H.B. No. 2647

	AN ACT
	relating to a limitation on the authority to curtail groundwater
	production from wells used for power generation or mining.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter D, Chapter 36, Water Code, is amended
	by adding Section 36.1175 to read as follows:
	Sec. 36.1175.  POWER GENERATION EXEMPTION.  (a)  This
	section applies to a well that produces groundwater used to support
	the operation of a power generation facility or a mine that provides
	fuel to a power generation facility, including production for
	boiler makeup water, fire suppression, dewatering, potable water,
	and depressurization.
	(b)  An owner or operator of a well to which this section
	applies is entitled to petition the district for a delay in the
	effective date of any district action that would reduce or curtail
	production from a well or limit the groundwater production rate of a
	well to an amount that is less than:
	(1)  the maximum annual amount of withdrawal as of
	September 1, 2014, authorized by the permit, regardless of whether
	the permit was issued by the district or the Railroad Commission of
	Texas; or
	(2)  the maximum annual historical amount of withdrawal
	recorded before September 1, 2014, if the well was in operation on
	that date and no permit from any entity was required for the
	operation of the well.
	(c)  The owner or operator of a well subject to this section
	may petition for a delay described by Subsection (b).  The petition
	must include evidence that the owner or operator is engaging in good
	faith efforts to identify practicable, readily available
	alternative sources of water with comparable quality.  After
	receipt of the petition, the district shall hold a public hearing
	and after the hearing shall make a final determination as to whether
	the proposed reduction or curtailment in groundwater production
	would threaten public health or safety or the reliability of the
	electric grid. The proposed reduction or curtailment for which the
	owner or operator is seeking a delay may not take effect until the
	district has made a final determination under this subsection.
	(d)  If the district determines under Subsection (c) that a
	proposed reduction or curtailment in groundwater production would
	threaten public health or safety or the reliability of the electric
	grid, the district shall delay the effective date of the reduction
	or curtailment to a date not earlier than seven years after the date
	that the final determination is made.
	(e)  If an owner or operator receives a delay under
	Subsection (d), the owner or operator may petition the district at
	any time before the delayed effective date of the proposed
	reduction or curtailment to delay the effective date a second time
	for an additional three years as provided by this subsection. After
	receiving the petition, the district shall hold a public hearing
	and after the hearing shall make a final determination to approve
	the additional three-year delay if the district determines that:
	(1)  the owner or operator has engaged in good faith
	efforts to identify and begin implementing strategies to comply
	with the proposed reduction or curtailment; and
	(2)  implementation of the proposed reduction or
	curtailment in groundwater production on the date set under
	Subsection (d) would threaten public health or safety or the
	reliability of the electric grid.
	(f)  In making a final determination described by Subsection
	(c), (d), or (e), the district shall request, obtain, and give great
	weight to an opinion issued by the Public Utility Commission of
	Texas.
	SECTION 2.  The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
	a reduction or curtailment in groundwater production ordered by a
	groundwater conservation district on or after the effective date of
	this Act. A reduction or curtailment in groundwater production
	ordered by a groundwater conservation district before the effective
	date of this Act is governed by the law in effect at the time the
	reduction or curtailment in groundwater production was ordered, and
	the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
	Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 2647 was passed by the House on May 4,
	2015, by the following vote:  Yeas 139, Nays 2, 1 present, not
	voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 2647 was passed by the Senate on May
	26, 2015, by the following vote:  Yeas 21, Nays 10.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	APPROVED:  _____________________
	Date
	_____________________
	Governor