The Texas House of Representatives passed HB 2716, which would restore the ability of the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department to intervene in pollution permit applications submitted to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).
The Texas House vote on HB 2716 was 91 to 54. Now the bill goes to the Texas Senate where it will have to be heard in committee and approved before a full vote on the Senate floor. If the bill is not amended in the Senate, it will go to the Governor to be signed.
In response to the passage of HB 2716 by the Texas House of Representatives, Ken Kramer, Water Resources Chair, Sierra Club’s Lone Star Chapter, issued the following statement:
"Passage of HB 2716 by the Texas House is a strong endorsement of the need for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to have the power to protect state parks and our state's fish and wildlife from pollution discharges or other such threats. That power was taken away from the agency in 2011 without public scrutiny through a maneuver by lobbyists for polluting industries. That move left Parks and Wildlife properties such as Honey Creek State Natural Area at risk. Now it's up to the Senate to follow the lead of the House and restore the authority to our state parks and wildlife agency to fully protect the public properties and resources the agency manages."
A single sentence buried in a legislative amendment in 2011 prohibited Parks & Wildlife from contesting permits that might adversely affect its properties and the fish and wildlife the agency manages. Proposed by Representative Tracy King, HB 2716 will restore Parks and Wildlife’s ability to participate in contested-case hearings for both water right permits and pollution discharge permits as necessary to protect the natural resources the agency manages.
The bill is supported by a broad, and growing, range of hunting, angling, recreational, and environmental organizations. That list can be found here. Further information on the bill can be found here.