Bill Text: TX HB3172 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to emergency orders concerning water rights issued by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-03-23 - Referred to Natural Resources [HB3172 Detail]
Download: Texas-2015-HB3172-Introduced.html
84R4581 JXC-F | ||
By: Schaefer | H.B. No. 3172 |
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relating to emergency orders concerning water rights issued by the | ||
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 11.053, Water Code, is amended to read as | ||
follows: | ||
Sec. 11.053. EMERGENCY ORDER CONCERNING WATER RIGHTS. (a) | ||
For the purposes of this section: | ||
(1) "Drought" means a period classified as a "severe | ||
drought" or "D2" by the National Drought Mitigation Center in | ||
accordance with the center's Drought Severity Classification | ||
scheme. | ||
(2) "Emergency shortage of water" means a condition | ||
under which a senior water right holder is unable to obtain surface | ||
water when there is: | ||
(A) an emergency period that poses a hazard to | ||
public health or safety; or | ||
(B) a condition affecting hydraulic systems that | ||
impairs or interferes with conveyance or delivery of water for | ||
authorized users. | ||
(b) During a period of drought or when there is an [ |
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emergency shortage of water, [ |
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executive director by order may, in accordance with the priority of | ||
water rights established by Section 11.027: | ||
(1) temporarily suspend the right of any person who | ||
holds a water right to use the water; and | ||
(2) temporarily adjust the diversions of water by | ||
water rights holders. | ||
(c) During a period of drought, the executive director may | ||
not issue an order under this section unless the commission has | ||
determined that each county in the basin of the river that would be | ||
subject to the order has been in a drought for at least 30 | ||
consecutive days before the date the order is issued. If the period | ||
of suspension or adjustment in the order is longer than six months, | ||
the commission shall review the determination made for the order at | ||
least once every six months to determine whether the drought in the | ||
river basin is still severe. | ||
(d) When there is an emergency shortage of water, the | ||
executive director may not issue an order under this section unless | ||
each senior water right holder that would benefit from the order | ||
demonstrates to the executive director that the holder: | ||
(1) has used reasonable intelligence and reasonable | ||
diligence to conserve water; | ||
(2) requires surface water for a beneficial use; and | ||
(3) is unable to obtain sufficient surface water for | ||
the beneficial use using the right. | ||
(e)[ |
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adjustment under this section shall ensure that an action taken: | ||
(1) maximizes the beneficial use of water; | ||
(2) minimizes the impact on water rights holders; | ||
(3) prevents the waste of water; | ||
(4) takes into consideration the efforts of the | ||
affected water rights holders to develop and implement the water | ||
conservation plans and drought contingency plans required by this | ||
chapter; | ||
(5) to the greatest extent practicable, conforms to | ||
the order of preferences established by Section 11.024; and | ||
(6) does not require the release of water that, at the | ||
time the order is issued, is lawfully stored in a reservoir under | ||
water rights associated with that reservoir. | ||
(f) Except as provided by Subsection (i), the executive | ||
director shall notify the water rights holders who may be affected | ||
by an order proposed to be issued under this section of the proposed | ||
order not later than the 30th day before the date the proposed order | ||
takes effect. | ||
(g) Not later than the 14th day after the date a person | ||
receives the notice, the person may request that the commission | ||
hold a hearing to affirm, modify, or set aside the proposed order. | ||
(h) If the commission receives a request under Subsection | ||
(g), the commission shall hold a hearing on the proposed order | ||
before the date the proposed order takes effect. At or following the | ||
hearing, but not later than the date the proposed order takes | ||
effect, the commission shall affirm, modify, or set aside the | ||
proposed order. | ||
(i) The executive director may issue an order under this | ||
section without first providing notice or a hearing if the order is | ||
issued to respond to a sudden and unexpected emergency. The order | ||
shall set a time and place for a hearing before the commission to | ||
affirm, modify, or set aside the order. The date of the hearing must | ||
be as soon as practicable after the date the order is issued, but | ||
not later than the 45th day after the date the order is issued. The | ||
executive director shall provide notice of the hearing to holders | ||
of water rights suspended by the order not later than the 10th day | ||
before the date of the hearing. | ||
(j)[ |
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section, including rules[ |
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[ |
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[ |
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(1)[ |
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director may issue an order under this section; | ||
(2)[ |
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including the maximum duration of a temporary suspension or | ||
adjustment under this section; and | ||
(3)[ |
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opportunity for a hearing on[ |
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an order issued under this section. | ||
(k) An order suspending a water right or adjusting a | ||
diversion by a water right holder issued under this section does not | ||
limit the commission's authority to: | ||
(1) grant an emergency permit, order, or amendment to | ||
an existing permit, certified filing, or certificate of | ||
adjudication to a water right holder under Section 11.139; or | ||
(2) suspend a permit condition or make water available | ||
temporarily under Section 11.148. | ||
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |