By: Campbell S.B. No. 963
(In the Senate - Filed March 5, 2015; March 18, 2015, read
first time and referred to Committee on Agriculture, Water, and
Rural Affairs; April 28, 2015, reported adversely, with favorable
Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0;
April 28, 2015, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 963 By: Kolkhorst
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the creation of the Comal Trinity Groundwater
Conservation District; providing authority to issue bonds;
providing authority to impose assessments, fees, or surcharges.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle H, Title 6, Special District Local Laws
Code, is amended by adding Chapter 8875 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 8875. COMAL TRINITY GROUNDWATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 8875.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Board" means the board of directors of the
district.
(2) "Commission" means the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality.
(3) "Commissioners court" means the Comal County
Commissioners Court.
(4) "Director" means a member of the board.
(5) "District" means the Comal Trinity Groundwater
Conservation District.
(6) "Retail public utility" means a retail public
utility as defined by Section 13.002, Water Code, that is providing
service in the district.
Sec. 8875.002. NATURE OF DISTRICT. The district is a
groundwater conservation district in Comal County created under and
essential to accomplish the purposes of Section 59, Article XVI,
Texas Constitution.
Sec. 8875.003. INITIAL DISTRICT TERRITORY. The initial
boundaries of the district are coextensive with the boundaries of
Comal County, Texas, except that the district does not include any
territory that is included in the boundaries of the Trinity Glen
Rose Groundwater Conservation District.
Sec. 8875.004. CONFLICTS OF LAW. This chapter prevails
over any provision of general law, including a provision of Chapter
36, Water Code, that is in conflict or is inconsistent with this
chapter.
SUBCHAPTER B. BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Sec. 8875.051. COMPOSITION OF BOARD. The district is
governed by a board of seven appointed directors.
Sec. 8875.052. TERMS AND APPOINTMENT OF DIRECTORS.
(a) Directors serve staggered four-year terms. Directors are
appointed by the commissioners court as follows:
(1) three directors shall be appointed from the
incorporated areas of Comal County; and
(2) four directors shall be appointed with one
director appointed from each of the four commissioners court
precincts.
(b) To be appointed under this section, a person:
(1) must be a registered voter of Comal County; and
(2) to the extent practicable, should be familiar with
the use of water by industry and commerce, municipal and rural
utilities, agriculture, and private wells.
Sec. 8875.053. VACANCIES. If there is a vacancy on the
board, the commissioners court shall appoint a person to fill the
vacancy for the remainder of the term in a manner that meets the
representational requirements of Section 8875.052.
SUBCHAPTER C. POWERS AND DUTIES
Sec. 8875.101. GROUNDWATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT POWERS
AND DUTIES. The district has the rights, powers, privileges,
functions, and duties provided by the general law of this state,
including Chapter 36, Water Code, applicable to groundwater
conservation districts created under Section 59, Article XVI, Texas
Constitution.
Sec. 8875.102. CONTRACTS. The district may contract with a
state agency or political subdivision, including a municipality, a
county, a river authority, or another district, to carry out any
function of the district.
Sec. 8875.103. BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES. (a) The
district may participate in the development and implementation of
best management practices for water resource management in the
district and may engage in and promote the acceptance of best
management practices through education efforts sponsored by the
district.
(b) Development and implementation of best management
practices must address water quantity and quality practices such as
brush management, prescribed grazing, recharge structures, water
and silt detention and retention structures, plugging of abandoned
wells, rainwater harvesting, and other treatment measures for the
conservation of water resources.
(c) The district may not adopt or implement a best
management practice that is in conflict with or duplicative of a
best management practice adopted by another groundwater
conservation district whose territory covers any part of Comal
County.
Sec. 8875.104. LIMITATIONS ON DISTRICT POWERS. (a) The
district may not:
(1) require the owner of a well exempt from permitting
to install a meter or measuring device on the well; or
(2) assess and collect a production fee on wells
exempt from permitting.
(b) The district does not have the authority granted by
Sections 36.020 and 36.201-36.204, Water Code, relating to taxes.
Sec. 8875.105. PRODUCTION LIMITS AND PERMITS FOR CERTAIN
WELLS. (a) In this section:
(1) "Maximum production capacity" means the rated
capacity of a well that is measured in gallons per minute of
production as certified by the driller of the well or a professional
geologist or engineer at the time the well was initially
constructed or placed into service.
(2) "Trinity Aquifer" means the Trinity group of
aquifers, including the:
(A) Upper Trinity, consisting of the Upper Glen
Rose Limestone;
(B) Middle Trinity, consisting of the Lower Glen
Rose Limestone, the Hensell Sand, and the Cow Creek Limestone; and
(C) Lower Trinity, consisting of the Sligo
Limestone and the Hosston Sand.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 36.117(j), Water Code, the
district shall issue to an applicant a permit for a well that is not
exempt from permitting and that was drilled into or through the
Trinity Aquifer on or before the effective date of the Act enacting
this chapter that authorizes the production of the well at an amount
not less than the maximum production capacity of the well.
(c) Notwithstanding Section 36.117(j), Water Code, a well
that is not exempt from permitting and that was drilled into or
through the Trinity Aquifer after the effective date of the Act
enacting this chapter requires a permit from the district.
Sec. 8875.106. WELL EXEMPTION. A well is exempt from the
requirement to obtain a withdrawal permit provided that the well:
(1) is used solely for domestic use or for providing
water for livestock or poultry regardless of land lot size and is
drilled, completed, or equipped so that it is incapable of
producing more than 25,000 gallons of groundwater a day;
(2) is not capable of producing more than 10,000
gallons of water a day; or
(3) is metered and does not produce more than 10
acre-feet of water in a calendar year.
Sec. 8875.107. MEASURING DEVICES. (a) The owner of a
nonexempt well shall install and maintain a water well meter, or
alternative measuring device or method approved by the district,
designed to indicate the flow rate and cumulative amount of water
withdrawn by that well, on each individual well no later than 36
months after the effective date of the Act enacting this chapter.
(b) A well owner is responsible for the costs of installing,
operating, and maintaining measuring devices.
Sec. 8875.108. NO EMINENT DOMAIN. The district may not
exercise the power of eminent domain.
SUBCHAPTER D. GENERAL FINANCIAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 8875.151. FEES. (a) The district may set a
reasonable fee for administrative management on a per well basis.
The district may set a fee for administrative management on:
(1) a well used solely for domestic or livestock
purposes in an amount not greater than $15 per well, per year; and
(2) a well that is exempt from permitting and that is
not used solely for domestic or livestock purposes in an amount not
greater than $50 per well, per year.
(b) The district may impose reasonable production fees on
each well that is not exempt from permitting based on the amount of
water actually withdrawn from the well. The district may not impose
a production fee under this subsection in an amount greater than:
(1) $1 per acre-foot for groundwater used for
agricultural purposes; or
(2) $40 per acre-foot for groundwater used for any
other purpose.
SECTION 2. Not later than December 31, 2015, the Comal
County Commissioners Court shall appoint the directors of the Comal
Trinity Groundwater Conservation District as provided by Section
8875.052, Special District Local Laws Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 3. (a) The legal notice of the intention to
introduce this Act, setting forth the general substance of this
Act, has been published as provided by law, and the notice and a
copy of this Act have been furnished to all persons, agencies,
officials, or entities to which they are required to be furnished
under Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, and Chapter 313,
Government Code.
(b) The governor, one of the required recipients, has
submitted the notice and Act to the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality.
(c) The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has filed
its recommendations relating to this Act with the governor, the
lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of
representatives within the required time.
(d) All requirements of the constitution and laws of this
state and the rules and procedures of the legislature with respect
to the notice, introduction, and passage of this Act are fulfilled
and accomplished.
SECTION 4. 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, 2015.
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