1. (a) The RWPGs shall submit their adopted RWPs to the Board every five years on a date to be disseminated by the EA, as modified by subsection (e)(2) of this section, for approval and inclusion in the state water plan.
2. (b) Prior to the adoption of the RWP, the RWPGs shall submit concurrently to the EA and the public an IPP. The IPP submitted to the EA must be in the electronic and paper format specified by the EA. Each RWPG must certify that the IPP is complete and adopted by the RWPG.
3. (c) The RWPGs shall distribute the IPP in accordance with §357.21(d)(5) of this title (relating to Notice and Public Participation).

4. (d) The RWPGs shall solicit, and consider the following comments when adopting a RWP:

   1. (1) the EA's written comments, which shall be provided to the RWPG within 120 days of receipt of the IPP;
   2. (2) written comments received from any federal agency or Texas state agency, which the RWPGs shall accept after the first public hearing notice is published pursuant to §357.21(d) of this title until at least 90 days after the public hearing is held pursuant to §357.21(d) of this title; and
   3. (3) any written or oral comments received from the public after the first public hearing notice is published pursuant to §357.21(d) of this title until at least 60 days after the public hearing is held pursuant to §357.21(d) of this title.

5. (e) Submittal of RWPs. RWPGs shall submit the IPP and the adopted RWPs and amendments to approved RWPs to the EA in conformance with this section.

   1. (1) RWPs shall include:

      1. (A) The technical report and data prepared in accordance with this chapter and the EA's specifications;
      2. (B) An executive summary that documents key RWP findings and recommendations; and
      3. (C) Summaries of all written and oral comments received pursuant to subsection (d) of this section, with a response by the RWPG explaining how the plan was revised or why changes were not warranted in response to written comments received under subsection (d) of this section.

   2. (2) RWPGs shall submit regional plans to the EA according to the following schedule:

      1. (A) Initially prepared plans are due every five years on a date disseminated by the EA unless an extension is approved, in writing, by the EA.
      2. (B) Prior to submission of the IPP, the RWPGs shall upload the data, metadata and all other relevant digital information supporting the plan to the Board's planning database system. All changes and corrections to this information must be entered into the Board's database prior to submittal of an adopted plan.
      3. (C) The RWPG will transfer copies of all data, models, and reports generated by the planning process and used in developing the RWP to the EA. To the maximum extent possible, data shall be transferred in digital form according to specifications provided by the EA. One copy of all reports prepared by the RWPG shall be provided in digital format according to specifications provided by the EA. All digital mapping shall use a geographic information system according to specifications provided by the EA. The EA shall seek the input from the State Geographic Information Officer regarding specifications mentioned in this section.
      4. (D) Adopted RWPs are due to the EA every five years on a date disseminated by the EA unless, at the discretion of the EA, a time extension is granted consistent with the timelines in Texas Water Code §16.053(i).
      5. (E) Once approved by the Board, RWPs will be made available on the Board website.
6. (f) The RWPGs shall submit in a timely manner to the EA information on any known interregional conflict between RWPs.
7. (g) The RWPGs shall modify the RWP to incorporate Board resolutions of interregional conflicts.
8. (h) The RWPGs shall seek to resolve conflicts with other RWPGs and shall participate in any Board sponsored efforts to resolve interregional conflicts.
9. (i) Approval of RWPs by the Board. The Board may approve a RWP only after it has determined that the RWP complies with statute and rules.

10. (j) Upon receipt of a RWP adopted by the RWPG, the Board will consider approval of such plan based on the following criteria:

    1. (1) The Board shall verify adoption of the RWP by the RWPG.
    2. (2) The Board shall approve the plan only after it considers any information from RWPGs of the existence of an interregional conflict and finds that no interregional conflict exists. The Board shall not consider approval of a RWP unless all RWPs which could contain conflicts have also been submitted to the Board for approval, or the Board determines that such plans are not likely to be submitted.
11. (k) Board Adoption of State Water Plan. RWPs approved by the Board pursuant to this chapter shall be incorporated into the state water plan as outlined in §358.4 of this title (relating to Guidelines).

Source Note:The provisions of this §357.50 adopted to be effective August 12, 2012, 37 TexReg 5797.