By: Hegar S.B. No. 1714
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to evidence of beneficial use and other matters in
connection with the issuance of permits by a groundwater
conservation district in accordance with its management plan.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 36.001, Water Code, is amended by adding
Subdivision (28-a) to read as follows:
(28-a) "Evidence of beneficial use" means evidence
that is material and relevant to a determination of the amount of
groundwater that is reasonable for a beneficial use without waste
proposed by a permit applicant consistent with generally accepted
agriculture or industry standards for the proposed type of use and
does not exclude innovations in conservation in agriculture or
industry practices. Evidence of beneficial use that satisfies the
requirements of Subdivision (9)(C) includes evidence that may be in
the form of a:
(A) statutory requirement applicable to an
applicant who is a supplier of water to the public to provide
continuous and adequate water service consistent with the state
water plan; or
(B) contractual obligation applicable to the
applicant for the use of the water based on a demonstrated need for
the water by an end user.
SECTION 2. Subsection (a), Section 36.1071, Water Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) Following notice and hearing, the district shall, in
coordination with surface water management entities on a regional
basis, develop a comprehensive management plan which addresses the
following management goals, as applicable:
(1) providing the most efficient use of groundwater;
(2) controlling and preventing waste of groundwater;
(3) controlling and preventing subsidence;
(4) addressing conjunctive surface water management
issues;
(5) addressing natural resource issues;
(6) addressing drought conditions;
(7) addressing conservation, recharge enhancement,
rainwater harvesting, precipitation enhancement, or brush control,
where appropriate and cost-effective; [and]
(8) addressing in a quantitative manner the desired
future conditions of the groundwater resources; and
(9) addressing the ability of the district's
groundwater resources to meet the future water supply needs of the
district.
SECTION 3. Subsection (g), Section 36.1072, Water Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(g) In this subsection, "development board" means the Texas
Water Development Board. A person with a legally defined interest
in groundwater in a district or in the management area in which a
district is located or a [the] regional water planning group
located in the management area may file a petition with the
development board stating that a conflict requiring resolution may
exist between the district's approved management plan developed
under Section 36.1071 and the state water plan. If a conflict
exists, the development board shall provide technical assistance to
and facilitate coordination between the involved person or regional
water planning group and the district to resolve the conflict. Not
later than the 45th day after the date the person or the regional
water planning group files a petition with the development board,
if the conflict has not been resolved, the district and the involved
person or regional planning group may mediate the conflict. The
district and the involved person or regional planning group may
seek the assistance of the Center for Public Policy Dispute
Resolution at The University of Texas School of Law or an
alternative dispute resolution system established under Chapter
152, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, in obtaining a qualified
impartial third party to mediate the conflict. The cost of the
mediation services must be specified in the agreement between the
parties and the Center for Public Policy Dispute Resolution or the
alternative dispute resolution system. If the district and the
involved person or regional planning group cannot resolve the
conflict through mediation, the development board shall resolve the
conflict not later than the 60th day after the date the mediation is
completed. The development board action under this provision may
be consolidated, at the option of the board, with related action
under Section 16.053(p). If the development board determines that
resolution of the conflict requires a revision of the approved
groundwater conservation district management plan, the development
board shall provide information to the district. The district
shall prepare any revisions to the plan based on the information
provided by the development board and shall hold, after notice, at
least one public hearing at some central location within the
district. The district shall consider all public and development
board comments, prepare, revise, and adopt its plan, and submit the
revised plan to the development board for approval. On the request
of the district or the regional water planning group, the
development board shall include discussion of the conflict and its
resolution in the state water plan that the development board
provides to the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the speaker
of the house of representatives under Section 16.051(e). If the
groundwater conservation district disagrees with the decision of
the development board under this subsection, the district may
appeal the decision to a district court in Travis County. Costs
for the appeal shall be set by the court hearing the appeal. An
appeal under this subsection is by trial de novo.
SECTION 4. Subsections (f) and (l), Section 36.108, Water
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(f) A district, regional water planning group dependent on
the groundwater resources in the groundwater management area, or
person with a legally defined interest in the groundwater within
the management area may file a petition with the commission
requesting an inquiry if a district or districts refused to join in
the planning process or the process failed to result in adequate
planning, including the establishment of reasonable future desired
conditions of the aquifers, and the petition provides evidence
that:
(1) a district in the groundwater management area has
failed to adopt rules;
(2) the rules adopted by a district are not designed to
achieve the desired future condition of the groundwater resources
in the groundwater management area established during the joint
planning process;
(3) the groundwater in the management area is not
adequately protected by the rules adopted by a district; or
(4) the groundwater in the groundwater management area
is not adequately protected due to the failure of a district to
enforce substantial compliance with its rules.
(l) A person with a legally defined interest in the
groundwater in the groundwater management area, a district in or
adjacent to the groundwater management area, or a regional water
planning group [for a region] in the groundwater management area to
meet a water management strategy identified in the adopted regional
water plan may file a petition with the development board appealing
the approval of the desired future conditions of the groundwater
resources established under this section. The petition must
provide evidence that the districts did not establish a reasonable
desired future condition of the groundwater resources in the
groundwater management area.
SECTION 5. Section 36.113, Water Code, is amended by adding
Subsection (e-1) to read as follows:
(e-1) A district may not grant a permit unless the applicant
provides evidence of an actual and reasonable beneficial use.
SECTION 6. Section 36.122, Water Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (f) and adding Subsection (r) to read as
follows:
(f) In reviewing a proposed transfer of groundwater out of
the district, the district shall consider:
(1) the availability of water in the district and in
the proposed receiving area during the period for which the water
supply is requested;
(2) the projected effect of the proposed transfer on
aquifer conditions, depletion, subsidence, or effects on existing
permit holders or other groundwater users within the district; and
(3) the approved [regional water plan and certified]
district management plan.
(r) A district may not grant a permit that allows the
transfer of groundwater outside the district unless the applicant
provides evidence of beneficial use as described by Section
36.001(28-a).
SECTION 7. Subsection (e-1), Section 36.113, Water Code, as
added by this Act, and Section 36.122, Water Code, as amended by
this Act, apply only to an application for a permit that is
submitted to a groundwater conservation district on or after the
effective date of this Act. An application submitted before the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
date the application was submitted, and that law continues in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2009.