Bill Text: TX SB1421 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to the management of groundwater, including the classification of and the obtaining of information regarding groundwater and the formulation of desired future conditions by a groundwater conservation district.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-03-18 - Referred to Agriculture, Water, & Rural Affairs [SB1421 Detail]

Download: Texas-2015-SB1421-Introduced.html

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84R2786 SLB-D
By: Lucio S.B. No. 1421

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the management of groundwater, including the
classification of and the obtaining of information regarding
groundwater and the formulation of desired future conditions by a
groundwater conservation district.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
ARTICLE 1. DEVELOPMENT AND USE OF GROUNDWATER CLASSIFICATION
SYSTEM
SECTION 1.01. Section 26.405, Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 26.405. POWERS AND DUTIES OF COMMITTEE. (a) The
committee shall, on a continuing basis:
(1) coordinate groundwater protection activities of
the agencies represented on the committee;
(2) develop and update a comprehensive groundwater
protection strategy for the state that provides guidelines for the
prevention of contamination and for the conservation of groundwater
and that provides for the coordination of the groundwater
protection activities of the agencies represented on the committee;
(3) study and recommend to the legislature groundwater
protection programs for each area in which groundwater is not
protected by current regulation;
(4) file with the governor, lieutenant governor, and
speaker of the house of representatives before the date that each
regular legislative session convenes a report of the committee's
activities during the two preceding years and any recommendations
for legislation for groundwater protection; and
(5) publish the joint groundwater monitoring and
contamination report required by Section 26.406(c) [of this code].
(b) The committee shall develop and adopt by rule a
groundwater classification system that is based on salinity and
takes into account:
(1) the total dissolved solids present in the water;
(2) the geographic location of the water, including
the potential for withdrawals to cause subsidence or to negatively
affect a freshwater source;
(3) existing laws and administrative rules;
(4) existing permits and permit requirements for the
withdrawal and use of the water;
(5) other water quality measurements; and
(6) other factors determined to be relevant by the
committee.
(c) The committee shall update the classification system
described by Subsection (b) on a schedule consistent with updates
to the state water plan under Section 16.051.
SECTION 1.02. Chapter 12, Agriculture Code, is amended by
adding Section 12.0165 to read as follows:
Sec. 12.0165. RULES RELATING TO GROUNDWATER. In adopting
rules relating to groundwater, the department shall consider the
classification system adopted by the Texas Groundwater Protection
Committee under Section 26.405(b), Water Code.
SECTION 1.03. Subchapter B, Chapter 201, Agriculture Code,
is amended by adding Section 201.0205 to read as follows:
Sec. 201.0205. RULES RELATING TO GROUNDWATER. In adopting
rules relating to groundwater, the state board shall consider the
classification system adopted by the Texas Groundwater Protection
Committee under Section 26.405(b), Water Code.
SECTION 1.04. Subchapter C, Chapter 88, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 88.2015 to read as follows:
Sec. 88.2015. ACTIONS RELATING TO GROUNDWATER. An
experiment station established under Section 88.201 shall consider
the classification system adopted by the Texas Groundwater
Protection Committee under Section 26.405(b), Water Code, in
carrying out the purposes of this subchapter.
SECTION 1.05. Subchapter A, Chapter 341, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 341.003 to read as follows:
Sec. 341.003. RULES RELATING TO GROUNDWATER. In adopting
rules relating to groundwater, the executive commissioner of the
Health and Human Services Commission shall consider the
classification system adopted by the Texas Groundwater Protection
Committee under Section 26.405(b), Water Code.
SECTION 1.06. Subchapter C, Chapter 81, Natural Resources
Code, is amended by adding Section 81.071 to read as follows:
Sec. 81.071. RULES RELATING TO GROUNDWATER. In adopting
rules relating to groundwater, the commission shall consider the
classification system adopted by the Texas Groundwater Protection
Committee under Section 26.405(b), Water Code.
SECTION 1.07. Subchapter D, Chapter 51, Occupations Code,
is amended by adding Section 51.2045 to read as follows:
Sec. 51.2045. RULES RELATING TO GROUNDWATER. In adopting
rules relating to groundwater, the commission shall consider the
classification system adopted by the Texas Groundwater Protection
Committee under Section 26.405(b), Water Code.
SECTION 1.08. Subchapter D, Chapter 5, Water Code, is
amended by adding Section 5.1032 to read as follows:
Sec. 5.1032. RULES RELATING TO GROUNDWATER. In adopting
rules relating to groundwater, the commission shall consider the
classification system adopted by the Texas Groundwater Protection
Committee under Section 26.405(b).
SECTION 1.09. Subchapter D, Chapter 6, Water Code, is
amended by adding Section 6.116 to read as follows:
Sec. 6.116. RULES RELATING TO GROUNDWATER. In adopting
rules relating to groundwater, the board shall consider the
classification system adopted by the Texas Groundwater Protection
Committee under Section 26.405(b).
ARTICLE 2. REPORT OF ELECTRIC LOGS
SECTION 2.01. Section 91.552, Natural Resources Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(e) The commission shall submit an annual report of the
electric logs collected by the commission under this section to the
Texas Water Development Board.
SECTION 2.02. Section 91.554, Natural Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 91.554. AVAILABILITY OF CONFIDENTIAL ELECTRIC LOGS.
If the commission requires an electric log to be filed before the
expiration of a period of confidentiality, the commission shall
make that electric log available for inspection during the period
of confidentiality only to:
(1) a person authorized in writing by the operator;
[and]
(2) members of the commission and its employees in the
exercise of their powers and duties under this code; and
(3) members of the Texas Water Development Board and
its employees in the exercise of their powers and duties under the
Water Code.
ARTICLE 3. FORMULATION OF DESIRED FUTURE CONDITIONS
SECTION 3.01. Section 36.101(a), Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A district may make and enforce rules, including rules
limiting groundwater production based on tract size or the spacing
of wells, to provide for conserving, preserving, protecting, and
recharging of the groundwater or of a groundwater reservoir or its
subdivisions in order to control subsidence, prevent degradation of
water quality, or prevent waste of groundwater and to carry out the
powers and duties provided by this chapter. In adopting a rule
under this chapter, a district shall:
(1) consider all groundwater uses and needs;
(2) develop rules that are fair and impartial;
(3) consider the groundwater ownership and rights
described by Section 36.002;
(4) consider the public interest in conservation,
preservation, protection, recharging, and prevention of waste of
groundwater, and of groundwater reservoirs or their subdivisions,
and in controlling subsidence caused by withdrawal of groundwater
from those groundwater reservoirs or their subdivisions,
consistent with the objectives of Section 59, Article XVI, Texas
Constitution;
(5) consider the goals developed as part of the
district's management plan under Section 36.1071; [and]
(6) not discriminate between land that is irrigated
for production and land that was irrigated for production and
enrolled or participating in a federal conservation program; and
(7) consider the classification system adopted by the
Texas Groundwater Protection Committee under Section 26.405(b).
SECTION 3.02. Section 36.108, Water Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (c-1) and amending Subsections (d) and (d-1) to
read as follows:
(c-1) The development board shall develop technical
guidance documents to assist districts in formulating and adopting
desired future conditions, including guidance documents for
establishing different desired future conditions for different
classifications of groundwater in the classification system
adopted by the Texas Groundwater Protection Committee under Section
26.405(b), and shall make the guidance documents available to the
districts.
(d) Not later than September 1, 2010, 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 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;
(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) the technical guidance documents developed by the
development board under Subsection (c-1); and
(10) any other information relevant to the specific
desired future conditions.
(d-1) The districts may establish different desired future
conditions for:
(1) each aquifer, subdivision of an aquifer, or
geologic strata located in whole or in part within the boundaries of
the management area; [or]
(2) each geographic area overlying an aquifer in whole
or in part or subdivision of an aquifer within the boundaries of the
management area; or
(3) each classification of groundwater in the
classification system adopted by the Texas Groundwater Protection
Committee under Section 26.405(b).
ARTICLE 4. TRANSITION AND EFFECTIVE DATE
SECTION 4.01. (a) Not later than December 31, 2015, the
Texas Groundwater Protection Committee by rule shall adopt the
groundwater classification system required by Section 26.405,
Water Code, as amended by this Act.
(b) Not later than August 31, 2016, the Texas Water
Development Board shall develop and make available technical
guidance documents as required by Section 36.108, Water Code, as
amended by this Act.
SECTION 4.02. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.