83R5618 JAM-F
By: Carona S.B. No. 1249
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to plugging, capping, repairing, or completing certain
wells.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 1901.254, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 1901.254. NOTICE REGARDING INJURIOUS WATER,
DETERIORATED WELL, OR ABANDONED WELL[; PLUGGING, REPAIR, OR
COMPLETION OF WELL]. (a) A driller shall notify the department and
the landowner or person having a well drilled that a well must be
plugged, capped, repaired, or properly completed, as appropriate,
in order to avoid injury or pollution on encountering:
(1) water injurious to vegetation, land, or other
water;
(2) a deteriorated well; or
(3) an abandoned well [and determining that the well
must be plugged, repaired, or properly completed in order to avoid
injury or pollution].
(b) A [The] driller shall give the notice required under
Subsection (a) not later than the fifth day after encountering the
injurious water, deteriorated well, or abandoned [ensure that the]
well [is plugged, repaired, or properly completed under standards
and procedures adopted by the commission].
(c) In this section, "abandoned well," "deteriorated well,"
and "properly completed" have the meanings assigned by Section
1901.255.
SECTION 2. The heading to Section 1901.255, Occupations
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 1901.255. PLUGGING, CAPPING, REPAIRING, OR PROPERLY
COMPLETING WATER WELL; REPORT.
SECTION 3. Section 1901.255(a), Occupations Code, is
amended by adding Subdivision (3) to read as follows:
(3) "Properly complete" means to perform to the
standards and procedures adopted by the commission any work
undertaken in the process of building or altering a well, including
siting, drilling, boring, coring, or deepening.
SECTION 4. Section 1901.255, Occupations Code, is amended
by amending Subsections (c) and (d) and adding Subsection (c-1) to
read as follows:
(c) A [Not later than the 180th day after the date a]
landowner or other person having a well drilled who encounters
water injurious to vegetation, land, or other water or a landowner
or other person who possesses a [an abandoned or] deteriorated well
[learns of its condition, the landowner or other person] shall have
the well plugged, [or] capped, repaired, or properly completed, as
appropriate, under standards and procedures adopted by the
commission not later than the 30th day after:
(1) receiving notice under Section 1901.254; or
(2) becoming aware of the existence of the injurious
water or deteriorated well.
(c-1) A landowner or other person who possesses an abandoned
well shall have the well plugged, capped, repaired, or properly
completed, as appropriate, under standards and procedures adopted
by the commission not later than the 90th day after:
(1) receiving notice under Section 1901.254; or
(2) becoming aware of the existence of the abandoned
well.
(d) Not later than the 10th [30th] day after the date a [the]
well is plugged, capped, repaired, or properly completed, as
appropriate, in accordance with Subsection (c) or (c-1), a driller,
licensed pump installer, or well owner who plugs, caps, repairs, or
properly completes the [an abandoned or deteriorated] well shall
submit a [plugging] report to:
(1) the board of directors of the groundwater
conservation district in which the well is located, if the well is
located in the boundaries of a groundwater conservation district;
and
(2) the department [the executive director].
SECTION 5. Section 1902.252, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 1902.252. NOTICE REGARDING INJURIOUS WATER,
DETERIORATED WELL, OR ABANDONED [; REPAIR OR COMPLETION OF] WELL.
(a) An installer shall notify the department and the landowner or
person having a pump installed or repaired that a well must be
plugged, capped, repaired, or properly completed, as appropriate,
on encountering:
(1) water injurious to vegetation, land, or other
water;
(2) a deteriorated well; or
(3) an abandoned well.
(b) An [To avoid injury or pollution, the] installer shall
give the notice required under Subsection (a) not later than the
fifth day after encountering the injurious water, deteriorated
well, or abandoned [repair or properly complete the] well [under
standards and procedures adopted by the commission].
(c) In this section, "abandoned well," "deteriorated well,"
and "properly completed" have the meanings assigned by Section
1901.255.
SECTION 6. Subchapter F, Chapter 1902, Occupations Code, is
amended by adding Section 1902.2525 to read as follows:
Sec. 1902.2525. PLUGGING, CAPPING, REPAIRING, OR PROPERLY
COMPLETING WATER WELL; REPORT. (a) In this section, "abandoned
well," "deteriorated well," and "properly completed" have the
meanings assigned by Section 1901.255.
(b) A landowner or other person having a pump installed who
encounters water injurious to vegetation, land, or other water or a
landowner or other person who possesses a deteriorated well shall
have the well plugged, capped, repaired, or properly completed, as
appropriate, under standards and procedures adopted by the
commission not later than the 30th day after:
(1) receiving notice under Section 1902.252; or
(2) becoming aware of the existence of the injurious
water or deteriorated well.
(c) A landowner or other person who possesses an abandoned
well shall have the well plugged, capped, repaired, or properly
completed, as appropriate, under standards and procedures adopted
by the commission not later than the 90th day after:
(1) receiving notice under Section 1902.252; or
(2) becoming aware of the existence of the abandoned
well.
(d) Not later than the 10th day after the date a well is
plugged, capped, repaired, or properly completed, as appropriate,
in accordance with Subsection (b) or (c), an installer or well owner
who plugs, caps, repairs, or properly completes the well shall
submit a report to:
(1) the board of directors of the groundwater
conservation district in which the well is located, if the well is
located in the boundaries of a groundwater conservation district;
and
(2) the department.
SECTION 7. Sections 1901.255(b) and (e) and 1902.253,
Occupations Code, are repealed.
SECTION 8. Not later than March 31, 2014, the Texas
Commission on Licensing and Regulation shall adopt the rules,
standards, or procedures necessary to implement this Act.
SECTION 9. The changes in law made by this Act to Chapters
1901 and 1902, Occupations Code, apply only to the discovery of
injurious water, a deteriorated well, or an abandoned well that
occurs on or after the effective date of this Act. The discovery of
injurious water, a deteriorated well, or an abandoned well that
occurs before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law
in effect on the date of discovery and the former law is continued
in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.