will receive a Certificate of Completion from the U.S. Department of Labor. For the utility, participation in the apprenticeship program provides an opportunity to fill challenging vacancies; cultivate a well-trained, talented workforce that is productive from the beginning; the ability to diversify the workforce by bringing new talent to the organization; an opportunity to maintain institutional knowledge when soonto-retire workers mentor new workers; and ultimately ensure a skilled workforce to protect the health and environment of communities, strengthen system sustainability and cultivate prosperity. To learn about career opportunities with water and sewer utilities in your area, contact the Manager or HR Director of your local utility provider. If you have questions about apprenticeship, please contact Celia Eaves, Texas Rural Water Association’s Professional Training and Development Director, at 512-472-8591, ext. 134 or email her at Celia. Eaves@trwa.org. Texas on Tap — September 2019 3
Summary of 86 th Legislative Session Bills that Impact the Texas Water Business By Trent Hightower, Assistant General Counsel, Texas Rural Water Association
T
he 86th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature ended on May 27, 2019, and several of the bills signed into law by Governor Abbott this summer have the potential to affect customers of rural water utilities in Texas. This article is a summary of those new laws, which all go into effect on September 1 unless otherwise noted. For an in-depth discussion of new laws that impacts rural water utilities and the rural water industry more generally, check out Texas Rural Water Association’s Rural Water Blog at www.trwa.org/blogpost/1539239/Texas-Rural-Water-Blog. Drinking Water Quality H.B. 3552 (Sheffield) This new law amends the Health & Safety Code to require water utilities that furnish fluoridated water to provide customers with at least 60 days written notice before permanently terminating the fluoridation of the water supply.
S.B. 530 (Birdwell) This new law amends the Health & Safety Code to increase the maximum penalty for water utilities that violate drinking water quality standards from $1,000 to $5,000.
Open Government H.B. 2840 (Canales) Prior to this session, entities required to comply with the Texas Open Meetings Act, including district and water supply corporation (WSC) boards were not required to allow the public to speak at an open meeting but had the discretion to allow public comment if they elected to do so. H.B. 2840 amends the law by giving the public the right to speak on any properly noticed agenda item at these meetings. Boards must give the public the opportunity to speak before or during the board’s consideration of each agenda item. Additionally, the law allows boards to adopt reasonable rules to maintain order and decorum during public comment periods, including time limits on each individual’s comments.
S.B. 494 (Huffman) This law allows both districts and WSCs to post notice for an emergency meeting one hour in advance, a reduction from the two hours’ notice required under current law. Additionally, where current law generally authorizes emergency meetings for “reasonably unforeseeable situations,” the amended version brings clarity to which situations qualify, including weather events, power failures, 4
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and various types of civil disturbances. For all matters that do not meet the emergency standard set forth in the statute, notice must still be posted for at least three days before the board of a district or WSC may deliberate or act. The new law also contains a provision that allows entities required to comply with the Public Information Act, including districts and WSCs, to temporarily suspend their obligation to respond to a Public Information Act request when they are experiencing a catastrophe. When utilizing this provision, governmental entities must provide notice to the attorney general and the public of the suspension. The initial suspension period may not be longer than seven consecutive days but may be extended one time for no more than seven more days if the governing body determines that the organization is still impacted by the same catastrophe. Public Information Act requests received during the suspension period are deemed to have been received on the first day the suspension is lifted, and they must be timely addressed in the usual manner once the catastrophe is resolved.
S.B. 1640 (Watson) In February, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals struck down the provision of the Open Meetings Act that provides for criminal penalties for board members who knowingly conspire to circumvent the Act. The court held that the statute was unconstitutionally vague as written, because it was unclear as to the specific conduct that would subject an individual to prosecution. The legislature responded by passing S.B. 1640, which more clearly describes the concept of a “walking quorum” as the prohibited action. Under the revised statute, a quorum of board members may not engage in a series of communications in numbers that are less than a quorum to discuss matters within the body’s jurisdiction. Any member who engages in any such communication with knowledge that it is part of a series of discussions to deliberate on an issue outside of an open meeting is subject to criminal liability under the Act.
Elections
Regulation of Plumbers
H.B. 831 (Huberty)
S.B. 621 (Nichols, et al)
The Texas Election Code, which applies to all Texas governmental entities, including water districts (but not WSCs), requires candidates for public elective office to have resided continuously in Texas for 12 months and in the territory from which their office is elected for six months before being eligible for office. This bill clarifies how a temporary absence from the state or election territory affects a candidate’s eligibility. A person may demonstrate their intent to return to a residence by showing that they have made a reasonable and substantive attempt to effectuate their intent, and by showing that they have a legal right and the practical ability to return to the residence. This bill has a later effective date than most bills; it will only apply to candidates in elections occurring on or after January 1, 2020.
Like all agencies, the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners (TSBPE) is subject to the sunset review process, in which the legislature decides whether to continue the agency’s existence and makes changes to their responsibilities and duties. As filed and passed by both houses, this sunset bill abolished the TSBPE and transferred its functions to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), which oversees numerous other professional licenses. However, in a dramatic turn of events at the close of session, the House and Senate were unable to agree to a final version of the bill, meaning the TSBPE would have ceased to exist on its sunset date, September 1, 2019, without its functions having been transferred to TDLR as planned. This would have created a great deal of uncertainty in the plumbing industry, as no statewide agency would have had authority over the regulation of plumbers until the 2021 legislative session. The TSBPE was ultimately saved two weeks after the end of session, however, when Governor Abbott issued an executive order continuing its existence until 2021.
H.B. 1067 (Ashby) This bill took effect immediately upon its passage by twothirds of both houses and will allow election authorities to exclude a deceased candidate from a ballot if the candidate dies before the filing deadline. If a candidate’s name is omitted under this statute, the filing deadline for a place on the ballot is then extended until the fifth day after the original filing deadline. Again, this bill is not applicable to WSCs.
Employment & Professional Licensing S.B. 1217 (Alvarado) S.B. 1217 removes a barrier many Texans have found to inhibit their ability to obtain a variety of professional licenses. Currently, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) requires applicants for a new or renewal water or wastewater operator’s license to attest that they have no arrests, convictions, deferred adjudications, or dismissals for any charges above a Class C misdemeanor. Under the new law, licensing authorities such as TCEQ can no longer consider arrests not leading to a conviction or placement on deferred adjudication in determining an applicant’s fitness to receive a license.
Flood Mitigation S.B. 7 (Creighton) The legislature’s largest response to Hurricane Harvey, S.B. 7 earmarks billions of dollars to fund repairs and flood mitigation projects. The bill creates several funds, including money to provide local agencies with grants or low-or nointerest loans to design and build flood mitigation projects, as well as a fund to cover the local match on federally funded projects.
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How Do We Keep Pharmaceuticals Out of Our Water Supply? By Deborah McMullan, Source Water Protection Specialist, Texas Rural Water Association “What do I do with household hazardous waste, particularly unused medicines?” is a question that I’m asked often when working with water systems. This has become a hot topic in the last several years, as we’re hearing more about medicines showing up in our drinking water sources. At this time, pharmaceuticals that are unwanted by the consumer are not regulated as hazardous wastes. While there are a few pharmaceuticals on the market that meet the definition of hazardous waste under the Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Act exempts household hazardous waste from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) disposal requirements. However, it is still imperative that everyone aid in the proper disposal of medicines to ensure source waters are not contaminated. First, let’s talk about how medicines can end up in our drinking water sources. In homes that use septic tanks, prescription and over-the-counter drugs flushed down the toilet can leach into the ground and seep into our ground water/aquifers. In areas where residences are connected to wastewater treatment plants, prescription and over-the-counter drugs poured down the sink or flushed down the toilet can pass through the treatment system and enter rivers and lakes. Due to prohibitive costs and lack of technology, municipal wastewater systems do not remove medicines before the treated water is released into the outfall. This means that those medicines may flow downstream to serve as sources for community drinking water supplies. Just like wastewater treatment plants, water treatments plants are generally not equipped to routinely remove medicines. The best option for disposal is collecting all unwanted or expired pharmaceutials and dispose of them through a drug take-back program. EPA is currently recommending incineration as the preferred disposal method for household drug take-back programs, because they believe that incineration will safely address environmental concerns. If your city or county doesn’t offer this on an annual basis, you may still be able to utilize a take-back service at a local pharmacy or in another nearby city. To locate a collection site go to: https://apps2.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/pubdispsearch/ spring/main?, enter your city name and zip code, and you will receive a listing of all available options. If you happen to live in an area where there is no convenient location in which to drop off your medications, you can still do your part by following these steps: 1. Take the prescription drugs out of their original containers. 6
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2. Mix drugs with an undesirable substance, such as cat litter or used coffee grounds. 3. Put the mixture into a disposable container with a lid, such as an empty margarine tub, or into a sealable bag. 4. Conceal or remove any personal information, including Rx number on the empty containers by covering it with permanent marker or duct tape, or by scratching it off. 5. The sealed container with the drug mixture and the empty drug containers can now be placed in the trash. With this said, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) maintains a list of drugs they recommend flushing ONLY when an immediate drop-off disposal option is not readily available. The medicines on this flush list may be especially harmful and, in some cases, fatal if used by someone other than the person for whom they were prescribed. Opioids are a good example of such a drug. Immediately flushing these medicines down the toilet helps to keep children, pets and other individuals safe by making sure these drugs are not accidentally ingested, touched or misused. Please note that FDA’s flush list indicates which old, unwanted, expired or unused medicines to immediately flush when take-back options are not readily available. Links in the flush list direct you to specific disposal instruction in each medicine’s label. To access this list go to: https:// www.fda.gov/drugs/disposal-unused-medicines-what-youshould-know/drug-disposal-flush-potentially-dangerousmedicine#FlushList. FDA recognizes that the recommendation to flush certain potentially dangerous medicines only when a take-back option is not readily available raises questions about the impact of the drugs on the environment and the contamination of surface and drinking water supplies. However, they believe that the known risk of harm to humans from accidental, and sometimes fatal, exposure to medicines on the flush list far outweighs any potential risk to the environment from flushing these leftover or unused medicines. For further information on drug disposal you may visit: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-06/ documents/how-to-dispose-medicines.pdf and https:// www.fda.gov/drugs/disposal-unused-medicines-what-youshould-know/drug-disposal-flush-potentially-dangerousmedicine#FlushList.
Texas Rural Water Association
1616 Rio Grande | Austin, Texas 78701
Texas on Tap Published by Texas Rural Water Association 1616 Rio Grande, Austin, TX 78701 www.trwa.org
TRWA Editorial Staff Lara Zent, Editor in Chief Allison Kaminsky, Managing Editor Kelsey Copeland, Art Director
Questions? General correspondence should be directed to your utility office. Editorial inquiries may be directed TRWA Communications Staff at (512) 472-8591 or editor@trwa.org On the cover: Balloon Tower Photo Credit: Mike Scarborough