| (a) This chapter is intended to establish a comprehensive
regulatory system under Texas Water Code chapter 13 to ensure that
rates, operations, and services are just and reasonable to the consumer
and the retail public utilities, and to establish the rights and responsibilities
of both the retail public utility and consumer. This chapter shall
be given a fair and impartial construction to obtain these objectives
and shall be applied uniformly regardless of race, color, religion,
sex, or marital status. This chapter shall also govern the procedure
for the institution, conduct and determination of all water and sewer
rate causes and proceedings before the commission. These sections
shall not be construed so as to enlarge, diminish, modify, or alter
the jurisdiction, powers, or authority of the commission or the substantive
rights of any person.
(b) A rule, form, policy, procedure, or decision of
the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) related to a
power, duty, function, program, or activity transferred by House Bill
1600 and Senate Bill 567, 83rd Legislature, Regular Session (this
Act), continues in effect as a rule, form, policy, procedure, or decision
of the Public Utility Commission of Texas (commission) and remains
in effect until amended or replaced by the commission. Any jurisdiction
over a utility's rates, operations, and services ceded to the TCEQ
continues in effect and shall be deemed to be ceded to the commission.
(c) It is the responsibility of each retail public
utility to ensure that it remains in compliance with all applicable
rules and requirements, including those imposed by TCEQ or other agencies.
Nothing in this chapter relieves a retail public utility from the
obligation to file reports or otherwise provide notice and information
to TCEQ of regulated activities as required by TCEQ rules.
(d) An application received by the commission and file
stamped in the commission's Central Records office shall be processed
in accordance with the rules in effect on the date that the application
was received by Central Records.
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