By: Seliger S.B. No. 302
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the management, operation, rulemaking authority, and
oversight of groundwater conservation districts.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 36.1071, Water Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (c) and (f) and adding Subsection (f-1) and
(i) to read as follows:
(c) The commission and the Texas Water Development Board
shall provide technical assistance to a district in the development
of the management plan required under Subsection (a) that [which]
may include, if requested by the district, a preliminary review and
comment on the plan prior to final approval by the Texas Water
Development Board [board]. If such review and comment by the
commission is requested, the commission shall provide comment not
later than 30 days from the date the request is received.
(f) [The district shall adopt rules necessary to implement
the management plan.] Prior to the development of the district's
management plan and the final [its] approval of that plan under
Section 36.1072, the district:
(1) may accept applications for permits submitted to
the district under Section 36.113;
(2) may issue interim permits as provided by Section
36.1133;
(3) may [not] adopt rules relating to:
(A) [other than rules pertaining to] the
registration of, [and] interim permitting of, metering of,
reporting of production from, spacing of, and assessment of fees
based on authorized or actual production of water from new and
existing wells; and
(B) [and rules governing spacing and] procedure
before the district's board; and
(4) [however, the district] may not:
(A) adopt any rules limiting the production of
wells, except rules requiring that groundwater produced from a well
be put to a nonwasteful, beneficial use; or
(B) take any action regarding a permit [. The
district may accept applications for permits under Section 36.113,
provided the district does not act on any such] application, other
than an application for an interim permit [until the district's
management plan is approved as provided in Section 36.1072].
(f-1) After the district's management plan is finally
approved under Section 36.1072, the district shall adopt or amend
rules limiting the production of wells or allocating groundwater
and review and amend the terms of any interim permits issued by the
district as necessary to implement the management plan and achieve
the applicable desired future conditions. The district may not
adopt or amend rules limiting the production of wells or allocating
groundwater if the district fails to:
(1) adopt a management plan as required by this
section;
(2) submit a management plan to the executive
administrator as required by Section 36.1072; and
(3) receive approval of the management plan under
Section 36.1072.
(i) The commission shall take action under section 36.303
pursuant to a petition filed under Section 36.1082 or on the
commission's own initiative to ensure that all districts in the
state comply with the requirements of this section.
SECTION 2. Section 36.1072, Water Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (c-1) to read as
follows:
(c) Once the executive administrator has granted
administrative approval to [approved] a district's management
plan:
(1) the executive administrator may not revoke but may
require revisions to the approved management plan as provided by
Subsection (g); and
(2) the executive administrator may request
additional information from the district if the information is
necessary to clarify, modify, or supplement previously submitted
material[, but a request for additional information does not render
the management plan unapproved].
(c-1) Not later than the 60th day after the date of the
administrative approval of a district's management plan under
Subsection (c), the executive administrator shall review the
management plan to determine whether goals of the management plan
are consistent with the achievement of the desired future
conditions established under Section 36.108(d) that are applicable
to all or part of the district, considering any available
information regarding groundwater levels, and:
(1) request additional information from the district;
(2) recommend that the district make substantive
changes to the management plan; or
(3) approve the management plan.
SECTION 3. Section 36.1073, Water Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 36.1073. AMENDMENT TO MANAGEMENT PLAN. Any amendment
to a district's [the] management plan shall be submitted to the
executive administrator within 60 days following adoption of the
amendment by the district's board. The executive administrator
shall review and approve any amendment that [which] substantially
affects the management plan in accordance with the procedures
established under Section 36.1072.
SECTION 4. Subsection (b), Section 36.1082, Water Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) An affected person may file a petition with the
commission requesting an inquiry for any of the following reasons:
(1) a district fails to submit its management plan to
the executive administrator;
(2) a district fails to participate in the joint
planning process under section 36.108;
(3) a district fails to adopt rules;
(4) a district fails to adopt the applicable desired
future conditions adopted by the management area at a joint
meeting;
(5) a district fails to update its management plan
before the second anniversary of the adoption of desired future
conditions by the management area;
(6) a district fails to update its rules to implement
the applicable desired future conditions before the first
anniversary of the date it updated its management plan with the
adopted desired future conditions;
(7) the rules adopted by a district are not designed to
achieve the desired future conditions adopted by the management
area during the joint planning process;
(8) the rules adopted by the district do not achieve
the applicable desired future condition;
(9)(8) the groundwater in the management area is not
adequately protected by the rules adopted by a district; or
(10)(9) the groundwater in the management area is not
adequately protected due to the failure of a district to enforce
substantial compliance with its rules.
SECTION 5. Section 36.1083(d), Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(d) The districts shall prepare [a] revised conditions
[plan] in accordance with development board recommendations and
hold, after notice, at least one public hearing at a central
location in the management area. After consideration of all public
and development board comments, the districts shall revise the
conditions and submit the conditions to the development board for
review.
SECTION 6. Subchapter D, Chapter 36, Water Code, is amended
by adding Section 36.1133 to read as follows:
Sec. 36.1133. INTERIM PERMITS. (a) Before a district's
first management plan is finally approved under Section 36.1072, a
district may issue an interim permit for any activity regulated by
the district for which a permit is required, subject to:
(1) rules adopted by the district; and
(2) modification of the terms of the interim permit as
necessary to implement the district's management plan and achieve
the applicable desired future conditions after the management plan
is finally approved under that section.
(b) Section 36.113 and the provisions of this chapter
relating to permits issued under that section apply to a permit
issued under this section to the extent those provisions may be made
applicable.
SECTION 7. Section 36.207, Water Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 36.207. USE OF PRODUCTION [PERMIT] FEES AUTHORIZED BY
SPECIAL LAW. A district may use funds obtained from production
[permit] fees collected pursuant to the special law governing the
district for any purpose consistent with the district's approved
management plan including, without limitation, making grants,
loans, or contractual payments to achieve, facilitate, or expedite
reductions in groundwater pumping or the development or
distribution of alternative water supplies.
SECTION 8. Section 36.301, Water Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 36.301. VIOLATIONS RELATED TO [FAILURE TO SUBMIT A]
MANAGEMENT PLAN. The commission shall take appropriate action
under Section 36.303 if:
(1) a district adopts or amends a rule in violation of
Section 36.1071(f-1);
(2) [If] a district fails to submit a management plan
or to receive approval of the [its] management plan under Section
36.1072;
(3) a district fails to timely readopt the management
plan or to submit the readopted management plan to the executive
administrator for approval in accordance with Section 36.1072(e);
(4) the executive administrator determines that a
readopted management plan does not meet the requirements for
approval, and the district has exhausted all appeals;[,] or
(5) a district fails to submit or receive approval of
an amendment to the management plan under Section 36.1073[, the
commission shall take appropriate action under Section 36.303].
SECTION 9. (a) Section 36.1071, Water Code, as amended by
this Act, applies only to the rulemaking authority of a groundwater
conservation district related to a management plan or an amendment
to a management plan that is submitted by the district to the
executive administrator of the Texas Water Development Board for
review and approval on or after the effective date of this Act. A
district's rulemaking authority related to a management plan or an
amendment to a management plan that is submitted to the executive
administrator of the Texas Water Development Board before the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect when the
management plan or amendment was submitted, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
(b) The change in law made by this Act to Section 36.301,
Water Code, applies only to a violation by a groundwater
conservation district that occurs on or after the effective date of
this Act. A violation that occurs before the effective date of this
Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the violation
occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 10. This Act takes effect immediately if it
receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2013.