Texas 2013 - 83rd Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB302 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Seliger S.B. No. 302
2	2	(In the Senate - Filed January 31, 2013; February 5, 2013,
3	3	read first time and referred to Committee on Natural Resources;
4	4	April 2, 2013, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
5	5	Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 1; April 2, 2013,
6	6	sent to printer.)
7	7	COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 302 By: Seliger
8	8
9	9
10	10	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
11	11	AN ACT
12	12	relating to the management, operation, rulemaking authority, and
13	13	oversight of groundwater conservation districts.
14	14	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
15	15	SECTION 1. Section 36.1071, Water Code, is amended by
16	16	amending Subsections (c) and (f) and adding Subsections (f-1) and
17	17	(i) to read as follows:
18	18	(c) The commission and the Texas Water Development Board
19	19	shall provide technical assistance to a district in the development
20	20	of the management plan required under Subsection (a) that [which]
21	21	may include, if requested by the district, a preliminary review and
22	22	comment on the plan prior to final approval by the Texas Water
23	23	Development Board [board]. If such review and comment by the
24	24	commission is requested, the commission shall provide comment not
25	25	later than 30 days from the date the request is received.
26	26	(f) [The district shall adopt rules necessary to implement
27	27	the management plan.] Prior to the development of the district's
28	28	management plan and the final [its] approval of that plan under
29	29	Section 36.1072, the district:
30	30	(1) may accept applications for permits submitted to
31	31	the district under Section 36.113;
32	32	(2) may issue interim permits as provided by Section
33	33	36.1133;
34	34	(3) may [not] adopt rules relating to:
35	35	(A) [other than rules pertaining to] the
36	36	registration of, [and] interim permitting of, metering of,
37	37	reporting of production from, spacing of, and assessment of fees
38	38	based on authorized or actual production of water from new and
39	39	existing wells; and
40	40	(B) [and rules governing spacing and] procedure
41	41	before the district's board; and
42	42	(4) [however, the district] may not:
43	43	(A) adopt any rules limiting the production of
44	44	wells, except rules requiring that groundwater produced from a well
45	45	be put to a nonwasteful, beneficial use; or
46	46	(B) take any action regarding a permit[. The
47	47	district may accept applications for permits under Section 36.113,
48	48	provided the district does not act on any such] application, other
49	49	than an application for an interim permit [until the district's
50	50	management plan is approved as provided in Section 36.1072].
51	51	(f-1) After the district's management plan is finally
52	52	approved under Section 36.1072, the district shall adopt or amend
53	53	rules limiting the production of wells or allocating groundwater
54	54	and review and amend the terms of any interim permits issued by the
55	55	district as necessary to implement the management plan and achieve
56	56	the applicable desired future conditions. The district may not
57	57	adopt or amend rules limiting the production of wells or allocating
58	58	groundwater if the district fails to:
59	59	(1) adopt a management plan as required by this
60	60	section;
61	61	(2) submit a management plan to the executive
62	62	administrator as required by Section 36.1072; and
63	63	(3) receive approval of the management plan under
64	64	Section 36.1072.
65	65	(i) The commission shall take action under Section 36.303
66	66	pursuant to a petition filed under Section 36.1082 to ensure that
67	67	all districts in the state comply with the requirements of this
68	68	section.
69	69	SECTION 2. Section 36.1072, Water Code, is amended by
70	70	amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (c-1) to read as
71	71	follows:
72	72	(c) Once the executive administrator has granted
73	73	administrative approval to [approved] a district's management
74	74	plan:
75	75	(1) the executive administrator may not revoke but may
76	76	require revisions to the approved management plan as provided by
77	77	Subsection (g); and
78	78	(2) the executive administrator may request
79	79	additional information from the district if the information is
80	80	necessary to clarify, modify, or supplement previously submitted
81	81	material[, but a request for additional information does not render
82	82	the management plan unapproved].
83	83	(c-1) Not later than the 60th day after the date of the
84	84	administrative approval of a district's management plan under
85	85	Subsection (c), the executive administrator shall review the
86	86	management plan to determine whether goals of the management plan
87	87	are consistent with the achievement of the desired future
88	88	conditions established under Section 36.108(d) that are applicable
89	89	to all or part of the district, considering any available
90	90	information regarding groundwater levels, and:
91	91	(1) request additional information from the district;
92	92	(2) recommend that the district make substantive
93	93	changes to the management plan; or
94	94	(3) approve the management plan.
95	95	SECTION 3. Section 36.1073, Water Code, is amended to read
96	96	as follows:
97	97	Sec. 36.1073. AMENDMENT TO MANAGEMENT PLAN. Any amendment
98	98	to a district's [the] management plan shall be submitted to the
99	99	executive administrator within 60 days following adoption of the
100	100	amendment by the district's board. The executive administrator
101	101	shall review and approve any amendment that [which] substantially
102	102	affects the management plan in accordance with the procedures
103	103	established under Section 36.1072.
104	104	SECTION 4. Subsection (b), Section 36.1082, Water Code, is
105	105	amended to read as follows:
106	106	(b) An affected person may file a petition with the
107	107	commission requesting an inquiry for any of the following reasons:
108	108	(1) a district fails to submit its management plan to
109	109	the executive administrator;
110	110	(2) a district fails to participate in the joint
111	111	planning process under Section 36.108;
112	112	(3) a district fails to adopt rules;
113	113	(4) a district fails to adopt the applicable desired
114	114	future conditions adopted by the management area at a joint
115	115	meeting;
116	116	(5) a district fails to update its management plan
117	117	before the second anniversary of the adoption of desired future
118	118	conditions by the management area;
119	119	(6) a district fails to update its rules to implement
120	120	the applicable desired future conditions before the first
121	121	anniversary of the date it updated its management plan with the
122	122	adopted desired future conditions;
123	123	(7) the rules adopted by a district are not designed to
124	124	achieve the desired future conditions adopted by the management
125	125	area during the joint planning process;
126	126	(8) the rules adopted by the district do not achieve
127	127	the applicable desired future conditions;
128	128	(9) the groundwater in the management area is not
129	129	adequately protected by the rules adopted by a district; or
130	130	(10) [(9)] the groundwater in the management area is
131	131	not adequately protected due to the failure of a district to enforce
132	132	substantial compliance with its rules.
133	133	SECTION 5. Subsection (d), Section 36.1083, Water Code, is
134	134	amended to read as follows:
135	135	(d) The districts shall prepare [a] revised conditions
136	136	[plan] in accordance with development board recommendations and
137	137	hold, after notice, at least one public hearing at a central
138	138	location in the management area. After consideration of all public
139	139	and development board comments, the districts shall revise the
140	140	conditions and submit the conditions to the development board for
141	141	review.
142	142	SECTION 6. Subchapter D, Chapter 36, Water Code, is amended
143	143	by adding Section 36.1133 to read as follows:
144	144	Sec. 36.1133. INTERIM PERMITS. (a) Before a district's
145	145	first management plan is finally approved under Section 36.1072, a
146	146	district may issue an interim permit for any activity regulated by
147	147	the district for which a permit is required, subject to:
148	148	(1) rules adopted by the district; and
149	149	(2) modification of the terms of the interim permit as
150	150	necessary to implement the district's management plan and achieve
151	151	the applicable desired future conditions after the management plan
152	152	is finally approved under that section.
153	153	(b) Section 36.113 and the provisions of this chapter
154	154	relating to permits issued under that section apply to a permit
155	155	issued under this section to the extent those provisions may be made
156	156	applicable.
157	157	SECTION 7. Section 36.301, Water Code, is amended to read as
158	158	follows:
159	159	Sec. 36.301. VIOLATIONS RELATED TO [FAILURE TO SUBMIT A]
160	160	MANAGEMENT PLAN. The commission shall take appropriate action
161	161	under Section 36.303 if:
162	162	(1) a district adopts or amends a rule in violation of
163	163	Section 36.1071(f-1);
164	164	(2) [If] a district fails to submit a management plan
165	165	or to receive approval of the [its] management plan under Section
166	166	36.1072;
167	167	(3) a district fails to timely readopt the management
168	168	plan or to submit the readopted management plan to the executive
169	169	administrator for approval in accordance with Section 36.1072(e);
170	170	(4) the executive administrator determines that a
171	171	readopted management plan does not meet the requirements for
172	172	approval, and the district has exhausted all appeals;[,] or
173	173	(5) a district fails to submit or receive approval of
174	174	an amendment to the management plan under Section 36.1073[, the
175	175	commission shall take appropriate action under Section 36.303].
176	176	SECTION 8. (a) Section 36.1071, Water Code, as amended by
177	177	this Act, applies only to the rulemaking authority of a groundwater
178	178	conservation district related to a management plan or an amendment
179	179	to a management plan that is submitted by the district to the
180	180	executive administrator of the Texas Water Development Board for
181	181	review and approval on or after the effective date of this Act. A
182	182	district's rulemaking authority related to a management plan or an
183	183	amendment to a management plan that is submitted to the executive
184	184	administrator of the Texas Water Development Board before the
185	185	effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect when the
186	186	management plan or amendment was submitted, and the former law is
187	187	continued in effect for that purpose.
188	188	(b) The change in law made by this Act to Section 36.301,
189	189	Water Code, applies only to a violation by a groundwater
190	190	conservation district that occurs on or after the effective date of
191	191	this Act. A violation that occurs before the effective date of this
192	192	Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the violation
193	193	occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for that
194	194	purpose.
195	195	SECTION 9. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
196	196	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
197	197	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
198	198	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
199	199	Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
200	200	* * * * *