| 1 | 1 | | 81R5440 SMH-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Hancock H.B. No. 2254 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to the authority of a local government to prohibit the |
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| 8 | 8 | | Railroad Commission of Texas or the Texas Commission on |
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| 9 | 9 | | Environmental Quality from issuing a permit for a disposal well. |
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| 10 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 11 | 11 | | SECTION 1. Section 27.033, Water Code, is amended to read as |
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| 12 | 12 | | follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | Sec. 27.033. LETTER FROM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. A person |
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| 14 | 14 | | making application to the railroad commission for a permit under |
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| 15 | 15 | | this chapter shall submit with the application a letter from the |
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| 16 | 16 | | executive director stating that: |
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| 17 | 17 | | (1) drilling and using the disposal well and injecting |
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| 18 | 18 | | oil and gas waste into the subsurface stratum will not endanger the |
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| 19 | 19 | | freshwater strata in that area; |
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| 20 | 20 | | (2) [and that] the formation or stratum to be used for |
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| 21 | 21 | | the disposal is not freshwater sand; and |
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| 22 | 22 | | (3) the commission has not been notified by a local |
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| 23 | 23 | | government as defined by Section 26.001 the territory of which |
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| 24 | 24 | | overlies the formation or stratum to be used for the disposal that |
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| 25 | 25 | | the local government has determined that the formation or stratum |
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| 26 | 26 | | is unsuited for that use because of its proximity to a water table. |
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| 27 | 27 | | SECTION 2. Section 27.051, Water Code, is amended by adding |
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| 28 | 28 | | Subsection (i) to read as follows: |
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| 29 | 29 | | (i) The commission or railroad commission may not issue a |
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| 30 | 30 | | permit for a disposal well if a local government as defined by |
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| 31 | 31 | | Section 26.001 the territory of which overlies the formation or |
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| 32 | 32 | | stratum to be used for the disposal determines that the formation or |
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| 33 | 33 | | stratum is unsuited for that use because of its proximity to a water |
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| 34 | 34 | | table and notifies the commission or railroad commission, as |
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| 35 | 35 | | applicable, of its determination. |
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| 36 | 36 | | SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply to |
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| 37 | 37 | | permit applications pending before the Railroad Commission of Texas |
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| 38 | 38 | | or the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on or after the |
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| 39 | 39 | | effective date of this Act. A permit issued before the effective |
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| 40 | 40 | | date of this Act is governed by the law in effect when the permit was |
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| 41 | 41 | | issued, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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| 42 | 42 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 43 | 43 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 44 | 44 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 45 | 45 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 46 | 46 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |
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