83R9890 PMO-F
By: Hilderbran H.B. No. 3114
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the regional groundwater planning process for minor
aquifers.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 36.108(a), Water Code, is amended by
adding Subdivisions (3) and (4) to read as follows:
(3) "Major aquifer" means an aquifer designated as
major by the development board.
(4) "Minor aquifer" means an aquifer designated as
minor by the development board.
SECTION 2. Section 36.108, Water Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (d), (d-2), and (d-3) and adding Subsection
(d-5) to read as follows:
(d) Not later than September 1, 2010, and every five years
thereafter, the districts shall consider groundwater availability
models and other data or information for the management area and
shall propose for adoption desired future conditions for the
relevant major aquifers within the management area. Before voting
on the proposed desired future conditions of the aquifers under
Subsection (d-2), the districts shall consider:
(1) aquifer uses or conditions within the management
area, including conditions that differ substantially from one
geographic area to another;
(2) the water supply needs and water management
strategies included in the state water plan;
(3) hydrological conditions, including for each
aquifer in the management area the total estimated recoverable
storage as provided by the executive administrator, and the average
annual recharge, inflows, and discharge;
(4) other environmental impacts, including impacts on
spring flow and other interactions between groundwater and surface
water;
(5) the impact on subsidence;
(6) socioeconomic impacts reasonably expected to
occur;
(7) the impact on the interests and rights in private
property, including ownership and the rights of management area
landowners and their lessees and assigns in groundwater as
recognized under Section 36.002;
(8) the feasibility of achieving the desired future
condition; and
(9) any other information relevant to the specific
desired future conditions.
(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. 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) for the major aquifers in the management area must be
approved by a two-thirds vote of all the district representatives.
The desired future conditions proposed under Section 36.10801 for
the minor aquifers in the management area must be approved by a
two-thirds vote of the representatives of the districts in which
the minor aquifers are located and which are relevant in the
management area. Not later than 10 days after the date of the
approval, the desired future conditions for the major aquifers must
be distributed [for distribution] to all [the] districts in the
management area and the desired future conditions for the minor
aquifers must be distributed to the districts in which minor
aquifers are located. 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 for aquifers 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 for
aquifers relevant to that district 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.
(d-3) After the earlier of the date on which all the
districts have submitted their district summaries or the expiration
of the public comment period under Subsection (d-2), the district
representatives shall reconvene to review the reports, consider any
district's suggested revisions to the proposed desired future
conditions, and finally adopt the desired future conditions for the
management area. The desired future conditions for the major
aquifers in the management area must be adopted as a resolution by a
two-thirds vote of all the district representatives. The desired
future conditions for the minor aquifers in the management area
must be adopted by a two-thirds vote of the representatives of
districts for which the minor aquifers are relevant for joint
planning purposes. For each minor aquifer, a representative chosen
by the districts for which the minor aquifer is relevant shall
forward to the groundwater management area a desired future
condition explanatory report for the minor aquifer to include in
the groundwater management area's explanatory report to the
development board. The district representatives shall produce a
desired future conditions explanatory report for the management
area and submit to the development board and each district in the
management area proof that notice was posted for the joint planning
meeting, a copy of the resolution, and a copy of the explanatory
report. The report must:
(1) identify each desired future condition;
(2) provide the policy and technical justifications
for each desired future condition;
(3) include documentation that the factors under
Subsection (d) were considered by the districts and a discussion of
how the adopted desired future conditions impact each factor;
(4) list other desired future condition options
considered, if any, and the reasons why those options were not
adopted; and
(5) discuss reasons why recommendations made by
advisory committees and relevant public comments received by the
districts were or were not incorporated into the desired future
conditions.
(d-5) Not later than September 1 of the third year of a
five-year joint planning cycle established under Subsection (d),
the district representatives of all districts in the groundwater
management area shall conduct a joint meeting to identify the
districts in which minor aquifers are relevant. By two-thirds vote
of all the district representatives, the representatives shall
adopt a resolution identifying the districts in which each minor
aquifer is relevant. The representatives shall submit to the
development board:
(1) the resolution adopted; and
(2) proof that notice of the meeting at which the vote
was conducted was in compliance with Section 36.063.
SECTION 3. Subchapter D, Chapter 36, Water Code, is amended
by adding Section 36.10801 to read as follows:
Sec. 36.10801. JOINT PLANNING; MINOR AQUIFERS. (a) The
definitions in Section 36.108(a) apply to this section.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (d), not later than
September 1, 2015, and every five years thereafter, district
representatives of districts for which minor aquifers are relevant
shall:
(1) meet to consider groundwater availability models
and other data or information related to the groundwater management
area; and
(2) propose for adoption desired future conditions for
the relevant minor aquifers within the management area.
(c) The district representatives shall forward the proposed
desired future conditions for each minor aquifer to all the
districts in the groundwater management area for consideration at
the next five-year meeting under Section 36.108.
(d) A district is exempt from the joint planning
requirements under Subsection (b) and Section 36.108 if:
(1) no major aquifer is located within the groundwater
management area in which the district is located; and
(2) the entire relevant portion of a minor aquifer in
the groundwater management area is wholly located within the
district.
SECTION 4. The procedures for the adoption and reporting
of desired future conditions of groundwater resources in a
management area under Section 36.108, Water Code, as amended by
this Act, and Section 36.10801, Water Code, as added by this Act,
apply only to the adoption of desired future conditions that occurs
on or after the effective date of this Act. Desired future
conditions adopted before the effective date of this Act are
governed by the law in effect on the date the desired future
conditions were adopted, and that law is continued in effect for
that purpose.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.