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<br />would cause adverse environmental impacts, then such impacts may be avoided or <br />mitigated by placing necessary provisions on the new or amended water right corresponding <br />to the proposed action. Texas law also provides that in the case of an emergency, such <br />pennit conditions may be temporarily suspended. Because most water rights were granted <br />prior to 1985. this limited approach may be ineffective in providing for environmental water <br />needs except at or near the location of new or amended water rights. Accordingly, other <br />strategies to comprehensively provide for environmental water needs including, but not <br />limited to, non-regulatory market approaches such as the utilization of the Texas Water <br />Bank, need to be developed. <br /> <br />Possible Alternatives To Obtain Water For Environmental Uses <br /> <br />* <br /> <br />In utilizing the bank for this purpose, the first step should be for the TPWD <br />to identify and prioritize river basins, basin segments, and watersheds where <br />critical aquatic and wildlife habitat exist and where full exercise of existing <br />water rights may occur in the foreseeable future and would significantly and <br />adversely impact envirof)'mental water needs. The Legislature could then <br />consider funding the TPWD or TWDB for the express purpose of purchasing <br />water rights for deposit in the bank from the affected region for dedication to <br />environmental water needs. Additionally, such funds could be used to <br />compensate a water rights owner for placing an environmental condition on <br />an existing water right triat wasn't subject to environmental conditions when <br />the right was granted. In this way, rights not proposed for transfer or <br />amendment could still contribute to the protection of environmental water <br />needs on a voluntary basis after the water right holder has been <br />compensated for the additional limitation on the right. State provision of <br />instream flows, as discussed above, would not preclude a purchase by or <br />transfer benefiting either a private conservancy organization or a <br />downstream city, which could be facing more costly water and/or wastewater <br />treatment costs unless the instream rate of flow of the entire river is <br />maintained or increased. <br /> <br />" <br /> <br />* The Legislature could consider directing the TNRCC, as it considers <br />conditions to avoid or mitigate adverse environmental impacts in the <br />issuance of new or substantially amended water rights pennits, to limit <br />environmental flow conditions to a maximum, fixed percentage, of the new <br />or amended water right. The flows could then be made available for <br />environmental use in accordance with the conditions specified and until the <br />identified environmental flow requirements are met. For example, if 100 <br />acre-feet per year (ac-ftlyr) of diversion rights out of a total of 5000 ac-ftlyr <br />are transferred to another use, the transferred right, assuming a 5% <br />condition, would be amended to enumerate that up to 5 acre-feet per year <br />could be required to be used for environmental purposes, when certain <br />conditions exist in the stream. This approach could apply to all new and <br />substantially amended pennits, as well as renewals of term permits. This <br />would improve the certainty of proposed water transfers, and perhaps <br />encourage the more efficient use of water. <br /> <br />* The State currently lacks appropriated funds that could be used to acquire <br /> <br />11 <br />