Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB43 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R1668 PMO-D
2	2	By: Corte H.B. No. 43
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to permitting requirements of groundwater conservation
8	8	districts, including permits to transfer water.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Sections 36.113(c), (h), and (i), Water Code,
11	11	are amended to read as follows:
12	12	(c) A district may require that the following be included in
13	13	the permit or permit amendment application:
14	14	(1) the name and mailing address of the applicant and
15	15	the owner of the land on which the well will be located;
16	16	(2) if the applicant is other than the owner of the
17	17	property, documentation establishing the applicable authority to
18	18	construct and operate a well for the proposed use;
19	19	(3) a statement of the nature, location, and purpose
20	20	of the proposed use and the amount of water to be used for each
21	21	purpose;
22	22	(4) a water conservation plan or a declaration that
23	23	the applicant will comply with the district's management plan;
24	24	(5) the location of each well and the estimated rate at
25	25	which water will be withdrawn;
26	26	(6) a water well closure plan or a declaration that the
27	27	applicant will comply with well plugging guidelines and report
28	28	closure to the commission; and
29	29	(7) a drought contingency plan.
30	30	(g) [(h)] In issuing a permit for an existing or historic
31	31	use, a district may not discriminate between land that is irrigated
32	32	for production and land or wells on land that was irrigated for
33	33	production and enrolled or participating in a federal conservation
34	34	program.
35	35	(h) [(i)] A permitting decision by a district is void if:
36	36	(1) the district makes its decision in violation of
37	37	Subsection (g) [(h)]; and
38	38	(2) the district would have reached a different
39	39	decision if the district had treated land or wells on land that was
40	40	irrigated for production and enrolled or participating in a federal
41	41	conservation program the same as land irrigated for production.
42	42	SECTION 2. Section 36.1131(b), Water Code, is amended to
43	43	read as follows:
44	44	(b) The permit may include:
45	45	(1) the name and address of the person to whom the
46	46	permit is issued;
47	47	(2) the location of the well;
48	48	(3) the date the permit is to expire if no well is
49	49	drilled;
50	50	(4) a statement of the purpose for which the well is to
51	51	be used;
52	52	(5) a requirement that the water withdrawn under the
53	53	permit be put to beneficial use at all times;
54	54	(6) the location of the use of the water from the well;
55	55	(7) a water well closure plan or a declaration that the
56	56	applicant will comply with well plugging guidelines and report
57	57	closure to the commission;
58	58	(8) the conditions and restrictions, if any, placed on
59	59	the rate and amount of withdrawal;
60	60	(9) any conservation-oriented methods of drilling and
61	61	operating prescribed by the district;
62	62	(10) a drought contingency plan prescribed by the
63	63	district; and
64	64	(11) other terms and conditions as provided by Section
65	65	36.113 or 36.122.
66	66	SECTION 3. Sections 36.122(b), (c), (d), (g), (h), (i), and
67	67	(k), Water Code, are amended to read as follows:
68	68	(b) A district may promulgate rules requiring a person to
69	69	obtain, under Section 36.113, a well permit or an amendment to a
70	70	well permit [under Section 36.113] from the district authorizing
71	71	[for] the transfer of groundwater produced from the well out of the
72	72	district to:
73	73	(1) increase, on or after March 2, 1997, the amount of
74	74	groundwater to be transferred under a continuing arrangement in
75	75	effect before that date; or
76	76	(2) transfer groundwater out of the district on or
77	77	after March 2, 1997, under a new arrangement.
78	78	(c) Except as provided in Section 36.113(e), the district
79	79	may not impose more restrictive permit conditions on transfers out
80	80	of the district [transporters] than the district imposes on
81	81	existing in-district uses [users].
82	82	(d) The district may impose a reasonable fee for processing
83	83	a well permit [an] application that proposes transferring
84	84	groundwater outside the district's boundaries [under this
85	85	section]. The fee may not exceed fees that the district imposes for
86	86	processing other applications under Section 36.113. An application
87	87	filed to comply with this section shall be considered and processed
88	88	under the same procedures as other applications for permits under
89	89	Section 36.113 and shall be combined with applications filed to
90	90	obtain a permit for in-district water use under Section 36.113 from
91	91	the same applicant.
92	92	(g) The district may not deny a permit based on the fact that
93	93	the applicant proposes transferring [seeks to transfer]
94	94	groundwater outside [of] the district but may limit the amount of
95	95	water that may be transferred [a permit issued under this section]
96	96	if conditions in Subsection (f) warrant the limitation, subject to
97	97	Subsection (c).
98	98	(h) In addition to conditions provided by Section 36.1131,
99	99	the permit shall specify:
100	100	(1) the amount of water that may be transferred out of
101	101	the district; and
102	102	(2) the term [period] for which the water may be
103	103	produced and transferred.
104	104	(i) The term [period] specified by Subsection (h)(2) shall
105	105	be:
106	106	(1) at least three years if construction of a
107	107	conveyance system has not been initiated prior to the issuance of
108	108	the permit; or
109	109	(2) at least 30 years if construction of a conveyance
110	110	system has been initiated prior to the issuance of the permit.
111	111	(k) Notwithstanding the term [period] specified in
112	112	Subsections (i) and (j) during which water may be transferred under
113	113	a permit, a district may periodically review the amount of water
114	114	that may be transferred under the permit and may limit the amount if
115	115	additional factors considered in Subsection (f) warrant the
116	116	limitation, subject to Subsection (c). The review described by
117	117	this subsection may take place not more frequently than the period
118	118	provided for the review or renewal of [regular] permits issued by
119	119	the district under Section 36.113 for in-district uses. In its
120	120	determination of whether to renew a permit at the end of the term
121	121	specified by Subsection (h)(2) [issued under this section], the
122	122	district shall consider relevant and current data for the
123	123	conservation of groundwater resources and shall consider the permit
124	124	in the same manner it would consider any other permit in the
125	125	district.
126	126	SECTION 4. Sections 36.1131(b) and 36.122, Water Code, as
127	127	amended by this Act, apply only to an application for a permit
128	128	submitted to a groundwater conservation district on or after the
129	129	effective date of this Act. An application for a permit submitted to
130	130	a district before that date is governed by the law in effect on the
131	131	date the application was submitted, and the former law is continued
132	132	in effect for that purpose.
133	133	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.