Indiana 2025 Regular Session

Indiana Senate Bill SB0256 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2	Introduced Version
3	3	SENATE BILL No. 256
4	4	_____
5	5	DIGEST OF INTRODUCED BILL
6	6	Citations Affected: IC 2-5-52.5; IC 14-8-2; IC 14-25-4.5.
7	7	Synopsis: Ground water. Establishes the ground water and aquifer
8	8	preservation task force to recommend water regulations to the
9	9	legislative council. Creates a two year moratorium on the establishment
10	10	of certain major ground water withdrawal facilities during the period
11	11	beginning May 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2027. Provides an
12	12	exception to the moratorium.
13	13	Effective: Upon passage.
14	14	Deery
15	15	January 13, 2025, read first time and referred to Committee on Utilities.
16	16	2025 IN 256—LS 6833/DI 150 Introduced
17	17	First Regular Session of the 124th General Assembly (2025)
18	18	PRINTING CODE. Amendments: Whenever an existing statute (or a section of the Indiana
19	19	Constitution) is being amended, the text of the existing provision will appear in this style type,
20	20	additions will appear in this style type, and deletions will appear in this style type.
21	21	Additions: Whenever a new statutory provision is being enacted (or a new constitutional
22	22	provision adopted), the text of the new provision will appear in this style type. Also, the
23	23	word NEW will appear in that style type in the introductory clause of each SECTION that adds
24	24	a new provision to the Indiana Code or the Indiana Constitution.
25	25	Conflict reconciliation: Text in a statute in this style type or this style type reconciles conflicts
26	26	between statutes enacted by the 2024 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
27	27	SENATE BILL No. 256
28	28	A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning
29	29	natural and cultural resources.
30	30	Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:
31	31	1 SECTION 1. IC 2-5-52.5 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE
32	32	2 AS A NEW CHAPTER TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
33	33	3 UPON PASSAGE]:
34	34	4 Chapter 52.5. Ground Water and Aquifer Preservation Task
35	35	5 Force
36	36	6 Sec. 1. As used in this chapter, "task force" refers to the ground
37	37	7 water and aquifer preservation task force established by section 2
38	38	8 of this chapter.
39	39	9 Sec. 2. The ground water and aquifer preservation task force is
40	40	10 established as a temporary task force serving the general assembly.
41	41	11 Sec. 3. (a) The task force consists of the following thirteen (13)
42	42	12 members:
43	43	13 (1) The chair of the senate utilities committee appointed by
44	44	14 the president pro tempore.
45	45	15 (2) The chair of the senate natural resources committee
46	46	16 appointed by the president pro tempore.
47	47	17 (3) One (1) additional member of the senate appointed by the
48	48	2025 IN 256—LS 6833/DI 150 2
49	49	1 president pro tempore.
50	50	2 (4) The ranking minority member of the senate utilities
51	51	3 committee appointed by the minority leader of the senate.
52	52	4 (5) The ranking minority member of the senate natural
53	53	5 resources committee appointed by the minority leader of the
54	54	6 senate.
55	55	7 (6) The chair of the house utilities, energy and
56	56	8 telecommunications committee appointed by the speaker.
57	57	9 (7) The chair of the house natural resources committee
58	58	10 appointed by the speaker.
59	59	11 (8) One (1) additional member of the house of representatives
60	60	12 appointed by the speaker.
61	61	13 (9) The ranking minority member of the house utilities,
62	62	14 energy and telecommunications committee appointed by the
63	63	15 minority leader of the house of representatives.
64	64	16 (10) The ranking minority member of the house natural
65	65	17 resources committee appointed by the minority leader of the
66	66	18 house of representatives.
67	67	19 (11) One (1) member who has experience in agriculture and
68	68	20 irrigation appointed by the governor.
69	69	21 (12) One (1) member who has experience in economic
70	70	22 development appointed by the governor.
71	71	23 (13) One (1) member who has experience in water
72	72	24 conservation and ground water hydrology or hydrogeology
73	73	25 appointed by the governor.
74	74	26 (b) A member appointed under subsection (a)(11) through
75	75	27 (a)(13) may not be a member of the general assembly.
76	76	28 (c) If a vacancy occurs on the task force, the appointing
77	77	29 authority that appointed the member whose position is vacant shall
78	78	30 appoint an individual to fill the vacancy.
79	79	31 (d) An individual appointed to fill a vacancy must have the
80	80	32 qualifications that the member appointed by the appointing
81	81	33 authority possessed.
82	82	34 (e) An individual appointed to fill a vacancy serves for the
83	83	35 remainder of the term of the member the individual is appointed
84	84	36 to succeed.
85	85	37 Sec. 4. (a) Seven (7) members of the task force constitute a
86	86	38 quorum.
87	87	39 (b) The affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the
88	88	40 task force is necessary for the task force to take official action
89	89	41 other than to meet and take testimony.
90	90	42 (c) The president pro tempore shall appoint one (1) member
91	91	2025 IN 256—LS 6833/DI 150 3
92	92	1 appointed under section 3(a)(1), 3(a)(2), or 3(a)(3) of this chapter
93	93	2 to serve as a co-chair. The speaker shall appoint one (1) member
94	94	3 appointed under section 3(a)(6), 3(a)(7), or 3(a)(8) of this chapter
95	95	4 to serve as a co-chair. The task force shall meet at the call of the
96	96	5 co-chairs.
97	97	6 Sec. 5. (a) The task force shall meet at least three (3) times in
98	98	7 calendar year 2025, and at least four (4) times in calendar year
99	99	8 2026.
100	100	9 (b) All meetings of the task force are open to the public in
101	101	10 accordance with and subject to IC 5-14-1.5. All records of the task
102	102	11 force are subject to the requirements of IC 5-14-3.
103	103	12 Sec. 6. The task force shall study the following issues:
104	104	13 (1) Ways to protect the public's interest against the potential
105	105	14 for excessive removal of ground water from one part of
106	106	15 Indiana to another, including the criteria that should be
107	107	16 considered and the processes that should be followed before
108	108	17 large amounts of water can be moved.
109	109	18 (2) Strategies to improve ground water monitoring and to
110	110	19 track the supply and demand for water in Indiana and how to
111	111	20 pay for these tracking and monitoring networks.
112	112	21 (3) Whether the state should seek agreements with
113	113	22 neighboring states to protect water resources that cross state
114	114	23 borders.
115	115	24 (4) Whether the existing method of categorizing water users
116	116	25 as significant or nonsignificant is sufficient or whether new
117	117	26 categories of water users should be considered to distinguish
118	118	27 irrigators from major ground water users of the sort
119	119	28 associated with water intensive industries.
120	120	29 (5) How to balance conservation and stewardship of Indiana's
121	121	30 water resources with the opportunity to market Indiana's
122	122	31 water resources to compete for water intensive economic
123	123	32 activity.
124	124	33 Sec. 7. The task force shall:
125	125	34 (1) develop recommendations for the legislative council
126	126	35 concerning the issues set forth in section 6 of this chapter;
127	127	36 (2) prepare a report setting forth the task force's findings and
128	128	37 recommendations; and
129	129	38 (3) not later than December 1, 2026, submit the report to the
130	130	39 legislative council in an electronic format under IC 5-14-6.
131	131	40 Sec. 8. The legislative services agency shall provide staff support
132	132	41 to the task force.
133	133	42 Sec. 9. (a) Each member of the task force who is not a state
134	134	2025 IN 256—LS 6833/DI 150 4
135	135	1 employee is entitled to receive the same per diem, mileage, and
136	136	2 travel allowances paid to individuals who serve as legislative and
137	137	3 lay members, respectively, of interim study committees established
138	138	4 by the legislative council.
139	139	5 (b) Each member of the task force who is a state employee is
140	140	6 entitled to reimbursement for traveling expenses as provided under
141	141	7 IC 4-13-1-4 and other expenses actually incurred in connection
142	142	8 with the member's duties as provided in the state policies and
143	143	9 procedures established by the Indiana department of
144	144	10 administration and approved by the budget agency.
145	145	11 (c) Each member of the task force who is a member of the
146	146	12 general assembly is entitled to receive the same per diem, mileage,
147	147	13 and travel allowances paid to members of the general assembly
148	148	14 serving on interim study committees established by the legislative
149	149	15 council.
150	150	16 (d) Per diem, mileage, and travel allowances paid under this
151	151	17 chapter shall be paid from appropriations made to the legislative
152	152	18 council or the legislative services agency.
153	153	19 Sec. 10. This chapter expires July 1, 2027.
154	154	20 SECTION 2. IC 14-8-2-61.5 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE
155	155	21 AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
156	156	22 UPON PASSAGE]: Sec. 61.5. "County executive", for purposes of
157	157	23 IC 14-25-4.5, has the meaning set forth in IC 14-25-4.5-1.
158	158	24 SECTION 3. IC 14-8-2-118.2 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA
159	159	25 CODE AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS
160	160	26 [EFFECTIVE UPON PASSAGE]: Sec. 118.2. "Ground water
161	161	27 withdrawal facility", for purposes of IC 14-25-4.5, has the meaning
162	162	28 set forth in IC 14-25-4.5-2.
163	163	29 SECTION 4. IC 14-8-2-157.7 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA
164	164	30 CODE AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS
165	165	31 [EFFECTIVE UPON PASSAGE]: Sec. 157.7. "Major ground water
166	166	32 withdrawal facility", for purposes of IC 14-25-4.5, has the meaning
167	167	33 set forth in IC 14-25-4.5-3.
168	168	34 SECTION 5. IC 14-8-2-202, AS AMENDED BY P.L.39-2018,
169	169	35 SECTION 4, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
170	170	36 UPON PASSAGE]: Sec. 202. (a) "Person" means, except as provided
171	171	37 in subsections (b) through (i), (j), an individual, a partnership, an
172	172	38 association, a fiduciary, an executor or administrator, a limited liability
173	173	39 company, or a corporation.
174	174	40 (b) "Person", for purposes of IC 14-12-2, has the meaning set forth
175	175	41 in IC 14-12-2-3.
176	176	42 (c) "Person", for purposes of IC 14-16, IC 14-22-28, IC 14-24,
177	177	2025 IN 256—LS 6833/DI 150 5
178	178	1 IC 14-26-2, IC 14-28-1, and IC 14-38-2, means an individual, a
179	179	2 partnership, an association, a fiduciary, an executor or administrator,
180	180	3 a limited liability company, a corporation, other legal entity, the state,
181	181	4 or an agency, a political subdivision, or another instrumentality of the
182	182	5 state.
183	183	6 (d) "Person", for purposes of IC 14-12-1, IC 14-12-2, IC 14-21,
184	184	7 IC 14-25 through IC 14-29, except as otherwise provided in this
185	185	8 section, IC 14-33, IC 14-34, and IC 14-37, means an individual, a
186	186	9 partnership, an association, a fiduciary, an executor or administrator,
187	187	10 a limited liability company, a corporation, or a governmental entity.
188	188	11 (e) "Person", for purposes of IC 14-22-31.5, has the meaning set
189	189	12 forth in IC 14-22-31.5-2.
190	190	13 (f) "Person", for purposes of IC 14-25-3, has the meaning set forth
191	191	14 in IC 14-25-3-1.
192	192	15 (g) "Person", for purposes of IC 14-25-4.5, has the meaning set
193	193	16 forth in IC 14-25-4.5-4.
194	194	17 (g) (h) "Person", for the purposes of IC 14-25-7, has the meaning set
195	195	18 forth in IC 14-25-7-5.
196	196	19 (h) (i) "Person", for purposes of IC 14-34, means an individual, a
197	197	20 partnership, a limited liability company, an association, a society, a
198	198	21 joint stock company, a firm, a company, a corporation, or other
199	199	22 business organization.
200	200	23 (i) (j) "Person", for purposes of IC 14-38-1, has the meaning set
201	201	24 forth in IC 14-38-1-2.
202	202	25 SECTION 6. IC 14-8-2-299.2 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA
203	203	26 CODE AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS
204	204	27 [EFFECTIVE UPON PASSAGE]: Sec. 299.2. "Wabash River basin",
205	205	28 for purposes of IC 14-25-4.5, has the meaning set forth in
206	206	29 IC 14-25-4.5-5.
207	207	30 SECTION 7. IC 14-25-4.5 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE
208	208	31 AS A NEW CHAPTER TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
209	209	32 UPON PASSAGE]:
210	210	33 Chapter 4.5. Moratorium on New Major Ground Water
211	211	34 Withdrawal Facilities
212	212	35 Sec. 1. As used in this chapter, "county executive" means the
213	213	36 board of commissioners of a county elected under IC 36-2-2-2.
214	214	37 Sec. 2. As used in this chapter, "ground water withdrawal
215	215	38 facility" means a facility that meets all of the following conditions:
216	216	39 (1) The facility includes:
217	217	40 (A) one (1) well; or
218	218	41 (B) two (2) or more wells under common ownership or
219	219	42 control.
220	220	2025 IN 256—LS 6833/DI 150 6
221	221	1 (2) The well or wells described in subdivision (1) have, in the
222	222	2 aggregate, from all sources and by all methods, the capability
223	223	3 of withdrawing not more than nine million nine hundred
224	224	4 ninety-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine (9,999,999)
225	225	5 gallons of ground water from one (1) or more aquifers in one
226	226	6 (1) day.
227	227	7 (3) Either:
228	228	8 (A) the facility is connected to existing pipeline facilities; or
229	229	9 (B) plans for the facility include the connection of the
230	230	10 facility to pipeline facilities;
231	231	11 through which not more than four million nine hundred
232	232	12 ninety-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine (4,999,999)
233	233	13 gallons of ground water withdrawn by the well or wells to
234	234	14 which subdivision (1) refers could be transported in one (1)
235	235	15 day to a destination located at least twenty (20) miles from the
236	236	16 well or wells.
237	237	17 Sec. 3. As used in this chapter, "major ground water withdrawal
238	238	18 facility" means a facility that meets all of the following conditions:
239	239	19 (1) The facility includes:
240	240	20 (A) one (1) well; or
241	241	21 (B) two (2) or more wells under common ownership or
242	242	22 control.
243	243	23 (2) The well or wells described in subdivision (1) have, in the
244	244	24 aggregate, from all sources and by all methods, the capability
245	245	25 of withdrawing at least ten million (10,000,000) gallons of
246	246	26 ground water from one (1) or more aquifers in one (1) day.
247	247	27 (3) Either:
248	248	28 (A) the facility is connected to existing pipeline facilities; or
249	249	29 (B) plans for the facility include the connection of the
250	250	30 facility to pipeline facilities;
251	251	31 through which at least five million (5,000,000) gallons of
252	252	32 ground water withdrawn by the well or wells to which
253	253	33 subdivision (1) refers could be transported in one (1) day to a
254	254	34 destination located at least twenty (20) miles from the well or
255	255	35 wells.
256	256	36 Sec. 4. As used in this chapter, "person" means any of the
257	257	37 following:
258	258	38 (1) An individual.
259	259	39 (2) A corporation, including a body corporate and politic
260	260	40 exercising public functions.
261	261	41 (3) A limited liability company, partnership, trust, or
262	262	42 unincorporated association.
263	263	2025 IN 256—LS 6833/DI 150 7
264	264	1 (4) The state.
265	265	2 (5) A unit (as defined in IC 36-1-2-23).
266	266	3 (6) A board, a bureau, a commission, a division, a department,
267	267	4 an officer, an agency, an authority, or an instrumentality of
268	268	5 the state or of a unit.
269	269	6 (7) Two (2) or more of the persons identified in subdivisions
270	270	7 (1) through (6) acting in concert.
271	271	8 Sec. 5. As used in this chapter, "Wabash River basin" means the
272	272	9 area in:
273	273	10 (1) Tippecanoe County;
274	274	11 (2) Warren County;
275	275	12 (3) Vermillion County;
276	276	13 (4) Fountain County;
277	277	14 (5) Parke County; and
278	278	15 (6) Montgomery County;
279	279	16 that is drained by the Wabash River and the tributaries of the
280	280	17 Wabash River.
281	281	18 Sec. 6. Except as provided in sections 8, 9, and 10 of this chapter,
282	282	19 a person shall not establish a major ground water withdrawal
283	283	20 facility in the Wabash River basin during the period beginning
284	284	21 May 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2027.
285	285	22 Sec. 7. Except as provided in section 9 of this chapter, no person
286	286	23 shall use state funding to plan the establishment of a major ground
287	287	24 water withdrawal facility in the Wabash River basin during the
288	288	25 period beginning May 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2027.
289	289	26 Sec. 8. A county executive of a county located in the Wabash
290	290	27 River basin may adopt an order allowing a person to establish a
291	291	28 major ground water withdrawal facility in the county during the
292	292	29 period beginning May 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2027. However,
293	293	30 if the proposed major ground water withdrawal facility will
294	294	31 withdraw water from or transport water through two (2) or more
295	295	32 counties, the county executive of every county must adopt an order
296	296	33 allowing the establishment of a major ground water withdrawal
297	297	34 facility to proceed.
298	298	35 Sec. 9. The prohibitions in sections 6 and 7 of this chapter do not
299	299	36 apply to an operating ground water withdrawal facility that
300	300	37 increases its current:
301	301	38 (1) withdrawal; or
302	302	39 (2) pipeline;
303	303	40 capability by not more than two million (2,000,000) gallons of
304	304	41 water per day.
305	305	42 Sec. 10. The prohibitions in sections 6 and 7 of this chapter do
306	306	2025 IN 256—LS 6833/DI 150 8
307	307	1 not apply to the establishment or planning of a major ground
308	308	2 water withdrawal facility in the Wabash River basin for which a
309	309	3 contract concerning the establishment or planning of the major
310	310	4 ground water withdrawal facility was entered into before January
311	311	5 1, 2025.
312	312	6 Sec. 11. This chapter expires July 1, 2028.
313	313	7 SECTION 8. An emergency is declared for this act.
314	314	2025 IN 256—LS 6833/DI 150