82R7510 PMO-F
By: Ritter H.B. No. 1731
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the management of groundwater resources in this state
and the rights of landowners in groundwater.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF POLICY. The
legislature finds that the availability of quality groundwater has
been, is, and will continue to be vital to the proliferation of
life, the sustainment of communities, and the protection of the
public safety and welfare, as well as to the success of agricultural
production, economic progress, and other equally compelling public
interests. In Chapter 36, Water Code, the legislature has
recognized, and continues to preserve, the significant ownership
interests that owners of land in this state have in the groundwater
resources that can be obtained from below the surface of their
properties. The common law focuses on limiting liability for
drainage rather than protecting these ownership interests and, in
the process, defeats the settled expectations that landowners can
reasonably have in the long-term viability of groundwater below
their properties. In addition to acknowledging the significant
ownership interests that landowners have in the groundwater below
their properties, the legislature further recognizes the
indefeasible right, borne by Section 59, Article XVI, Texas
Constitution, that is possessed by every Texas citizen to the
preservation and conservation of groundwater resources underlying
the private and public lands of this state. The ownership interests
that landowners have in the groundwater below their properties are
accordingly subject to reasonable regulation by the state. To
balance the often competing demands and interests in available
groundwater and to carry out the constitutionally mandated duty
placed upon it and entrusted to it by the citizens of this state,
the legislature finds that the implementation of long-term aquifer
planning and management strategies is essential. In recognition of
the diverse characteristics that distinguish the many groundwater
aquifers in this state, and in order that this vital resource may
best be committed to good stewardship, the legislature finds that
the development and implementation of these groundwater management
strategies are best accomplished through local control, exercised
through groundwater conservation districts. Therefore, the
legislature recognizes that all reasonable measures should be taken
to prudently manage, preserve, conserve, and protect the
groundwater resources that underlie the private and public lands in
this state for uses today and in the future.
SECTION 2. Section 36.0015, Water Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 36.0015. PURPOSE. Groundwater conservation districts
may be created under and may act in accordance with this chapter in
[In] order to provide for the conservation, preservation,
protection, recharging, and prevention of waste of groundwater, and
of the many unique groundwater reservoirs and reservoir [or their]
subdivisions in this state, and to control subsidence caused by
withdrawal of water from those groundwater reservoirs or their
subdivisions, consistent with the objectives and mandates of
Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution[, groundwater
conservation districts may be created as provided by this chapter].
Groundwater conservation districts created as provided by this
chapter are the state's preferred method of groundwater management
through rules and management plans developed, adopted, and
promulgated by a district in accordance with the provisions of this
chapter.
SECTION 3. Section 36.002, Water Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 36.002. OWNERSHIP OF GROUNDWATER. (a) The ownership
and rights of the owners of the land and their lessees and assigns
in groundwater are hereby recognized, including the right to seek
and attempt to capture groundwater that underlies the surface of
the land, and nothing in this code shall be construed as depriving
or divesting the owners or their lessees and assigns of the
ownership or rights, except as those rights may be limited or
altered by rules promulgated by a district acting in accordance
with the district's statutory powers and duties.
(b) The prudent and effective management of groundwater
resources is necessary and beneficial to the welfare of this state
and, therefore, serves a compelling public interest. The rights of
the citizenry to the preservation and conservation of groundwater
resources underlying the public and private lands of this state
are, accordingly, hereby recognized and accommodated through the
powers delegated pursuant to this chapter.
(c) The recognition of rights under Subsection (a) shall not
be construed to prohibit the reasonable regulation, preservation,
and conservation of groundwater by a district. A district may
develop limits on the production of groundwater that affect the
availability of permits issued by the district if the limitations
are:
(1) reasonable and warranted under the district's
management plan;
(2) consistent with the desired future conditions
adopted under Section 36.108;
(3) not designed so that the limitations prevent a
landowner from accessing a reasonable amount of water for livestock
watering or domestic purposes for use on the landowner's property;
and
(4) implemented in accordance with the authority
granted by this chapter or a special law governing a district.
(d) A rule promulgated by a district may not discriminate
between owners of land that is irrigated for production and owners
of land or their lessees and assigns whose land that was irrigated
for production is enrolled or participating in a federal
conservation program.
SECTION 4. 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, 2011.