The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has seen the general revenue appropriated for water programs decline over the past few biennia, which has led to a greater dependence on fee revenue. The agency requested additional General Revenue appropriations for the water program, but did not receive the amount necessary to offset the program's costs. The legislature instructed the agency in House Bill 1, Article IX, Section 18.01., (84th Texas Legislature, 2015) of the General Appropriation Act to increase fee revenue to meet funding needs. This rule will provide the agency the ability to increase the Public Health Service (PHS) fee by $17 million per year which will ensure adequate cash to support the agency's water program moving forward.
The current rate for Tier I (fewer than 25 connections) is $100, Tier II (25-160 connections) is $175, and Tier III (over 160 connections) is $2.15 per connection. The new rates will be Tier I up to $200, Tier II up to $300, and Tier III up to $4.00 per connection. The agency anticipates only increasing the Tier I and II rates by $25 and the Tier III rate to $2.45 in FY 2017 to meet the water program's costs.
The anticipated Texas Register adoption public date is May 27 and the anticipated effective date will be June 2, 2016.