Bill Text: TX HB655 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Enrolled

---

Bill Title: Relating to the storage and recovery of water in aquifers; authorizing fees and surcharges; adding provisions subject to a criminal penalty.

Sponsorship: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 6-1)

Status: (Passed) 2015-06-16 - Effective immediately [HB655 Detail]

Download: Texas-2015-HB655-Enrolled.html

---

H.B. No. 655

AN ACT
relating to the storage and recovery of water in aquifers;
authorizing fees and surcharges; adding provisions subject to a
criminal penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 11.153(a), (b), and (c), Water Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) In this section, "aquifer storage and recovery project"
has the meaning assigned by Section 27.151 [The commission shall
investigate the feasibility of storing appropriated water in
various types of aquifers around the state by encouraging the
issuance of temporary or term permits for demonstration projects
for the storage of appropriated water for subsequent retrieval and
beneficial use].
(b) A water right holder or a person who has contracted for
the use of water under a contract that does not prohibit the use of
the water in an aquifer storage and recovery project may undertake
an aquifer storage and recovery project without obtaining any
additional authorization under this chapter for the project. A
person described by this subsection undertaking an aquifer storage
and recovery project must:
(1) obtain any required authorizations under
Subchapter G, Chapter 27, and Subchapter N, Chapter 36; and
(2) comply with the terms of the applicable water
right [A permit described by Subsection (a) must be for only the
duration of the pilot project to provide the commission and the
board further opportunity to evaluate the storage of appropriated
water in aquifers for subsequent retrieval and beneficial use].
(c) This section does not preclude the commission from
considering an aquifer storage and recovery project to be a
component of a project permitted under this chapter that is not
required to be based on the continuous availability of historic,
normal stream flow [At the conclusion of a pilot project, a permit
holder may file an appropriate application for a permit or permit
amendment. After considering the success of the project and the
criteria set out in Section 11.154, the commission shall determine
whether to issue a permit or permit amendment authorizing the
continued storage of appropriated water in the aquifer].
SECTION 2. Section 11.155, Water Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 11.155. AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY [PILOT PROJECT]
REPORTS. [(a) On completion of each pilot project, the board and
the commission jointly shall:
[(1) prepare a report evaluating the success of the
project; and
[(2) provide copies of the report to the governor,
lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of representatives.
[(b)] The board shall make [other] studies, investigations,
and surveys of the aquifers in the state as it considers necessary
to determine the occurrence, quantity, quality, and availability of
[other] aquifers in which water may be stored and subsequently
retrieved for beneficial use. The board shall undertake the
studies, investigations, and surveys in the following order of
priority:
(1) [the aquifers described in Section 11.153(a);
[(2)] areas designated by the commission as "priority
groundwater management areas" under Section 35.008; and
(2) [(3)] other areas of the state in a priority to be
determined by the board's ranking of where the greatest need
exists.
SECTION 3. Chapter 27, Water Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter G to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER G. AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY PROJECTS
Sec. 27.151. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Aquifer storage and recovery project" means a
project involving the injection of water into a geologic formation
for the purpose of subsequent recovery and beneficial use by the
project operator.
(2) "ASR injection well" means a Class V injection
well used for the injection of water into a geologic formation as
part of an aquifer storage and recovery project.
(3) "ASR recovery well" means a well used for the
recovery of water from a geologic formation as part of an aquifer
storage and recovery project.
(4) "Native groundwater" means the groundwater
naturally occurring in a geologic formation.
(5) "Project operator" means a person holding an
authorization under this subchapter to undertake an aquifer storage
and recovery project.
Sec. 27.152. JURISDICTION. The commission has exclusive
jurisdiction over the regulation and permitting of ASR injection
wells.
Sec. 27.153. AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF CLASS V INJECTION
WELLS. (a) The commission may authorize the use of a Class V
injection well as an ASR injection well:
(1) by rule;
(2) under an individual permit; or
(3) under a general permit.
(b) In adopting a rule or issuing a permit under this
section, the commission shall consider:
(1) whether the injection of water will comply with
the standards set forth under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act
(42 U.S.C. Section 300f et seq.);
(2) the extent to which the cumulative volume of water
injected for storage in the receiving geologic formation can be
successfully recovered from the geologic formation for beneficial
use, taking into account that injected water may be commingled to
some degree with native groundwater;
(3) the effect of the aquifer storage and recovery
project on existing water wells; and
(4) whether the introduction of water into the
receiving geologic formation will alter the physical, chemical, or
biological quality of the native groundwater to a degree that
would:
(A) render the groundwater produced from the
receiving geologic formation harmful or detrimental to people,
animals, vegetation, or property; or
(B) require an unreasonably higher level of
treatment of the groundwater produced from the receiving geologic
formation than is necessary for the native groundwater in order to
render the groundwater suitable for beneficial use.
(c) All wells associated with a single aquifer storage and
recovery project must be located within a continuous perimeter
boundary of one parcel of land, or two or more adjacent parcels of
land under common ownership, lease, joint operating agreement, or
contract.
(d) The commission by rule shall provide for public notice
and comment on a proposed general permit authorized under this
section. The commission shall require an applicant for an
individual permit authorized under this section to provide notice
of the application by first class mail to any groundwater
conservation district in which the wells associated with the
aquifer storage and recovery project will be located and by
publishing notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the
county in which the wells will be located.
Sec. 27.154. TECHNICAL STANDARDS. (a) The commission shall
adopt technical standards governing the approval of the use of a
Class V injection well as an ASR injection well.
(b) This subsection applies only to an aquifer storage and
recovery project proposed to be located in a groundwater
conservation district or other special-purpose district with the
authority to regulate the withdrawal of groundwater. Except as
otherwise provided by this section, the commission shall limit the
volume of water that may be recovered by an aquifer storage and
recovery project to an amount that does not exceed the amount of
water injected under the project. If the commission determines that
the proposed injection of water into a geologic formation will
result in a loss of injected water or native groundwater, the
commission shall impose additional restrictions on the amount of
water that may be recovered to account for the loss. The commission
may not deny a permit based on a determination that a loss described
by this subsection will occur. A limitation imposed under this
subsection may not prohibit the production of native groundwater by
an aquifer storage and recovery project if the production complies
with Subchapter N, Chapter 36.
(c) The commission by rule shall prescribe construction and
completion standards and metering and reporting requirements for
ASR injection wells and ASR recovery wells, including for an ASR
injection well that also serves as an ASR recovery well.
(d) The commission may not adopt or enforce groundwater
quality protection standards for the quality of water injected into
an ASR injection well that are more stringent than applicable
federal standards.
Sec. 27.155. REPORTING OF INJECTION AND RECOVERY VOLUMES.
(a) A project operator shall install a meter on each ASR injection
well and ASR recovery well associated with the aquifer storage and
recovery project.
(b) Each calendar month, the project operator shall provide
to the commission a written or electronic report showing for the
preceding calendar month the volume of water:
(1) injected for storage; and
(2) recovered for beneficial use.
Sec. 27.156. REPORTING OF WATER QUALITY DATA. A project
operator shall:
(1) perform water quality testing annually on water to
be injected into a geologic formation and water recovered from a
geologic formation as part of the aquifer storage and recovery
project; and
(2) provide the results of the testing described by
Subdivision (1) in written or electronic form to the commission.
Sec. 27.157. OTHER LAWS NOT AFFECTED. (a) This subchapter
does not affect the ability to regulate an aquifer storage and
recovery project as authorized under:
(1) Chapter 626, Acts of the 73rd Legislature, Regular
Session, 1993, for the Edwards Aquifer Authority;
(2) Chapter 8801, Special District Local Laws Code,
for the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District;
(3) Chapter 8834, Special District Local Laws Code,
for the Fort Bend Subsidence District;
(4) Chapter 8802, Special District Local Laws Code,
for the Barton Springs-Edwards Aquifer Conservation District; or
(5) Chapter 8811, Special District Local Laws Code,
for the Corpus Christi Aquifer Storage and Recovery Conservation
District.
(b) This subchapter does not affect the authority of the
commission regarding:
(1) recharge projects in certain portions of the
Edwards underground reservoir under Sections 11.023(c) and (d); or
(2) injection wells that transect or terminate in
certain portions of the Edwards Aquifer under Section 27.0516.
SECTION 4. Chapter 36, Water Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter N to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER N. AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY PROJECTS
Sec. 36.451. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter, "aquifer
storage and recovery project," "ASR injection well," "ASR recovery
well," and "project operator" have the meanings assigned by Section
27.151.
Sec. 36.452. APPLICABILITY TO RECOVERY WELLS THAT ALSO
FUNCTION AS INJECTION WELLS. Notwithstanding Section 27.152, this
subchapter applies to an ASR recovery well that also functions as an
ASR injection well.
Sec. 36.453. REGISTRATION AND REPORTING OF WELLS. (a) A
project operator shall:
(1) register the ASR injection wells and ASR recovery
wells associated with the aquifer storage and recovery project with
any district in which the wells are located;
(2) each calendar month by the deadline established by
the commission for reporting to the commission, provide the
district with a copy of the written or electronic report required to
be provided to the commission under Section 27.155; and
(3) annually by the deadline established by the
commission for reporting to the commission, provide the district
with a copy of the written or electronic report required to be
provided to the commission under Section 27.156.
(b) If an aquifer storage and recovery project recovers an
amount of groundwater that exceeds the volume authorized by the
commission to be recovered under the project, the project operator
shall report to the district the volume of groundwater recovered
that exceeds the volume authorized to be recovered in addition to
providing the report required by Subsection (a)(2).
Sec. 36.454. PERMITTING, SPACING, AND PRODUCTION
REQUIREMENTS. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a district
may not require a permit for the drilling, equipping, operation, or
completion of an ASR injection well or an ASR recovery well that is
authorized by the commission.
(b) The ASR recovery wells that are associated with an
aquifer storage and recovery project are subject to the permitting,
spacing, and production requirements of the district if the amount
of groundwater recovered from the wells exceeds the volume
authorized by the commission to be recovered under the project. The
requirements of the district apply only to the portion of the volume
of groundwater recovered from the ASR recovery wells that exceeds
the volume authorized by the commission to be recovered.
(c) A project operator may not recover groundwater by an
aquifer storage and recovery project in an amount that exceeds the
volume authorized by the commission to be recovered under the
project unless the project operator complies with the applicable
requirements of a district as described by this section.
Sec. 36.455. FEES AND SURCHARGES. (a) A district may not
assess a production fee or a transportation or export fee or
surcharge for groundwater recovered from an ASR recovery well,
except to the extent that the amount of groundwater recovered under
the aquifer storage and recovery project exceeds the volume
authorized by the commission to be recovered.
(b) A district may assess a well registration fee or other
administrative fee for an ASR recovery well in the same manner that
the district assesses such a fee for other wells registered with the
district.
Sec. 36.456. DESIRED FUTURE CONDITIONS. A district may
consider hydrogeologic conditions related to the injection and
recovery of groundwater as part of an aquifer storage and recovery
project in the planning for and monitoring of the achievement of a
desired future condition for the aquifer in which the wells
associated with the project are located.
Sec. 36.457. OTHER LAWS NOT AFFECTED. This subchapter does
not affect the ability to regulate groundwater as authorized under:
(1) Chapter 626, Acts of the 73rd Legislature, Regular
Session, 1993, for the Edwards Aquifer Authority;
(2) Chapter 8801, Special District Local Laws Code,
for the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District;
(3) Chapter 8834, Special District Local Laws Code,
for the Fort Bend Subsidence District;
(4) Chapter 8802, Special District Local Laws Code,
for the Barton Springs-Edwards Aquifer Conservation District; or
(5) Chapter 8811, Special District Local Laws Code,
for the Corpus Christi Aquifer Storage and Recovery Conservation
District.
SECTION 5. The following sections of the Water Code are
repealed:
(1) Sections 11.153(d) and (e); and
(2) Section 11.154.
SECTION 6. Not later than May 1, 2016, the Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality shall adopt rules to implement Section
11.153, Water Code, as amended by this Act, and Subchapter G,
Chapter 27, Water Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 7. 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. 655 was passed by the House on April
22, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 142, Nays 2, 2 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 655 on May 21, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 142, Nays 1, 2
present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 655 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 18, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 29, Nays
1.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor