Texas 2013 - 83rd Regular

Texas House Bill HB340 Compare Versions

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1	1	83R20621 SMH-F
2	2	By: Rodriguez of Travis H.B. No. 340
3	3	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 340:
4	4	By: Lucio III C.S.H.B. No. 340
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the power of the Texas Commission on Environmental
10	10	Quality to authorize certain injection wells that transect or
11	11	terminate in the Edwards Aquifer.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 27, Water Code, is amended
14	14	by adding Section 27.0516 to read as follows:
15	15	Sec. 27.0516. PERMITS FOR INJECTION WELLS THAT TRANSECT OR
16	16	TERMINATE IN PORTION OF EDWARDS AQUIFER WITHIN EXTERNAL BOUNDARIES
17	17	OF BARTON SPRINGS-EDWARDS AQUIFER CONSERVATION DISTRICT. (a) In
18	18	this section:
19	19	(1) "Edwards Aquifer" means that portion of an arcuate
20	20	belt of porous, waterbearing limestones composed of the Edwards
21	21	Formation, Georgetown Formation, Comanche Peak Formation, Salmon
22	22	Peak Limestone, McKnight Formation, West Nueces Formation, Devil's
23	23	River Limestone, Person Formation, Kainer Formation, and Edwards
24	24	Group trending from west to east to northeast through Kinney,
25	25	Uvalde, Medina, Bexar, Kendall, Comal, Hays, Travis, and Williamson
26	26	Counties. The permeable aquifer units generally overlie the
27	27	less-permeable Glen Rose Formation to the south, overlie the
28	28	less-permeable Comanche Peak and Walnut Formations north of the
29	29	Colorado River, and underlie the less-permeable Del Rio Clay
30	30	regionally.
31	31	(2) "Engineered aquifer storage and recovery
32	32	facility" means a facility with one or more wells that is located,
33	33	designed, constructed, and operated for the purpose of injecting
34	34	fresh water into a subsurface permeable stratum and storing the
35	35	water for subsequent withdrawal and use for a beneficial purpose.
36	36	(3) "Fresh water" means surface water or groundwater,
37	37	without regard to whether the water has been physically,
38	38	chemically, or biologically altered, that:
39	39	(A) contains a total dissolved solids
40	40	concentration of not more than 1,000 milligrams per liter; and
41	41	(B) is otherwise suitable as a source of drinking
42	42	water supply.
43	43	(4) "Saline portion of the Edwards Aquifer" means the
44	44	portion of the Edwards Aquifer that contains only groundwater with
45	45	a total dissolved solids concentration of more than 1,000
46	46	milligrams per liter.
47	47	(b) This section applies only to the portion of the Edwards
48	48	Aquifer that is within the geographic area circumscribed by the
49	49	external boundaries of the Barton Springs-Edwards Aquifer
50	50	Conservation District but is not in that district's territory or
51	51	the territory of the Edwards Aquifer Authority.
52	52	(c) This section prevails over Section 27.051(i) to the
53	53	extent of a conflict.
54	54	(d) Except as otherwise provided by this section, the
55	55	commission by rule or permit may not authorize an injection well
56	56	that transects or terminates in the Edwards Aquifer.
57	57	(e) The commission by rule may authorize:
58	58	(1) the injection of fresh water withdrawn from the
59	59	Edwards Aquifer into a well that transects or terminates in the
60	60	Edwards Aquifer for the purpose of providing additional recharge;
61	61	or
62	62	(2) the injection of rainwater, storm water, flood
63	63	water, or groundwater into the Edwards Aquifer by means of an
64	64	improved natural recharge feature such as a sinkhole or cave
65	65	located in a karst topographic area for the purpose of providing
66	66	additional recharge.
67	67	(f) The commission by general permit may authorize:
68	68	(1) an activity described by Subsection (e);
69	69	(2) an injection well that transects and isolates the
70	70	saline portion of the Edwards Aquifer and terminates in a lower
71	71	aquifer for the purpose of injecting:
72	72	(A) concentrate from a desalination facility; or
73	73	(B) fresh water as part of an engineered aquifer
74	74	storage and recovery facility;
75	75	(3) an injection well that terminates in that part of
76	76	the saline portion of the Edwards Aquifer that has a total dissolved
77	77	solids concentration of more than 10,000 milligrams per liter for
78	78	the purpose of injecting into the saline portion of the Edwards
79	79	Aquifer:
80	80	(A) concentrate from a desalination facility,
81	81	provided that the injection well must be at least three miles from
82	82	the closest outlet of Barton Springs; or
83	83	(B) fresh water as part of an engineered aquifer
84	84	and storage recovery facility, provided that each well used for
85	85	injection or withdrawal from the facility must be at least three
86	86	miles from the closest outlet of Barton Springs; or
87	87	(4) an injection well that transects or terminates in
88	88	the Edwards Aquifer for:
89	89	(A) aquifer remediation;
90	90	(B) the injection of a nontoxic tracer dye as
91	91	part of a hydrologic study; or
92	92	(C) another beneficial activity that is designed
93	93	and undertaken for the purpose of increasing protection of an
94	94	underground source of drinking water from pollution or other
95	95	deleterious effects.
96	96	(g) The commission must hold a public meeting before issuing
97	97	a general permit under this section.
98	98	(h) Rules adopted or a general permit issued under this
99	99	section:
100	100	(1) must require that an injection well authorized by
101	101	the rules or permit be monitored by means of:
102	102	(A) a monitoring well operated by the injection
103	103	well owner if the commission determines that there is an
104	104	underground source of drinking water in the area of review that is
105	105	potentially affected by the injection well; or
106	106	(B) if Paragraph (A) does not apply, a monitoring
107	107	well operated by a party other than the injection well owner,
108	108	provided that all results of monitoring are promptly made available
109	109	to the injection well owner;
110	110	(2) must ensure that an authorized activity will not
111	111	result in the waste or pollution of fresh water;
112	112	(3) may not authorize an injection well under
113	113	Subsection (f)(2) or (3) unless the well is initially associated
114	114	with a small-scale research project designed to evaluate the
115	115	long-term feasibility and safety of:
116	116	(A) the injection of concentrate from a
117	117	desalination facility; or
118	118	(B) an aquifer storage and recovery project;
119	119	(4) must require any authorization granted to be
120	120	renewed at least as frequently as every 10 years;
121	121	(5) must require that an injection well authorized
122	122	under Subsection (f)(2)(A) or (3)(A) be monitored on an ongoing
123	123	basis by or in coordination with the well owner and that the well
124	124	owner file monitoring reports with the commission at least as
125	125	frequently as every three months; and
126	126	(6) must ensure that any injection well authorized for
127	127	the purpose of injecting concentrate from a desalination facility
128	128	does not transect the fresh water portion of the Edwards Aquifer.
129	129	(i) A monitoring well described by Subsection (h)(1), if
130	130	properly sited and completed, may also be used for monitoring a
131	131	saline water production well.
132	132	(j) A project is considered to be a small-scale research
133	133	project for purposes of Subsection (h)(3) if the project consists
134	134	of one production well and one injection well that are operated on a
135	135	limited scale to provide requisite scientific and engineering
136	136	information. Such a project is considered to be a small-scale
137	137	research project regardless of the borehole size of the wells or the
138	138	equipment associated with the wells or whether the wells are
139	139	subsequently incorporated into a larger-scale commercial facility.
140	140	(k) Notwithstanding Subsection (h)(3), a general permit may
141	141	authorize the owner of an injection well authorized under
142	142	Subsection (f)(2) or (3) to continue operating the well for the
143	143	purpose of implementing the desalination or engineered aquifer
144	144	storage and recovery project following completion of the
145	145	small-scale research project, provided that:
146	146	(1) the injection well owner timely submits the
147	147	information collected as part of the research project, including
148	148	monitoring reports and information regarding the environmental
149	149	impact of the well, to the commission;
150	150	(2) the injection well owner, following the completion
151	151	of studies and monitoring adequate to characterize risks to the
152	152	fresh water portion of the Edwards Aquifer and other fresh water
153	153	associated with the continued operation of the well, and at least 90
154	154	days before the date the owner initiates commercial well
155	155	operations, files with the commission a notice of intent to
156	156	continue operation of the well after completion of the research
157	157	project; and
158	158	(3) the commission, based on the studies and
159	159	monitoring, the report provided by Texas State University--San
160	160	Marcos under Subsection (l)(2), and any other reasonably available
161	161	information, determines that continued operation of the injection
162	162	well as described in the notice of intent does not pose an
163	163	unreasonable risk to the fresh water portion of the Edwards Aquifer
164	164	or other fresh water associated with the continued operation of the
165	165	well.
166	166	(l) Before the commission makes a determination under
167	167	Subsection (k)(3):
168	168	(1) the commission, not later than the 15th day after
169	169	the date of receipt of the results of the studies and monitoring,
170	170	must provide the information received to Texas State
171	171	University--San Marcos; and
172	172	(2) Texas State University--San Marcos, not later than
173	173	the 60th day after the date of receipt of the information, must
174	174	review and analyze the information and report its findings to the
175	175	commission.
176	176	(m) The commission shall make the information provided by
177	177	the owner of the injection well under Subsection (k)(1) and the
178	178	report provided by Texas State University--San Marcos under
179	179	Subsection (l)(2) easily accessible to the public in a timely
180	180	manner. The permit may authorize the owner of the well to continue
181	181	operating the well following completion of the research project
182	182	pending the determination by the commission.
183	183	(n) If the commission preliminarily determines that
184	184	continued operation of the injection well would pose an
185	185	unreasonable risk to the fresh water portion of the Edwards Aquifer
186	186	or other fresh water associated with the continued operation of the
187	187	well, the commission shall notify the operator and specify, if
188	188	possible, what well modifications would be adequate to prevent that
189	189	unreasonable risk. If the operator fails to modify the injection
190	190	well as specified by the commission, the commission shall require
191	191	the operator to cease operating the well.
192	192	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.