Texas 2013 - 83rd Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1532 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 1532
2	2	(Rodriguez of Travis)
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the power of the Texas Commission on Environmental
8	8	Quality to authorize certain injection wells that transect or
9	9	terminate in the Edwards Aquifer.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 27, Water Code, is amended
12	12	by adding Section 27.0516 to read as follows:
13	13	Sec. 27.0516. PERMITS FOR INJECTION WELLS THAT TRANSECT OR
14	14	TERMINATE IN PORTION OF EDWARDS AQUIFER WITHIN EXTERNAL BOUNDARIES
15	15	OF BARTON SPRINGS-EDWARDS AQUIFER CONSERVATION DISTRICT. (a) In
16	16	this section:
17	17	(1) "Edwards Aquifer" means that portion of an arcuate
18	18	belt of porous, waterbearing limestones composed of the Edwards
19	19	Formation, Georgetown Formation, Comanche Peak Formation, Salmon
20	20	Peak Limestone, McKnight Formation, West Nueces Formation, Devil's
21	21	River Limestone, Person Formation, Kainer Formation, and Edwards
22	22	Group trending from west to east to northeast through Kinney,
23	23	Uvalde, Medina, Bexar, Kendall, Comal, Hays, Travis, and Williamson
24	24	Counties. The permeable aquifer units generally overlie the
25	25	less-permeable Glen Rose Formation to the south, overlie the
26	26	less-permeable Comanche Peak and Walnut Formations north of the
27	27	Colorado River, and underlie the less-permeable Del Rio Clay
28	28	regionally.
29	29	(2) "Engineered aquifer storage and recovery
30	30	facility" means a facility with one or more wells that is located,
31	31	designed, constructed, and operated for the purpose of injecting
32	32	fresh water into a subsurface permeable stratum and storing the
33	33	water for subsequent withdrawal and use for a beneficial purpose.
34	34	(3) "Fresh water" means surface water or groundwater,
35	35	without regard to whether the water has been physically,
36	36	chemically, or biologically altered, that:
37	37	(A) contains a total dissolved solids
38	38	concentration of not more than 1,000 milligrams per liter; and
39	39	(B) is otherwise suitable as a source of drinking
40	40	water supply.
41	41	(4) "Saline portion of the Edwards Aquifer" means the
42	42	portion of the Edwards Aquifer that contains only groundwater with
43	43	a total dissolved solids concentration of more than 1,000
44	44	milligrams per liter.
45	45	(b) This section applies only to the portion of the Edwards
46	46	Aquifer that is within the geographic area circumscribed by the
47	47	external boundaries of the Barton Springs-Edwards Aquifer
48	48	Conservation District but is not in that district's territory or
49	49	the territory of the Edwards Aquifer Authority.
50	50	(c) This section prevails over Section 27.051(i) to the
51	51	extent of a conflict.
52	52	(d) Except as otherwise provided by this section, the
53	53	commission by rule or permit may not authorize an injection well
54	54	that transects or terminates in the Edwards Aquifer.
55	55	(e) The commission by rule may authorize:
56	56	(1) the injection of fresh water withdrawn from the
57	57	Edwards Aquifer into a well that transects or terminates in the
58	58	Edwards Aquifer for the purpose of providing additional recharge;
59	59	or
60	60	(2) the injection of rainwater, storm water, flood
61	61	water, or groundwater into the Edwards Aquifer by means of an
62	62	improved natural recharge feature such as a sinkhole or cave
63	63	located in a karst topographic area for the purpose of providing
64	64	additional recharge.
65	65	(f) The commission by general permit may authorize:
66	66	(1) an activity described by Subsection (e);
67	67	(2) an injection well that transects and isolates the
68	68	saline portion of the Edwards Aquifer and terminates in a lower
69	69	aquifer for the purpose of injecting:
70	70	(A) concentrate from a desalination facility; or
71	71	(B) fresh water as part of an engineered aquifer
72	72	storage and recovery facility;
73	73	(3) an injection well that terminates in that part of
74	74	the saline portion of the Edwards Aquifer that has a total dissolved
75	75	solids concentration of more than 10,000 milligrams per liter for
76	76	the purpose of injecting into the saline portion of the Edwards
77	77	Aquifer:
78	78	(A) concentrate from a desalination facility,
79	79	provided that the injection well must be at least three miles from
80	80	the closest outlet of Barton Springs; or
81	81	(B) fresh water as part of an engineered aquifer
82	82	and storage recovery facility, provided that each well used for
83	83	injection or withdrawal from the facility must be at least three
84	84	miles from the closest outlet of Barton Springs; or
85	85	(4) an injection well that transects or terminates in
86	86	the Edwards Aquifer for:
87	87	(A) aquifer remediation;
88	88	(B) the injection of a nontoxic tracer dye as
89	89	part of a hydrologic study; or
90	90	(C) another beneficial activity that is designed
91	91	and undertaken for the purpose of increasing protection of an
92	92	underground source of drinking water from pollution or other
93	93	deleterious effects.
94	94	(g) The commission must hold a public meeting before issuing
95	95	a general permit under this section.
96	96	(h) Rules adopted or a general permit issued under this
97	97	section:
98	98	(1) must require that an injection well authorized by
99	99	the rules or permit be monitored by means of:
100	100	(A) a monitoring well operated by the injection
101	101	well owner if the commission determines that there is an
102	102	underground source of drinking water in the area of review that is
103	103	potentially affected by the injection well; or
104	104	(B) if Paragraph (A) does not apply, a monitoring
105	105	well operated by a party other than the injection well owner,
106	106	provided that all results of monitoring are promptly made available
107	107	to the injection well owner;
108	108	(2) must ensure that an authorized activity will not
109	109	result in the waste or pollution of fresh water;
110	110	(3) may not authorize an injection well under
111	111	Subsection (f)(2) or (3) unless the well is initially associated
112	112	with a small-scale research project designed to evaluate the
113	113	long-term feasibility and safety of:
114	114	(A) the injection of concentrate from a
115	115	desalination facility; or
116	116	(B) an aquifer storage and recovery project;
117	117	(4) must require any authorization granted to be
118	118	renewed at least as frequently as every 10 years;
119	119	(5) must require that an injection well authorized
120	120	under Subsection (f)(2)(A) or (3)(A) be monitored on an ongoing
121	121	basis by or in coordination with the well owner and that the well
122	122	owner file monitoring reports with the commission at least as
123	123	frequently as every three months; and
124	124	(6) must ensure that any injection well authorized for
125	125	the purpose of injecting concentrate from a desalination facility
126	126	does not transect the fresh water portion of the Edwards Aquifer.
127	127	(i) A monitoring well described by Subsection (h)(1), if
128	128	properly sited and completed, may also be used for monitoring a
129	129	saline water production well.
130	130	(j) A project is considered to be a small-scale research
131	131	project for purposes of Subsection (h)(3) if the project consists
132	132	of one production well and one injection well that are operated on a
133	133	limited scale to provide requisite scientific and engineering
134	134	information. Such a project is considered to be a small-scale
135	135	research project regardless of the borehole size of the wells or the
136	136	equipment associated with the wells or whether the wells are
137	137	subsequently incorporated into a larger-scale commercial facility.
138	138	(k) Notwithstanding Subsection (h)(3), a general permit may
139	139	authorize the owner of an injection well authorized under
140	140	Subsection (f)(2) or (3) to continue operating the well for the
141	141	purpose of implementing the desalination or engineered aquifer
142	142	storage and recovery project following completion of the
143	143	small-scale research project, provided that:
144	144	(1) the injection well owner timely submits the
145	145	information collected as part of the research project, including
146	146	monitoring reports and information regarding the environmental
147	147	impact of the well, to the commission;
148	148	(2) the injection well owner, following the completion
149	149	of studies and monitoring adequate to characterize risks to the
150	150	fresh water portion of the Edwards Aquifer and other fresh water
151	151	associated with the continued operation of the well, and at least 90
152	152	days before the date the owner initiates commercial well
153	153	operations, files with the commission a notice of intent to
154	154	continue operation of the well after completion of the research
155	155	project; and
156	156	(3) the commission, based on the studies and
157	157	monitoring, the report provided by Texas State University--San
158	158	Marcos under Subsection (l)(2), and any other reasonably available
159	159	information, determines that continued operation of the injection
160	160	well as described in the notice of intent does not pose an
161	161	unreasonable risk to the fresh water portion of the Edwards Aquifer
162	162	or other fresh water associated with the continued operation of the
163	163	well.
164	164	(l) Before the commission makes a determination under
165	165	Subsection (k)(3):
166	166	(1) the commission, not later than the 15th day after
167	167	the date of receipt of the results of the studies and monitoring,
168	168	must provide the information received to Texas State
169	169	University--San Marcos; and
170	170	(2) Texas State University--San Marcos, not later than
171	171	the 60th day after the date of receipt of the information, must
172	172	review and analyze the information and report its findings to the
173	173	commission.
174	174	(m) The commission shall make the information provided by
175	175	the owner of the injection well under Subsection (k)(1) and the
176	176	report provided by Texas State University--San Marcos under
177	177	Subsection (l)(2) easily accessible to the public in a timely
178	178	manner. The permit may authorize the owner of the well to continue
179	179	operating the well following completion of the research project
180	180	pending the determination by the commission.
181	181	(n) If the commission preliminarily determines that
182	182	continued operation of the injection well would pose an
183	183	unreasonable risk to the fresh water portion of the Edwards Aquifer
184	184	or other fresh water associated with the continued operation of the
185	185	well, the commission shall notify the operator and specify, if
186	186	possible, what well modifications would be adequate to prevent that
187	187	unreasonable risk. If the operator fails to modify the injection
188	188	well as specified by the commission, the commission shall require
189	189	the operator to cease operating the well.
190	190	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.