Harris County adopted stricter regulations regarding scrap metal recycling businesses in unincorporated areas Dec. 4 in an effort to decrease metal thefts in the county.

A handful of Houston-area home builders, water board members and one state representative spoke in favor of the revised regulations at commissioners court, describing how big a problem the thefts have become recently.

The Greater Houston Builder's Association has long been a proponent of strong metal theft regulations, as it is a severe problem for local builders, said Casey Morgan, director of government affairs for GHBA.

"In 2011, GHBA builders reported more than $2 million in metal loss, and that's a snapshot of how severe this problem is," she said. "That doesn't include the money lost due to damages from metal theft."

The new regulations require metal recycling facilities to keep tabs of all daily metal transactions through an online database, which among other things requires a thumbprint from the person who delivers the metal with a description and photograph of the items received.

Since counties in Texas do not have the authority to pass ordinances like a city, Harris County had to wait to pass this regulation until the state legislature approved it last session.

"We can only do what the legislature allows us to do, and this was a case where the legislature gave us the authority," said County Judge Ed Emmett.

State Rep. Bill Callegari, R-Katy, who also represents a portion of Cypress, said the rash of metal thefts have become a real problem for the industry.

"In many cases when thefts happen they'll do as much as $10,000–$90,000 worth of damage," he said. "We need this resolution to pass so law enforcement can get a better handle on those people who are doing the thefts and causing the damage."

The thefts are also a problem for water districts across the county, said Teague Harris, member of the Association of Water Board Directors.

"In the last 18 months we have been hit with what can only be described as an epidemic of metal thefts in our water and wastewater plants," he said. "It's not just the cost of the water that's stolen [that's the problem], it's also the damages that are left behind."

Houston developer Barry Kahn spoke about the number of air conditioners he has had stolen and the sprinklers that have been torn up, due to the thefts.

"Houston is a vibrant community, and we have a lot of out of town investment," he said. "We don't want anything to discourage investment; we want to encourage our neighborhoods to be stronger.

The new regulations will take effect January 2013.