(a) Local Water Planning Amendment Requests. A Political Subdivision in the RWPA may request an RWPG to consider specific changes to an adopted RWP based on changed conditions or new information. An RWPG must formally consider such request within 180 days after its receipt and shall amend its adopted RWP if it determines an amendment is warranted. If the Political Subdivision is not satisfied with the RWPG's decision on the issue, it may file a petition with the EA to request Board review the decision and consider changing the approved RWP. The Political Subdivision shall send a copy of the petition to the chair of the affected RWPG.
  (1) The petition must state:
    (A) the changed condition or new information that affects the approved RWP;
    (B) the specific sections and provisions of the approved RWP that are affected by the changed condition or new information;
    (C) the efforts made by the Political Subdivision to work with the RWPG to obtain an amendment; and
    (D) the proposed amendment to the approved RWP.
  (2) If the EA determines that the changed condition or new information warrants a change in the approved RWP, the EA shall request the RWPG to consider making the appropriate change and provide the reason in writing. The Political Subdivision that submitted the petition shall receive notice of any action requested of the RWPG by the EA. If the RWPG does not amend its plan consistent with the request within 90 days, it shall provide a written explanation to the EA, after which the EA shall present the issue to the Board for consideration at a public meeting. Before presenting the issue to the Board, the EA shall provide the RWPG, the Political Subdivision submitting the petition, and any Political Subdivision determined by the EA to be affected by the issue 30 days notice. At the public meeting, the Board may direct the RWPG to amend its RWP based on the local Political Subdivision's request.
(b) Major Amendments to RWPs and State Water Plan. An RWPG may amend an adopted RWP at any meeting, after giving notice for a major amendment and holding a hearing according to §357.21(g)(3) of this title (relating to Notice and Public Participation). An amendment is major if it does not meet the criteria of subsection (c), (d) or (e) of this section. An RWPG may propose amendments to an approved RWP by submitting proposed amendments to the Board for its consideration and possible approval under the standards and procedures of this section.
  (1) Initiation of a Major Amendment. An entity may request an RWPG amend its adopted RWP. An RWPG's consideration for action to initiate an amendment may occur at a regularly scheduled meeting.
  (2) RWPG Public Hearing. The RWPG shall hold a public hearing on the amendment pursuant to §357.21(g)(3) of this title. The amendment shall be available for agency and public comment at least seven days prior to the public hearing and 30 days following the public hearing as required by §357.21(g)(3) of this title.
  (3) The proposed major amendment:
    (A) Shall not result in an over-allocation of an existing or planned source of water; and
    (B) Shall conform with rules applicable to RWP development as defined in Subchapters C and D of this chapter.
  (4) RWPG Major Amendment Adoption. The RWPG may adopt the amendment at a regularly scheduled RWPG meeting pursuant to §357.21(g)(1) after the public hearing held in accordance with §357.21(g)(3). The amendment shall include response to comments received.
  (5) Board Approval of Major Amendment. After adoption of the major amendment, the RWPG shall submit the amendment to the Board which shall consider approval of the amendment at its next regularly scheduled meeting following EA review of the amendment.
(c) Minor Amendments to RWPs and State Water Plan.
  (1) An RWPG may amend its RWP by first providing a copy of the proposed amendment to the EA for a determination as to whether the amendment would be minor.
  (2) EA Pre-Adoption Review. The EA shall evaluate the proposed minor amendment prior to the RWPG's vote to adopt the amendment. An amendment is minor if it meets the following criteria:
    (A) does not result in over-allocation of an existing or planned source of water;
    (B) does not relate to a new reservoir;
    (C) does not increase unmet needs or produce new unmet needs in the adopted RWP unless the increase in unmet needs or new unmet needs is the result of removing infeasible WMSs and/or WMSPs in accordance with subsection (g) of this section and Texas Water Code §16.053(h)(10);
    (D) does not have a significant effect on instream flows, environmental flows or freshwater flows to bays and estuaries;
    (E) does not have a significant substantive impact on water planning or previously adopted management strategies; and
    (F) does not delete or change any legal requirements of the plan.
  (3) Determination by EA. If the EA determines that the proposed amendment is minor, EA shall notify, in writing, the RWPG as soon as practicable.
  (4) RWPG Public Meeting. After receipt of the written determination from the EA, the RWPG shall conduct a public meeting in accordance with §357.21(g)(2) of this title. The public shall have an opportunity to comment and the RWPG shall amend the proposed minor amendment based on public comments, as appropriate, and to comply with existing statutes and rules related to regional water planning responses. The adopted amendment shall include response to comments received.
  (5) Board Approval of Minor Amendment. After adoption of the minor amendment, the RWPG shall submit the amendment to the Board which shall approve the amendment at its next regularly scheduled meeting unless the amendment contradicts or is in substantial conflict with statutes and rules relating to regional water planning.
(d) Amendment for Water Planning for a Clean Coal Project. An amendment to an RWP or the State Water Plan to facilitate planning for water supplies reasonably required for a clean coal project, as defined by Texas Water Code §5.001, relating to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, shall be adopted by the process described in this section. However, an RWPG may amend the RWP to accommodate planning for a clean coal project without a public meeting or hearing if the EA determines that:
  (1) the amendment does not significantly change the RWP; or
  (2) the amendment does not adversely affect other WMSs in the RWP.
(e) Substitution of Alternative WMSs. RWPGs may substitute one or more evaluated Alternative Water Management Strategies for a recommended strategy if the strategy originally recommended is no longer recommended and the substitution of the Alternative WMS is capable of meeting the same Water Need without over-allocating any source. Before substituting an Alternative WMS, the RWPG must provide public notice in accordance with §357.21(g)(1) of this title and request written approval from the EA. If the EA approves the substitution, the RWPG must provide public notice in accordance with §357.21(g)(2) of this title before taking action to substitute the Alternative WMS.
(f) In the instance of a substitution of an Alternative WMS or a proposed amendment with a recommended WMS to be supplied from a different RWPA, the RWPG recommending such strategy shall submit, concurrently with the submission of the substitution or proposed amendment to the EA, a copy of the substitution or proposed amendment to the RWPG for the location of such strategy. The provisions of sections §357.50(d), (e), (f), and (h) of this title (related to Adoption, Submittal, and Approval of Regional Water Plans) and §357.62 of this title (related to Interregional Conflicts) shall apply to substitution or amendment to the RWP in the same manner as those subdivisions apply to an IPP.
(g) Amendment for Infeasible Recommended WMSs or WMSPs. Following the results of the analysis presented at a public meeting in accordance with §357.12(b) of this title (relating to General Regional Water Planning Group Responsibilities and Procedures), an RWPG shall amend an adopted RWP to remove an infeasible recommended WMS or WMSP, as defined by Texas Water Code §16.053(h)(10). The RWPG will follow the amendment processes in accordance with subsections (b), (c), or (e) of this section. An amendment for infeasible recommended WMSs or WMSPs shall be submitted to the Board by a date established by the EA. The amendment shall summarize the project components and address why they were determined to be infeasible. The amendment must also summarize any changes to unmet needs as a result of removing the infeasible WMS or WMSP. Subsequent amendments during the planning cycle for infeasible recommended WMS or WMSP may occur at the discretion of the RWPG based upon information presented to the RWPG by project sponsors.
(h) Amending the State Water Plan. Following amendments of RWPs, including substitutions of Alternative WMSs, the Board shall make any necessary amendments to the State Water Plan as outlined in §358.4 of this title (relating to Guidelines).
(i) Errata to RWPs. RWPGs may adopt errata to the final RWP to correct minor, non-substantive errors identified after adoption of the final RWP but prior to adoption of the corresponding State Water Plan. Before adopting errata to a final RWP, the RWPG must provide public notice and receive comments in accordance with §357.21(g)(1) of this title. Upon adoption of the errata, the RWPG shall submit to the EA an errata package containing revised pages of the RWP and public comments received. The EA will notify the RWPG within 60 days whether the errata are acceptable as errata or will need to be made through the amendment process.

Source Note: The provisions of this §357.51 adopted to be effective August 12, 2012, 37 TexReg 5797; amended to be effective November 30, 2015, 40 TexReg 8648; amended to be effective December 8, 2016, 41 TexReg 9589; amended to be effective April 11, 2018, 43 TexReg 2158; amended to be effective May 1, 2022, 47 TexReg 2527