Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1714 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Hegar S.B. No. 1714
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to evidence of beneficial use and other matters in
7	7	connection with the issuance of permits by a groundwater
8	8	conservation district in accordance with its management plan.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 36.001, Water Code, is amended by adding
11	11	Subdivision (28-a) to read as follows:
12	12	(28-a) "Evidence of beneficial use" means evidence
13	13	that is material and relevant to a determination of the amount of
14	14	groundwater that is reasonable for a beneficial use without waste
15	15	proposed by a permit applicant consistent with generally accepted
16	16	agriculture or industry standards for the proposed type of use and
17	17	does not exclude innovations in conservation in agriculture or
18	18	industry practices. Evidence of beneficial use that satisfies the
19	19	requirements of Subdivision (9)(C) includes evidence that may be in
20	20	the form of a:
21	21	(A) statutory requirement applicable to an
22	22	applicant who is a supplier of water to the public to provide
23	23	continuous and adequate water service consistent with the state
24	24	water plan; or
25	25	(B) contractual obligation applicable to the
26	26	applicant for the use of the water based on a demonstrated need for
27	27	the water by an end user.
28	28	SECTION 2. Subsection (a), Section 36.1071, Water Code, is
29	29	amended to read as follows:
30	30	(a) Following notice and hearing, the district shall, in
31	31	coordination with surface water management entities on a regional
32	32	basis, develop a comprehensive management plan which addresses the
33	33	following management goals, as applicable:
34	34	(1) providing the most efficient use of groundwater;
35	35	(2) controlling and preventing waste of groundwater;
36	36	(3) controlling and preventing subsidence;
37	37	(4) addressing conjunctive surface water management
38	38	issues;
39	39	(5) addressing natural resource issues;
40	40	(6) addressing drought conditions;
41	41	(7) addressing conservation, recharge enhancement,
42	42	rainwater harvesting, precipitation enhancement, or brush control,
43	43	where appropriate and cost-effective; [and]
44	44	(8) addressing in a quantitative manner the desired
45	45	future conditions of the groundwater resources; and
46	46	(9) addressing the ability of the district's
47	47	groundwater resources to meet the future water supply needs of the
48	48	district.
49	49	SECTION 3. Subsection (g), Section 36.1072, Water Code, is
50	50	amended to read as follows:
51	51	(g) In this subsection, "development board" means the Texas
52	52	Water Development Board. A person with a legally defined interest
53	53	in groundwater in a district or in the management area in which a
54	54	district is located or a [the] regional water planning group
55	55	located in the management area may file a petition with the
56	56	development board stating that a conflict requiring resolution may
57	57	exist between the district's approved management plan developed
58	58	under Section 36.1071 and the state water plan. If a conflict
59	59	exists, the development board shall provide technical assistance to
60	60	and facilitate coordination between the involved person or regional
61	61	water planning group and the district to resolve the conflict. Not
62	62	later than the 45th day after the date the person or the regional
63	63	water planning group files a petition with the development board,
64	64	if the conflict has not been resolved, the district and the involved
65	65	person or regional planning group may mediate the conflict. The
66	66	district and the involved person or regional planning group may
67	67	seek the assistance of the Center for Public Policy Dispute
68	68	Resolution at The University of Texas School of Law or an
69	69	alternative dispute resolution system established under Chapter
70	70	152, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, in obtaining a qualified
71	71	impartial third party to mediate the conflict. The cost of the
72	72	mediation services must be specified in the agreement between the
73	73	parties and the Center for Public Policy Dispute Resolution or the
74	74	alternative dispute resolution system. If the district and the
75	75	involved person or regional planning group cannot resolve the
76	76	conflict through mediation, the development board shall resolve the
77	77	conflict not later than the 60th day after the date the mediation is
78	78	completed. The development board action under this provision may
79	79	be consolidated, at the option of the board, with related action
80	80	under Section 16.053(p). If the development board determines that
81	81	resolution of the conflict requires a revision of the approved
82	82	groundwater conservation district management plan, the development
83	83	board shall provide information to the district. The district
84	84	shall prepare any revisions to the plan based on the information
85	85	provided by the development board and shall hold, after notice, at
86	86	least one public hearing at some central location within the
87	87	district. The district shall consider all public and development
88	88	board comments, prepare, revise, and adopt its plan, and submit the
89	89	revised plan to the development board for approval. On the request
90	90	of the district or the regional water planning group, the
91	91	development board shall include discussion of the conflict and its
92	92	resolution in the state water plan that the development board
93	93	provides to the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the speaker
94	94	of the house of representatives under Section 16.051(e). If the
95	95	groundwater conservation district disagrees with the decision of
96	96	the development board under this subsection, the district may
97	97	appeal the decision to a district court in Travis County. Costs
98	98	for the appeal shall be set by the court hearing the appeal. An
99	99	appeal under this subsection is by trial de novo.
100	100	SECTION 4. Subsections (f) and (l), Section 36.108, Water
101	101	Code, are amended to read as follows:
102	102	(f) A district, regional water planning group dependent on
103	103	the groundwater resources in the groundwater management area, or
104	104	person with a legally defined interest in the groundwater within
105	105	the management area may file a petition with the commission
106	106	requesting an inquiry if a district or districts refused to join in
107	107	the planning process or the process failed to result in adequate
108	108	planning, including the establishment of reasonable future desired
109	109	conditions of the aquifers, and the petition provides evidence
110	110	that:
111	111	(1) a district in the groundwater management area has
112	112	failed to adopt rules;
113	113	(2) the rules adopted by a district are not designed to
114	114	achieve the desired future condition of the groundwater resources
115	115	in the groundwater management area established during the joint
116	116	planning process;
117	117	(3) the groundwater in the management area is not
118	118	adequately protected by the rules adopted by a district; or
119	119	(4) the groundwater in the groundwater management area
120	120	is not adequately protected due to the failure of a district to
121	121	enforce substantial compliance with its rules.
122	122	(l) A person with a legally defined interest in the
123	123	groundwater in the groundwater management area, a district in or
124	124	adjacent to the groundwater management area, or a regional water
125	125	planning group [for a region] in the groundwater management area to
126	126	meet a water management strategy identified in the adopted regional
127	127	water plan may file a petition with the development board appealing
128	128	the approval of the desired future conditions of the groundwater
129	129	resources established under this section. The petition must
130	130	provide evidence that the districts did not establish a reasonable
131	131	desired future condition of the groundwater resources in the
132	132	groundwater management area.
133	133	SECTION 5. Section 36.113, Water Code, is amended by adding
134	134	Subsection (e-1) to read as follows:
135	135	(e-1) A district may not grant a permit unless the applicant
136	136	provides evidence of an actual and reasonable beneficial use.
137	137	SECTION 6. Section 36.122, Water Code, is amended by
138	138	amending Subsection (f) and adding Subsection (r) to read as
139	139	follows:
140	140	(f) In reviewing a proposed transfer of groundwater out of
141	141	the district, the district shall consider:
142	142	(1) the availability of water in the district and in
143	143	the proposed receiving area during the period for which the water
144	144	supply is requested;
145	145	(2) the projected effect of the proposed transfer on
146	146	aquifer conditions, depletion, subsidence, or effects on existing
147	147	permit holders or other groundwater users within the district; and
148	148	(3) the approved [regional water plan and certified]
149	149	district management plan.
150	150	(r) A district may not grant a permit that allows the
151	151	transfer of groundwater outside the district unless the applicant
152	152	provides evidence of beneficial use as described by Section
153	153	36.001(28-a).
154	154	SECTION 7. Subsection (e-1), Section 36.113, Water Code, as
155	155	added by this Act, and Section 36.122, Water Code, as amended by
156	156	this Act, apply only to an application for a permit that is
157	157	submitted to a groundwater conservation district on or after the
158	158	effective date of this Act. An application submitted before the
159	159	effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
160	160	date the application was submitted, and that law continues in
161	161	effect for that purpose.
162	162	SECTION 8. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
163	163	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
164	164	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
165	165	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
166	166	Act takes effect September 1, 2009.