| (a) Construction of electric generating facilities
and electric transmission lines in the coastal zone shall comply with
the policies in this section.
(1) New electric generating facilities shall, where
practicable, be located at previously developed sites. New electric
generating facilities at undeveloped sites shall be located so that
future expansion will avoid construction in critical areas, Gulf beaches,
critical dunes, and washovers to the greatest extent practicable.
To the extent applicable to the public beach, the policies in this
section are supplemental to any further restrictions or requirements
relating to the beach access and use rights of the public.
(2) Electric generating facilities using once-through
cooling systems shall be located and designed to have the least
adverse effects practicable, including impingement or entrainment
of estuarine organisms.
(3) Electric generating facilities shall be constructed
at sites selected to have the least adverse effects practicable on
recreational uses of CNRAs and on areas used for spawning, nesting,
and seasonal migrations of terrestrial and aquatic fish and wildlife
species.
(4) Electric transmission lines to or on Coastal Barrier
Resource System Units and Otherwise Protected Areas designated on
maps dated October 24, 1990, as those maps may be modified, revised,
or corrected, under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act, 16 United States
Code Annotated, §3503, on coastal barriers shall:
(A) be located, where practicable, in existing rights-of-way
or previously disturbed areas if necessary to avoid or minimize adverse
effects; and
(B) be located at sites at which future expansion shall
avoid construction in critical areas, Gulf beaches, critical dunes,
and washovers to the greatest extent practicable.
(b) The PUC shall comply with the policies in this
section when issuing certificates of convenience and necessity and
adopting rules under the Public Utility Regulatory Act, Texas Utilities
Code §11.001, et seq., governing construction of electric generating
facilities, electric transmission lines, and associated facilities
in the coastal zone.
|
| Source Note: The provisions of this §26.16 adopted to be effective October 6, 2004, 29 TexReg 9407; amended to be effective October 29, 2006, 31 TexReg 8840; transferred effective December 1, 2022, as published in the Texas Register October 28, 2022, 47 TexReg 7301 |
