Bill Text: TX HB726 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Engrossed


Bill Title: Relating to the regulation of groundwater.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2019-05-08 - Referred to Water & Rural Affairs [HB726 Detail]

Download: Texas-2019-HB726-Engrossed.html
 
 
  By: Larson H.B. No. 726
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the regulation of groundwater.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 36.113(d), Water Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (d)  This subsection does not apply to the renewal of an
  operating permit issued under Section 36.1145. Before granting or
  denying a permit, or a permit amendment issued in accordance with
  Section 36.1146, the district shall consider whether:
               (1)  the application conforms to the requirements
  prescribed by this chapter and is accompanied by the prescribed
  fees;
               (2)  the projected effect of the proposed production 
  [use of water] unreasonably affects existing groundwater and
  surface water resources, [or] existing permit holders, or
  registered well owners;
               (3)  the proposed use of water is dedicated to any
  beneficial use;
               (4)  the proposed use of water is consistent with the
  district's approved management plan;
               (5)  if the well will be located in the Hill Country
  Priority Groundwater Management Area, the proposed use of water
  from the well is wholly or partly to provide water to a pond, lake,
  or reservoir to enhance the appearance of the landscape;
               (6)  the applicant has agreed to avoid waste and
  achieve water conservation; and
               (7)  the applicant has agreed that reasonable diligence
  will be used to protect groundwater quality and that the applicant
  will follow well plugging guidelines at the time of well closure.
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter D, Chapter 36, Water Code, is amended
  by adding Section 36.1147 to read as follows:
         Sec. 36.1147.  LIMITATION ON APPLICABILITY OF RULES. The
  rules of a district in effect on the date an application for a
  permit or a permit amendment is submitted to the district are the
  only district rules that may govern the district's decision to
  grant or deny the application.
         SECTION 3.  The heading to Section 36.122, Water Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 36.122.  EXPORT [TRANSFER] OF GROUNDWATER OUT OF
  DISTRICT.
         SECTION 4.  Section 36.122, Water Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e) and adding
  Subsections (f-1) and (f-2) to read as follows:
         (a)  This section applies to [If] an application for a permit
  or an amendment to a permit under Section 36.113 that proposes the
  export [transfer] of groundwater for use outside of a district's
  boundaries[, the district may also consider the provisions of this
  section in determining whether to grant or deny the permit or permit
  amendment].
         (b)  A district may promulgate rules requiring a person to
  obtain an operating [a] permit or an amendment to an operating [a]
  permit under Section 36.113 from the district to produce and export
  [for the transfer of] groundwater.  A district may not require a
  separate permit for the export of groundwater for use outside [out]
  of the district [to:
               [(1)     increase, on or after March 2, 1997, the amount of
  groundwater to be transferred under a continuing arrangement in
  effect before that date; or
               [(2)     transfer groundwater out of the district on or
  after March 2, 1997, under a new arrangement].
         (c)  Except as provided in Subsection (e) [Section
  36.113(e)], the district may not impose more restrictive
  requirements or permit conditions on exporters [transporters] than
  the district imposes on [existing] in-district users. A district
  may not deny a permit because the applicant intends to export
  groundwater for use outside of the district.
         (d)  The district may impose a reasonable fee for processing
  an application under this section. The fee may not exceed fees that
  the district imposes for processing other applications under
  Section 36.113. An application filed under [to comply with] this
  section shall be considered and processed under the same procedures
  as other applications for permits under Section 36.113 [and shall
  be combined with applications filed to obtain a permit for
  in-district water use under Section 36.113 from the same
  applicant].
         (e)  The district may impose an export fee or surcharge on
  the holder of an operating permit for water exported for use outside
  of the district using one of the following methods:
               (1)  a fee negotiated between the district and the
  exporter;
               (2)  a rate not to exceed the equivalent of the
  district's tax rate per hundred dollars of valuation for each
  thousand gallons of water exported from the district or 2.5 cents
  per thousand gallons of water, if the district assesses a tax rate
  of less than 2.5 cents per hundred dollars of valuation; or
               (3)  for a fee-based district, a 50 percent surcharge,
  in addition to the district's production fee, for water exported
  from the district.
         (f-1)  A district shall extend a term for a permit issued
  under this section that existed on May 27, 2019, on or before its
  expiration in the manner prescribed by Section 36.1145:
               (1)  to a term that is not shorter than the term of an
  operating permit for the production of water to be exported that is
  in effect at the time of the extension; and
               (2)  for each additional term for which that operating
  permit for production is renewed under Section 36.1145 or remains
  in effect under Section 36.1146.
         (f-2)  A permit extended under Subsection (f-1) continues to
  be subject to conditions contained in the permit as issued before
  the extension.
         SECTION 5.  Section 36.414(a), Water Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (b), a district shall
  process applications from a single applicant under  consolidated
  notice and hearing procedures on written request by the applicant
  if the district requires a separate permit or permit amendment
  application for:
               (1)  drilling, equipping, operating, or completing a
  well or substantially altering the size of a well or well pump under
  Section 36.113; or
               (2)  the spacing of water wells or the production of
  groundwater under Section 36.116[; or
               [(3)     transferring groundwater out of a district under
  Section 36.122].
         SECTION 6.  Chapter 36, Water Code, is amended by adding
  Subchapter M-1 to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER M-1. MORATORIUM ON ISSUING PERMIT
         Sec. 36.426.  PROCEDURE FOR ADOPTING MORATORIUM. A district
  may not adopt a moratorium on the issuance of a permit or permit
  amendment unless the district:
               (1)  complies with the notice and hearing procedures
  prescribed by Section 36.427; and
               (2)  makes written findings supporting the district's
  determination regarding the issuance, including the district's
  justification for imposing the moratorium, if applicable.
         Sec. 36.427.  NOTICE AND PUBLIC HEARING REQUIREMENTS. (a) A
  district may impose a moratorium on the issuance of a permit or
  permit amendment only after the district conducts a public hearing
  as provided by this section. The public hearing must provide
  residents of the district and other affected parties an opportunity
  to be heard.
         (b)  The district shall publish notice of the date, time, and
  place of the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in the
  district on or before the fourth day before the date of the hearing.
         (c)  During the period beginning on the fifth business day
  after the date a notice is published under Subsection (b) and ending
  on the date the district makes its determination under Subsection
  (d), a temporary moratorium is imposed. During that period, a
  district may stop issuing permits or permit amendments.
         (d)  Not later than the 12th day after the date of the public
  hearing, the district shall make a final determination on whether
  to impose the moratorium and shall issue written findings
  supporting the district's determination, including the district's
  justification for imposing the moratorium, if applicable.
         Sec. 36.428.  EXPIRATION OF MORATORIUM; EXTENSION
  PROHIBITED. A moratorium imposed under this subchapter expires on
  the 90th day after the date the district makes its determination
  under Section 36.427(d) to impose the moratorium. The district may
  not extend a moratorium imposed under this subchapter.
         SECTION 7.  The following provisions are repealed:
               (1)  Sections 8810.103 and 8852.104, Special District
  Local Laws Code; and
               (2)  Sections 36.122(f), (g), (h), (i), (j), (k), (l),
  (m), (n), (o), and (q), Water Code.
         SECTION 8.  A moratorium on the issuance of a permit or
  permit amendment that is adopted by a groundwater conservation
  district before September 1, 2019, may not continue in effect after
  November 30, 2019.
         SECTION 9.  (a)  A permit to export groundwater approved by a
  groundwater conservation district before the effective date of this
  Act is validated and confirmed in all respects.  This subsection
  does not apply to a permit to export groundwater that is subject to
  litigation:
               (1)  that is pending on the effective date of this Act;
  or
               (2)  that results in final judgment that may not be
  appealed that the permit is invalid.
         (b)  An administratively complete permit application to
  export groundwater received by a groundwater conservation district
  before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
  effect when the application became administratively complete.  The
  former law is continued for the purpose of processing an
  application received before the effective date of this Act.
         (c)  A groundwater conservation district that imposed an
  export fee or surcharge on the holder of a permit to export
  groundwater before the effective date of this Act may continue to
  impose the fee or surcharge on the holder for the duration of the
  permit and any renewal of the permit if the holder of the permit to
  export groundwater is not the same person who holds the associated
  operating permit.
         SECTION 10.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
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