82R7806 PMO-D
By: Martinez Fischer H.B. No. 3194
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the renewal or amendment of permits issued by
groundwater conservation districts.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 36.113, Water Code, is amended by adding
Subsection (d-1) to read as follows:
(d-1) A district shall:
(1) renew a permit at the end of the permit term
without requiring a hearing, provided that the application to renew
the permit is:
(A) for the same point of withdrawal, place of
use, and purpose of use; and
(B) in comparison to the amount of groundwater
production authorized in the expiring permit, for the same or a
lesser amount of groundwater; and
(2) consider an application to amend a permit without
requiring a hearing for any portion of the permittee's amendment
application that does not change the point of withdrawal, place of
use, purpose of use, or permitted rate and amount of groundwater
withdrawal.
SECTION 2. Subchapter D, Chapter 36, Water Code, is amended
by adding Section 36.1145 to read as follows:
Sec. 36.1145. PERMIT AMENDMENTS REQUIRED BY CHANGE IN
AQUIFER CONDITIONS. (a) After notice and hearing conducted in
accordance with Subchapter M, a district may amend an operating
permit to adjust the amount or rate of authorized withdrawals based
on a finding, supported by a preponderance of the evidence
submitted by the general manager of the district, that a
significant change in aquifer conditions justifies the amendment.
(b) Under Subsection (a), a district may not amend the
amount or rate of withdrawals authorized for an operating permit by
more than five percent.
(c) A district that amends an operating permit under
Subsection (a) must similarly amend all operating permits in the
district that are affected by the change in aquifer conditions.
SECTION 3. Section 36.113, Water Code, as amended by this
Act, and Section 36.1145, Water Code, as added by this Act, apply
only to an application to renew or amend a permit submitted to a
groundwater conservation district on or after the effective date of
this Act. An application to renew or amend a permit submitted to a
district before that date is governed by the law in effect on the
date the application was submitted, and the former law is continued
in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.