82R8806 BPG-D
By: Martinez Fischer H.C.R. No. 92
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Serious problems in managing the High Plains Aquifer
illustrate the pressing need for interstate compacts concerning
groundwater; and
WHEREAS, The High Plains Aquifer is the largest aquifer in
the continental United States, spanning Texas, Colorado, Kansas,
Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wyoming; with
more water currently being drawn from the aquifer than is being
recharged, it is in jeopardy of depletion in the near future; and
WHEREAS, Most of the law governing groundwater is state law,
as states have generally assumed responsibility for managing this
resource; since eight states overlie the High Plains Aquifer, there
are eight different, sometimes conflicting, groundwater doctrines
governing portions of the aquifer; this fractured governance scheme
is inequitable and inefficient and promotes unsustainable use; and
WHEREAS, Interstate conflicts over water resources can now
lead to litigation before the United States Supreme Court, which
addresses issues on a case-by-case basis, but they could be
addressed more quickly and comprehensively by an interstate compact
in which the parties can reach an agreement themselves that will
hopefully also resolve future disputes over the interstate water
resource in question; and
WHEREAS, The United States Constitution permits states to
enter into binding agreements with one another that are approved by
Congress and thereby become federal law, which can preempt
contradictory state law; such interstate compacts are most commonly
used to create an intermediate, regional level of regulation to
resolve problems that extend beyond a single state but do not merit
national attention, and they have been used to manage forest fire
fighting, sanitation, transportation, and other issues when they
cross state boundaries; most notably, there are already numerous
interstate compacts for the allocation of such surface water
resources as rivers, reservoirs, and river basins; and
WHEREAS, An interstate compact for groundwater would create a
more equitable and administratively efficient governance regime,
allowing states to work together to safeguard the supply and to
determine a fair distribution of this increasingly precious
resource; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby urge the United States Congress to enact legislation
authorizing states to enter into interstate compacts concerning
groundwater; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of
Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the
members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that
this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a
memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.