RESPONSIBILITIES OF BOARD.

(a) Subject to legislative appropriation, the board shall:

(1) for the development of infrastructure to transport water that is made available by a project, facilitate joint planning and coordination between project sponsors, governmental entities, utilities, common carriers, and other entities, as applicable, to reduce the necessity of exercising the power of eminent domain to obtain interests in real property by using existing transportation and utility easements;

(2) facilitate the development of guidance and best practices for the standardization of the specifications, materials, and components used to design and construct infrastructure to transport water;

(3) facilitate the development of standards and guidance to ensure potential interconnectivity and interoperability between different systems developed to transport water from different projects;

(4) facilitate the development of mechanical and technical standards for the integration of water that is made available by a project into a water supply system or into infrastructure to transport water that is made available by a project, as applicable; and

(5) take other action the board determines necessary to facilitate interconnectivity and interoperability between different infrastructure developed to transport water from different projects.

(b) When developing guidance and best practices under Subsection (a)(2), the board shall, if practicable, recommend building excess capacity into infrastructure to transport water to facilitate the transportation of additional water supplies that are developed after the initial construction of the infrastructure.