83R7698 SLB-F
By: Larson H.B. No. 2578
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the development of brackish groundwater.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 16.053(e), Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(e) Each regional water planning group shall submit to the
development board a regional water plan that:
(1) is consistent with the guidance principles for the
state water plan adopted by the development board under Section
16.051(d);
(2) provides information based on data provided or
approved by the development board in a format consistent with the
guidelines provided by the development board under Subsection (d);
(2-a) is consistent with the desired future conditions
adopted under Section 36.108 for the relevant aquifers located in
the regional water planning area as of the date the board most
recently adopted a state water plan under Section 16.051 or, at the
option of the regional water planning group, established subsequent
to the adoption of the most recent plan;
(3) identifies:
(A) each source of water supply in the regional
water planning area, including information supplied by the
executive administrator on the amount of modeled available
groundwater in accordance with the guidelines provided by the
development board under Subsections (d) and (f);
(B) factors specific to each source of water
supply to be considered in determining whether to initiate a
drought response;
(C) actions to be taken as part of the response;
and
(D) existing major water infrastructure
facilities that may be used for interconnections in the event of an
emergency shortage of water;
(4) has specific provisions for water management
strategies to be used during a drought of record;
(5) includes but is not limited to consideration of
the following:
(A) any existing water or drought planning
efforts addressing all or a portion of the region;
(B) approved groundwater conservation district
management plans and other plans submitted under Section 16.054;
(C) all potentially feasible water management
strategies, including but not limited to improved conservation,
reuse, and management of existing water supplies, conjunctive use,
acquisition of available existing water supplies, and development
of new water supplies;
(D) protection of existing water rights in the
region;
(E) opportunities for and the benefits of
developing regional water supply facilities or providing regional
management of water supply facilities;
(F) appropriate provision for environmental
water needs and for the effect of upstream development on the bays,
estuaries, and arms of the Gulf of Mexico and the effect of plans on
navigation;
(G) provisions in Section 11.085(k)(1) if
interbasin transfers are contemplated;
(H) voluntary transfer of water within the region
using, but not limited to, regional water banks, sales, leases,
options, subordination agreements, and financing agreements; [and]
(I) emergency transfer of water under Section
11.139, including information on the part of each permit, certified
filing, or certificate of adjudication for nonmunicipal use in the
region that may be transferred without causing unreasonable damage
to the property of the nonmunicipal water rights holder; and
(J) opportunities for and the benefits of
developing large-scale desalination facilities for brackish
groundwater or seawater that serve local or regional brackish
groundwater production zones identified under Section 16.060;
(6) identifies river and stream segments of unique
ecological value and sites of unique value for the construction of
reservoirs that the regional water planning group recommends for
protection under Section 16.051;
(7) assesses the impact of the plan on unique river and
stream segments identified in Subdivision (6) if the regional water
planning group or the legislature determines that a site of unique
ecological value exists;
(8) describes the impact of proposed water projects on
water quality; and
(9) includes information on:
(A) projected water use and conservation in the
regional water planning area; and
(B) the implementation of state and regional
water plan projects, including water conservation strategies,
necessary to meet the state's projected water demands.
SECTION 2. Section 16.060, Water Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (d) to read
as follows:
(a) The board shall undertake or participate in research,
feasibility and facility planning studies, investigations, and
surveys as it considers necessary to further the development of
cost-effective water supplies from seawater or brackish
groundwater desalination in the state.
(b) The board shall prepare a biennial progress report on
the implementation of seawater or brackish groundwater
desalination activities in the state and shall submit it to the
governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of
representatives not later than December 1 of each even-numbered
year. The report shall include:
(1) results of the board's studies and activities
relative to seawater or brackish groundwater desalination during
the preceding biennium;
(2) identification and evaluation of research,
regulatory, technical, and financial impediments to the
implementation of seawater or brackish groundwater desalination
projects;
(3) evaluation of the role the state should play in
furthering the development of large-scale seawater or brackish
groundwater desalination projects in the state; [and]
(4) the anticipated appropriation from general
revenues necessary to continue investigating water desalination
activities in the state during the next biennium; and
(5) identification of local or regional brackish
groundwater production zones in areas of the state with moderate to
high availability and productivity of brackish groundwater that can
be used to reduce the use of fresh groundwater.
(d) The board shall consider the Brackish Groundwater
Manual for Texas Regional Water Planning Groups, and any updates to
the manual, when identifying areas of moderate to high availability
and productivity of brackish groundwater under Subsection (b)(5).
SECTION 3. Section 36.001, Water Code, is amended by adding
Subdivision (31) to read as follows:
(31) "Brackish groundwater" means groundwater that
has a salinity of more than 1,000 milligrams per liter but not more
than 10,000 milligrams per liter.
SECTION 4. Section 36.0015, Water Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 36.0015. PURPOSE. In order to provide for the
conservation, preservation, protection, recharging, development,
and prevention of waste of groundwater, and of groundwater
reservoirs or their subdivisions, and to control subsidence caused
by withdrawal of water from those groundwater reservoirs or their
subdivisions, consistent with the objectives 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
developed, adopted, and promulgated by a district in accordance
with the provisions of this chapter.
SECTION 5. Subchapter D, Chapter 36, Water Code, is amended
by adding Section 36.1015 to read as follows:
Sec. 36.1015. MODEL RULES FOR BRACKISH GROUNDWATER
REGULATION. (a) The Texas Water Development Board shall develop
and make available model rules for the permitting of brackish
groundwater production. The model rules shall include:
(1) a prohibition on limiting the production of
brackish groundwater to achieve a desired future condition unless
the executive administrator has determined the amount of modeled
available groundwater specifically attributed to brackish
groundwater;
(2) a minimum term of 30 years for a permit issued for
a well that produces brackish groundwater;
(3) a prohibition on reducing the authorized amount of
brackish groundwater that may be withdrawn from a well during the
term of the permit; and
(4) other provisions that the Texas Water Development
Board considers appropriate to encourage the development of
brackish groundwater desalination projects.
(b) The Texas Water Development Board shall consider the
Brackish Groundwater Manual for Texas Regional Water Planning
Groups, and any updates to the manual, in developing the rules under
Subsection (a).
SECTION 6. Section 36.1071(a), 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 management plan that 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 the desired future conditions adopted
by the district under Section 36.108; and
(9) identifying goals to pursue the reduction of fresh
groundwater use through brackish groundwater desalination
strategies in production zones identified under Section 16.060.
SECTION 7. Section 36.108(d-2), Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(d-2) The desired future conditions proposed under
Subsection (d) must provide a balance between the highest
practicable level of groundwater production and the conservation,
preservation, protection, recharging, and prevention of waste of
groundwater and control of subsidence in the management area. To
reduce reliance on fresh groundwater resources, the desired future
condition must allow the highest level of brackish groundwater
production in production zones identified under Section
16.060. This subsection does not prohibit the establishment of
desired future conditions that provide for the reasonable long-term
management of groundwater resources consistent with the management
goals under Section 36.1071(a). The desired future conditions
proposed under Subsection (d) must be approved by a two-thirds vote
of all the district representatives for distribution to the
districts in the management area. A period of not less than 90 days
for public comments begins on the day the proposed desired future
conditions are mailed to the districts. During the public comment
period and after posting notice as required by Section 36.063, each
district shall hold a public hearing on any proposed desired future
conditions relevant to that district. During the public comment
period, the district shall make available in its office a copy of
the proposed desired future conditions and any supporting
materials, such as the documentation of factors considered under
Subsection (d) and groundwater availability model run results.
After the public hearing, the district shall compile for
consideration at the next joint planning meeting a summary of
relevant comments received, any suggested revisions to the proposed
desired future conditions, and the basis for the revisions.
SECTION 8. Sections 36.117(b) and (c), Water Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(b) Except as provided by this section, a district shall
provide an exemption from the district requirement to obtain a
permit for:
(1) drilling or operating a well used solely for
domestic use or for providing water for livestock or poultry if the
well is:
(A) located or to be located on a tract of land
larger than 10 acres; and
(B) drilled, completed, or equipped so that it is
incapable of producing more than 25,000 gallons of groundwater a
day;
(2) drilling a water well used solely to supply water
for a rig that is actively engaged in drilling or exploration
operations for an oil or gas well permitted by the Railroad
Commission of Texas provided that the person holding the permit is
responsible for drilling and operating the water well and the water
well is located on the same lease or field associated with the
drilling rig; [or]
(3) drilling a water well authorized under a permit
issued by the Railroad Commission of Texas under Chapter 134,
Natural Resources Code, or for production from the well to the
extent the withdrawals are required for mining activities
regardless of any subsequent use of the water; or
(4) drilling or operating a well associated with a
desalination project located in a brackish groundwater production
zone identified under Section 16.060, unless a district has adopted
the model rules for the permitting of brackish groundwater wells
developed by the Texas Water Development Board.
(c) A district may not restrict the production of water from
any well described by Subsection (b)(1) or (b)(4).
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.