2012 Brazos BBASC environmental flow standards and strategies recommendations report

Texas Water Code Section 11.02362 states: (i) Each basin and bay area stakeholders committee shall establish a basin and bay expert science team for the river basin and bay system for which the committee is established. The basin and bay expert science team must be established not later than six months after the date the basin and bay area stakeholders committee is established.(o) Each basin and bay area stakeholders committee shall review the environmental flow analyses and environmental flow regime recommendations submitted by the committee's basin and bay expert science team and shall consider them in conjunction with other factors, including the present and future needs for water for other uses related to water supply planning in the pertinent river basin and bay system.The basin and bay area stakeholders committee shall develop recommendations regarding environmental flow standards and strategies to meet the environmental flow standards and submit those recommendations to the commission and to the advisory group .... In developing its recommendations, the basin and bay area stakeholders committee shall operate on a consensus basis to the maximum extent possible.(p) In recognition of the importance of adaptive management, after submitting its recommendations regarding environmental flow standards and strategies to meet the environmental flow standards to the commission, each basin and bay area stakeholders committee, with the assistance of the pertinent basin and bay expert science team, shall prepare and submit for approval by the advisory group a work plan. The work plan must: (1) establish a periodic review of the basin and bay environmental flow analyses and environmental flow regime recommendations, environmental flow standards, and strategies, to occur at least once every 10 years; (2) prescribe specific monitoring, studies, and activities; and (3) establish a schedule for continuing the validation or refinement of the basin and bay environmental flow analyses and environmental flow regime recommendations, the environmental flow standards adopted by the commission, and the strategies to achieve those standards. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is the state agency with primary responsibility for implementing the constitution and laws of this state relating to the conservation of natural resources and protection of the environment, including water rights permitting and administration. (Texas Water Code Section 5.012, 5.013) Under statute, the TCEQ sets environmental flow standards for each basin and bay system. In doing so, the TCEQ is required to consider the environmental flow regime developed by each basin�s expert science team (BBEST), the recommendations of each basin�s Basin and Bay Area Stakeholders Committee (BBASC), economic factors, human and other water needs, and other appropriate information (Texas Water Code Section 11.1471).