Summary of Report 97-028

December 30, 1996

Report Number 97-028

Overall Conclusion

Given its limited resources and complex jurisdiction, the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (Commission) meets its essential, minimum oversight responsibilities. In some areas, the Commission can achieve greater impact and efficiency using its existing authority. In other areas, its authority might be enhanced to serve the public interest.

Key Facts and Findings

• The Commission's information on water districts and utilities is kept in multiple databases which lack controls and consistency. The Commission should integrate its technical, financial, and managerial oversight data to reduce fragmentation and inconsistencies. This will help the Commission direct its resources toward the greatest risks and provide greater guarantee of the integrity of local entities.

• The Commission is not organized for the convenience of the entities it oversees. The organization structure may have impaired efforts to integrate data.

• The Commission is passive in its oversight role, possibly because of its complex jurisdiction. It does not have an active program for ensuring the financial, managerial, and technical viability of water utilities. It has also been reluctant to deny petitions for creating new water districts and to dissolve active districts.

• The Commission should develop procedures to control critical processes such as collecting due regulatory assessments and administering technical assistance contracts.

• The Commission and its Water Utilities Division should work with the Texas Legislature to consider:
  
  • Means of simplifying and standardizing the Commission's oversight of local entities
    
  • Establishing additional incentives to encourage regionalization of water and wastewater systems
    
  • Giving the Commission greater flexibility in regulating rates charged by investor-owned utilities
    

• Summary information on the Commission's jurisdiction and regulated community, including public drinking water systems, districts, and retail public water utilities, is available at Appendix 4.

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