81R1668 PMO-D
By: Corte H.B. No. 43
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to permitting requirements of groundwater conservation
districts, including permits to transfer water.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 36.113(c), (h), and (i), Water Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(c) A district may require that the following be included in
the permit or permit amendment application:
(1) the name and mailing address of the applicant and
the owner of the land on which the well will be located;
(2) if the applicant is other than the owner of the
property, documentation establishing the applicable authority to
construct and operate a well for the proposed use;
(3) a statement of the nature, location, and purpose
of the proposed use and the amount of water to be used for each
purpose;
(4) a water conservation plan or a declaration that
the applicant will comply with the district's management plan;
(5) the location of each well and the estimated rate at
which water will be withdrawn;
(6) a water well closure plan or a declaration that the
applicant will comply with well plugging guidelines and report
closure to the commission; and
(7) a drought contingency plan.
(g) [(h)] In issuing a permit for an existing or historic
use, a district may not discriminate between land that is irrigated
for production and land or wells on land that was irrigated for
production and enrolled or participating in a federal conservation
program.
(h) [(i)] A permitting decision by a district is void if:
(1) the district makes its decision in violation of
Subsection (g) [(h)]; and
(2) the district would have reached a different
decision if the district had treated land or wells on land that was
irrigated for production and enrolled or participating in a federal
conservation program the same as land irrigated for production.
SECTION 2. Section 36.1131(b), Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) The permit may include:
(1) the name and address of the person to whom the
permit is issued;
(2) the location of the well;
(3) the date the permit is to expire if no well is
drilled;
(4) a statement of the purpose for which the well is to
be used;
(5) a requirement that the water withdrawn under the
permit be put to beneficial use at all times;
(6) the location of the use of the water from the well;
(7) a water well closure plan or a declaration that the
applicant will comply with well plugging guidelines and report
closure to the commission;
(8) the conditions and restrictions, if any, placed on
the rate and amount of withdrawal;
(9) any conservation-oriented methods of drilling and
operating prescribed by the district;
(10) a drought contingency plan prescribed by the
district; and
(11) other terms and conditions as provided by Section
36.113 or 36.122.
SECTION 3. Sections 36.122(b), (c), (d), (g), (h), (i), and
(k), Water Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) A district may promulgate rules requiring a person to
obtain, under Section 36.113, a well permit or an amendment to a
well permit [under Section 36.113] from the district authorizing
[for] the transfer of groundwater produced from the well 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 Section 36.113(e), the district
may not impose more restrictive permit conditions on transfers out
of the district [transporters] than the district imposes on
existing in-district uses [users].
(d) The district may impose a reasonable fee for processing
a well permit [an] application that proposes transferring
groundwater outside the district's boundaries [under this
section]. The fee may not exceed fees that the district imposes for
processing other applications under Section 36.113. An application
filed 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.
(g) The district may not deny a permit based on the fact that
the applicant proposes transferring [seeks to transfer]
groundwater outside [of] the district but may limit the amount of
water that may be transferred [a permit issued under this section]
if conditions in Subsection (f) warrant the limitation, subject to
Subsection (c).
(h) In addition to conditions provided by Section 36.1131,
the permit shall specify:
(1) the amount of water that may be transferred out of
the district; and
(2) the term [period] for which the water may be
produced and transferred.
(i) The term [period] specified by Subsection (h)(2) shall
be:
(1) at least three years if construction of a
conveyance system has not been initiated prior to the issuance of
the permit; or
(2) at least 30 years if construction of a conveyance
system has been initiated prior to the issuance of the permit.
(k) Notwithstanding the term [period] specified in
Subsections (i) and (j) during which water may be transferred under
a permit, a district may periodically review the amount of water
that may be transferred under the permit and may limit the amount if
additional factors considered in Subsection (f) warrant the
limitation, subject to Subsection (c). The review described by
this subsection may take place not more frequently than the period
provided for the review or renewal of [regular] permits issued by
the district under Section 36.113 for in-district uses. In its
determination of whether to renew a permit at the end of the term
specified by Subsection (h)(2) [issued under this section], the
district shall consider relevant and current data for the
conservation of groundwater resources and shall consider the permit
in the same manner it would consider any other permit in the
district.
SECTION 4. Sections 36.1131(b) and 36.122, Water Code, as
amended by this Act, apply only to an application for a permit
submitted to a groundwater conservation district on or after the
effective date of this Act. An application for a permit submitted to
a district before that date is governed by the law in effect on the
date the application was submitted, and the former law is continued
in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.