A Texas Sunset Advisory Commission staff report has recommended that the state abolish the Onsite Wastewater Treatment Research Council and replace it with a stakeholder group. The commission reviews the policies and programs of more than 150 government agencies and makes recommendations designed to reduce inefficiencies and improve operations.
Most of the council’s $330,000 annual budget funds research grants. In its 20-year history, the council has returned $1.5 million in new system registration fees to the state’s general fund. Although the state benefited from the research, the commission criticized the council for having no formal process to evaluate its effectiveness. The report’s authors acknowledged that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality recently changed some rules as a result of council-funded research, but said the application of other research remained unclear.
The Texas Onsite Wastewater Association (TOWA) fears that it will lose its annual conference if the council is disbanded. The commission staff recommended that the TCEQ incorporate the council’s duties, which include improving the state’s onsite industry, organizing the annual TOWA conference, and providing low-cost continuing education credits.
The advisory commission recommended that TCEQ sponsor the TOWA conference and consider combining it with its own conferences. TOWA members began a letter-writing campaign to oppose the action.
