By: Zwiener H.B. No. 2608       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to the consideration by the Texas Commission on   Environmental Quality of alternative waste collection, treatment,   and disposal options before issuing permits to discharge certain   waste.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 26.0282, Water Code, is amended to read   as follows:          Sec. 26.0282.  CONSIDERATION OF NEED AND REGIONAL TREATMENT   OPTIONS. (a) In considering the issuance, amendment, or renewal of   a permit to discharge waste, the commission may deny or alter the   terms and conditions of the proposed permit, amendment, or renewal   based on consideration of need, including the expected volume and   quality of the influent and the availability of existing or   proposed areawide or regional waste collection, treatment, and   disposal systems not designated as such by commission order   pursuant to provisions of this subchapter.          (b)  The commission may not issue a permit to discharge waste   unless the applicant demonstrates to the commission that:                (1)  it is not economically feasible for another holder   of a permit issued under this chapter to collect, treat, and dispose   of the waste proposed to be discharged by the applicant; or                (2)  that it will treat and discharge waste to a higher   water quality standard than the waste would otherwise be treated to   if another holder of a permit issued under this chapter were to   collect, treat, and dispose of the waste proposed to be discharged   by the applicant.          (c)  This section is expressly directed to the control and   treatment of conventional pollutants normally found in domestic   wastewater.          SECTION 2.  Section 26.0282, Water Code, as amended by this   Act, applies only to an application for the issuance of a permit   that is filed with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on   or after the effective date of this Act. An application for a   permit filed before the effective date of this Act is governed by   the law in effect on the date of the filing, and the former law is   continued in effect for that purpose.          SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.