Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB4826 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R27303 PMO-D
2	2	By: Kuempel H.B. No. 4826
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the issuance of permits by the Gonzales County
8	8	Underground Water Conservation District for certain water supply
9	9	projects.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Chapter 368, Acts of the 74th Legislature,
12	12	Regular Session, 1995, is amended by adding Section 3A to read as
13	13	follows:
14	14	Sec. 3A. WATER SUPPLY PROJECTS INVOLVING TRANSFERS OF
15	15	GROUNDWATER OUTSIDE DISTRICT. (a) In this section:
16	16	(1) "Engineering report" means the engineering plans
17	17	and specifications provided on or about the project start date that
18	18	describe the scope and capacity of the proposed water supply
19	19	project.
20	20	(2) "Initial permit" means the first of one or more
21	21	water supply permits granted by the district for the construction
22	22	of a water supply project.
23	23	(3) "Project start date" means the earlier of the date
24	24	on which:
25	25	(A) an application for an initial permit is
26	26	submitted to the district for any purpose, including a review for
27	27	administrative completeness; or
28	28	(B) a plan for a project to transfer groundwater
29	29	out of the district is submitted to the district.
30	30	(4) "Water supply permit" includes any permit or other
31	31	authorization granted by the district related to and required for a
32	32	water supply project.
33	33	(5) "Water supply project" means a project that
34	34	supplies groundwater from one or more wells in the district to a
35	35	retail water utility. A water supply project includes any permits,
36	36	plans, and engineering reports and specifications required for the
37	37	design, construction, testing, and completion of the project during
38	38	all phases of the project from obtaining district permission to
39	39	drill test wells and construct the conveyance system to the
40	40	permitting and completion of all wells necessary to supply the
41	41	groundwater needed to meet the design capacity of the completed
42	42	conveyance system.
43	43	(b) This section applies only to a water supply project:
44	44	(1) that is intended to transfer groundwater from one
45	45	or more wells in the district to a retail water utility outside the
46	46	district; and
47	47	(2) for which the supply of groundwater available in
48	48	the district on the project start date exceeds the amount of
49	49	groundwater specified for transfer by the conveyance system
50	50	described in the engineering report.
51	51	(c) The rights to which a permit applicant is entitled under
52	52	this section accrue on the project start date. For purposes of
53	53	determining the project start date, the date an application for a
54	54	water supply permit or a plan to transfer groundwater is submitted
55	55	to the district is considered to be the date the applicant actually
56	56	files the application or plan with the district or deposits the
57	57	application or plan with the United States Postal Service by
58	58	certified mail addressed to the district's office.
59	59	(d) The rules of the district in effect on the project start
60	60	date include any order, ordinance, rate, expiration date, limit, or
61	61	other properly adopted district requirement in effect on that date.
62	62	If a water supply project requires a series of permits, all permits
63	63	required for the project are considered to be a single series of
64	64	permits, and each application for a permit subsequent to the
65	65	initial permit is subject to consideration based solely on the
66	66	rules in effect on the project start date.
67	67	(e) After the initial application for a water supply permit
68	68	in a series is approved, the district shall approve an application
69	69	for a subsequent water supply permit in the same series not later
70	70	than the 180th day after the date of receiving the application if
71	71	the application is administratively complete and in compliance with
72	72	the rules of the district in effect as of the project start date.
73	73	(f) A water supply permit issued under this section and
74	74	required for the continuous operation of the water supply project
75	75	for which the permit was issued shall be in effect for the period
76	76	required by Section 36.122(i)(2), Water Code, beginning with the
77	77	date of issuance of the final permit in the series of permits
78	78	required for the project.
79	79	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
80	80	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
81	81	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
82	82	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
83	83	Act takes effect September 1, 2009.