Bill Text: TX HB5213 | 2025-2026 | 89th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to groundwater requirements for municipal and county approval of subdivision plats and the powers and duties of groundwater conservation districts.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2025-04-07 - Referred to Natural Resources [HB5213 Detail]

Download: Texas-2025-HB5213-Introduced.html

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By: Zwiener H.B. No. 5213

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to groundwater requirements for municipal and county
approval of subdivision plats and the powers and duties of
groundwater conservation districts.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 212.0101, Local Government Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (d) and
(e) to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (a-1), a plat
application for the subdivision of a tract of land for which the
source of the water supply intended for the subdivision is
groundwater under that land must have attached to it a statement
that:
(1) is prepared by an engineer licensed to practice in
this state or a geoscientist licensed to practice in this state; and
(2) certifies that adequate groundwater is available
for the subdivision, including:
(A) an estimate of the drawdown of the
groundwater associated with the subdivision, relative to modeled
available groundwater and modeled sustainable groundwater, as
those terms are defined by Section 36.001, Water Code; and
(B) if information is sufficiently available
from a groundwater conservation district that includes in the
district's boundaries any part of the subdivision or the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality, a determination of:
(i) the cumulative impact of any existing
or planned wells on water availability and drawdown in the
subdivision; and
(ii) the projected future pumping from an
aquifer or from interconnected aquifers from area wells located
outside of the subdivision.
(d) A person who submits a plat under Subsection (a) shall
submit the statement attached to the plat to a groundwater
conservation district that includes in the district's boundaries
any part of the subdivision.
(e) A groundwater conservation district that receives a
statement under Subsection (d) may:
(1) contest the approval of the plat application
associated with the statement; and
(2) provide the municipal authority responsible for
approving plats that is considering the plat application any
information that would challenge the findings of the groundwater
availability statement included in the plat application.
SECTION 2. Section 232.0032, Local Government Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (d) and
(e) to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (a-1), a plat
application for the subdivision of a tract of land for which the
source of the water supply intended for the subdivision is
groundwater under that land must have attached to it a statement
that:
(1) is prepared by an engineer licensed to practice in
this state or a geoscientist licensed to practice in this state; and
(2) certifies that adequate groundwater is available
for the subdivision, including:
(A) an estimate of the drawdown of the
groundwater associated with the subdivision, relative to modeled
available groundwater and modeled sustainable groundwater, as
those terms are defined by Section 36.001, Water Code; and
(B) if information is sufficiently available
from a groundwater conservation district that includes in the
district's boundaries any part of the subdivision or the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality, a determination of:
(i) the cumulative impact of any existing
or planned wells on water availability and drawdown; and
(ii) the projected future pumping from an
aquifer or from interconnected aquifers from area wells located
outside of the subdivision.
(d) A person who submits a plat under Subsection (a) shall
submit the statement attached to the plat to a groundwater
conservation district that includes in the district's boundaries
any part of the subdivision.
(e) A groundwater conservation district that receives a
statement under Subsection (d) may:
(1) contest the approval of the plat application
associated with the statement; and
(2) provide the commissioners court that is
considering the plat application any information that would
challenge the findings of the groundwater availability statement
included in the plat application.
SECTION 3. Section 36.001, Water Code, is amended by adding
Subdivisions (32) and (33) to read as follows:
(32) "Modeled sustainable groundwater" means the
maximum volume of water that the executive director, using best
available science, determines may be withdrawn from the aquifer on
an annual basis so the water table does not draw down and future
withdrawals may be maintained in perpetuity.
(33) "Total estimated recoverable storage" means the
estimated amount of groundwater within an aquifer that ranges
between 25 and 75 percent of the porosity-adjusted aquifer volume
and accounts for:
(A) groundwater quality, including the potential
for degradation of water quality derived from current or projected
future groundwater withdrawals;
(B) the impact of current and projected future
withdrawals on:
(i) water levels; and
(ii) land surface subsidence; and
(C) the interaction of groundwater and surface
water, including discharge from the aquifer to springs, lakes,
streams, and rivers.
SECTION 4. Section 36.108(d), Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(d) Not later than May 1, 2021, and every five years
thereafter, the districts shall consider groundwater availability
models and other data or information for the management area and
shall propose for adoption desired future conditions for the
relevant aquifers within the management area. Before voting on the
proposed desired future conditions of the aquifers under Subsection
(d-2), the districts shall consider:
(1) aquifer uses or conditions within the management
area, including conditions that differ substantially from one
geographic area to another;
(2) the water supply needs and water management
strategies included in the state water plan;
(3) hydrological conditions, including for each
aquifer in the management area the total estimated recoverable
storage and modeled sustainable groundwater as provided by the
executive administrator, and the average annual recharge, inflows,
and discharge;
(4) other environmental impacts, including impacts on
spring flow and other interactions between groundwater and surface
water;
(5) the impact on subsidence;
(6) socioeconomic impacts reasonably expected to
occur, including an analysis of any indirect economic value
reasonably expected to be derived from the preservation of
groundwater resources through sustainable management practices;
(7) the impact on the interests and rights in private
property, including ownership and the rights of management area
landowners and their lessees and assigns in groundwater as
recognized under Section 36.002;
(8) the feasibility of achieving the desired future
condition; and
(9) any other information relevant to the specific
desired future conditions.
SECTION 5. Section 36.109, Water Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 36.109. COLLECTION OF INFORMATION. (a) A district may
collect any information the board deems necessary, including
information regarding the use of groundwater, water conservation,
and the practicability of recharging a groundwater reservoir. At
the request of the executive administrator, the district shall
provide any data collected by the district in a format acceptable to
the executive administrator.
(b) To the extent practicable, a district may coordinate
with the commission, the Texas Water Development Board, a river
authority, or any other entity to collect information to provide
insight into the interactions between groundwater and surface water
for groundwater planning purposes.
SECTION 6. Section 36.1132(b), Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) In issuing permits, the district shall manage total
groundwater production on a long-term basis to achieve an
applicable desired future condition and consider:
(1) the modeled available groundwater and modeled
sustainable groundwater determined by the executive administrator;
(2) the executive administrator's estimate of the
current and projected amount of groundwater produced under
exemptions granted by district rules and Section 36.117;
(3) the amount of groundwater authorized under permits
previously issued by the district;
(4) a reasonable estimate of the amount of groundwater
that is actually produced under permits issued by the district; and
(5) yearly precipitation and production patterns.
SECTION 7. Sections 212.0101 and 232.0032, Local Government
Code, as amended by this Act, apply only to a plat application filed
on or after the effective date of this Act. A plat application
filed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law
as it existed immediately before the effective date of this Act, and
that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.