85R6202 JAM-F
By: Frank H.B. No. 3735
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to an application for a new or amended water right
submitted to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 11.002(1) and (3), Water Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(1) "Commission" means the Texas [Natural Resource
Conservation] Commission on Environmental Quality.
(3) "Executive director" means the executive director
of the Texas [Natural Resource Conservation] Commission on
Environmental Quality.
SECTION 2. Section 11.125(a), Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The application must be accompanied by a map or plat in
the form and containing the information prescribed by the
commission [drawn on tracing linen on a scale not less than one inch
equals 2,000 feet].
SECTION 3. Section 11.128, Water Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 11.128. PAYMENT OF FEE. The [If the] applicant [is
not exempted from payment of the filing fee under Section 12.112 of
this code, he] shall pay the filing fee prescribed by Section 5.701
[5.701(c)] at the time [he files] the application is filed. The
commission may [shall] not record, file, or consider the
application until the executive director certifies to the
commission that the fee is paid.
SECTION 4. Section 11.134, Water Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to read as
follows:
(b) The commission shall grant the application only if:
(1) the application conforms to the requirements
prescribed by this chapter and is accompanied by the prescribed
fee;
(2) unappropriated water is available in the source of
supply;
(3) the proposed appropriation:
(A) is intended for a beneficial use;
(B) does not impair existing water rights or
vested riparian rights;
(C) is not detrimental to the public welfare;
(D) considers any applicable environmental flow
standards established under Section 11.1471 and, if applicable, the
assessments performed under Sections 11.147(d) and (e) and Sections
11.150, 11.151, and 11.152; and
(E) addresses a water supply need in a manner
that is not inconsistent [consistent] with the state water plan and
the relevant approved regional water plan for any area in which the
proposed appropriation is located, unless the commission
determines that conditions warrant waiver of this requirement; and
(4) the applicant has provided evidence that
reasonable diligence will be used to avoid waste and achieve water
conservation as defined by Section 11.002(8)(B).
(b-1) In determining whether an appropriation is
detrimental to the public welfare under Subsection (b)(3)(C), the
commission may consider only the factors that are within the
jurisdiction and expertise of the commission as established by this
chapter.
SECTION 5. Sections 11.125(b) and (c), Water Code, are
repealed.
SECTION 6. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
an application for a new or amended water right received by the
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on or after the effective
date of this Act. An application received before the effective date
of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the
application was received, and the former law is continued in effect
for that purpose.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.