On Monday, September 10, 2012, the House is scheduled to consider H.R. 6007, the North Texas Zebra Mussel Barrier Act of 2012, under a suspension of the rules requiring a two-thirds majority for approval. The bill was introduced on June 21, 2012, by Rep. Ralph Hall (R-TX) and referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, which held a mark up and reported the bill by unanimous consent on August 1, 2012.

H.R. 6007 would exempt certain water transferred by the North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) from provisions of the Lacey Act which provide civil and criminal penalties for the transfer of water containing injurious species. Specifically, the bill would exempt water transferred from the Lake Texoma intake structure to treatment facilities at which all zebra mussels are extirpated and removed from the transferred water.

According to local reports, in 2009 zebra mussels were found in Lake Texoma, which is located in both Texas and Oklahoma. Under the Lacey Act, because zebra mussels were present in the water, it meant the North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) would have to stop pumping water from the lake.  Because Lake Texoma’s pump station has been offline for three years, the water district is having difficulty meeting the demands of its customers in an efficient manner.

According to CBO, implementing the legislation would have no significant impact on the federal budget.