By: Murr H.B. No. 3846
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the management of the upper San Saba River.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 11, Water Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter L to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER L. SAN SABA RIVER WATER RIGHTS PLAN
Sec. 11.601. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Board" means the water rights board appointed as
provided by this subchapter.
(2) "Director" means a member of the board.
(3) "Regulatory authority" means, in accordance with
the context in which it is found, the commission or the board.
Sec. 11.602. TERRITORY. This subchapter and the plan and
rules adopted by the commission under this subchapter apply only to
the San Saba River segment of the Colorado River Basin in Mason,
Menard, McCulloch, and Schleicher Counties, including the San Saba
River in those counties.
Sec. 11.603. WATER RIGHTS BOARD. (a) The commissioners
courts of Mason, Menard, McCulloch, and Schleicher Counties may
jointly create a water rights board in the manner provided by this
section to:
(1) act as the agent of the commission in
administering and enforcing the plan adopted under this subchapter;
and
(2) provide information to the commission for the
commission to evaluate when creating the plan and deciding whether
to amend the plan by:
(A) locating, assessing, and assembling research
on stream gains and losses, geology, flows, rainfall, and
evaporation rates in Mason, Menard, McCulloch, and Schleicher
Counties; and
(B) identifying ways to enhance flows in the San
Saba River.
(b) The board is a governmental unit under Chapter 101,
Civil Practice and Remedies Code, and the operations of the board
are essential government functions and are not proprietary
functions for any purpose, including the application of that
chapter.
(c) The board or a board director or employee is not liable
for damages arising out of the performance of a governmental
function of the board, except as provided by Chapter 101, Civil
Practice and Remedies Code.
(d) The board consists of nine directors appointed to
represent Mason, Menard, McCulloch, and Schleicher Counties as
follows:
(1) from Mason County, two directors who are
landowners with riparian domestic and livestock water use rights;
(2) from Menard County, two directors, each of whom
is:
(A) a water right holder; or
(B) a user of water for riparian domestic and
livestock purposes;
(3) from McCulloch County, two directors, each of whom
is:
(A) a landowner who holds a water right; or
(B) a user of water for riparian domestic and
livestock purposes;
(4) from Schleicher County, two directors who are
groundwater irrigators; and
(5) one at-large director appointed by the commission
to represent the population of Mason, Menard, McCulloch, and
Schleicher Counties.
(e) The commissioners courts of Mason, Menard, McCulloch,
and Schleicher Counties shall appoint the directors described by
Subsections (d)(1), (2), (3), and (4) from their respective
counties.
(f) Directors are appointed for staggered terms of two
years. The term of one director appointed by each county's
commissioners court must expire each year.
(g) If a vacancy occurs on the board, the appointing county
commissioners court for the vacant position or the commission, as
applicable, shall appoint a person to fill the vacancy.
(h) The board or the commissioners court of the appointing
county may remove a director for misconduct or failure to carry out
the director's duties on receiving a written petition signed by a
majority of the remaining directors.
(i) A director is not entitled to reimbursement of expenses
or to compensation.
Sec. 11.604. BOARD OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES. (a) The board
shall meet within 30 days following initial appointment and elect a
president, vice president, and secretary to serve two-year terms.
The secretary shall keep accurate and complete records of all board
proceedings. Following the first meeting, the board shall meet
regularly as necessary.
(b) The board shall:
(1) appoint a liaison to communicate with state
agencies and consultants;
(2) select a mediator, if needed;
(3) employ a consultant if needed to analyze data and
identify research needs; and
(4) employ an enforcement officer to monitor
compliance with board orders, including by reading pump meters, and
at least annually identify alternative sources of water available
to water right holders and other water users in Mason, Menard,
McCulloch, and Schleicher Counties.
(c) The board may appoint other officers, agents, and
employees, set their compensation and term of office, prescribe
their duties and the method by which they may be removed, and
delegate to them any of its powers and duties as it considers
proper.
Sec. 11.605. ADVISORY COMMITTEE. (a) If a water rights
board is created under Section 11.603, an advisory committee shall
be created in the manner described by this section to:
(1) at least annually, provide recommendations to the
board regarding activities of benefit to water right holders in
Mason, Menard, McCulloch, and Schleicher Counties;
(2) advise the board on the status of available
surface water and groundwater in Mason, Menard, McCulloch, and
Schleicher Counties, including potential shortages;
(3) review and comment to the executive director on
the annual budget of the board; and
(4) perform other duties as may be requested by the
board.
(b) The advisory committee is composed of:
(1) a representative from the commission appointed by
the commission;
(2) a hydrologist appointed by the commission; and
(3) the general manager of each groundwater
conservation district with territory in Mason, Menard, McCulloch,
or Schleicher County.
(c) An advisory committee member is not entitled to
reimbursement of expenses incurred or to compensation.
(d) An advisory committee member described by Subsection
(b)(1) or (2) serves a term of two years from the date of
appointment and holds office until a successor is appointed.
(e) The advisory committee shall meet:
(1) at least once each quarter; and
(2) on request by the board.
Sec. 11.606. COMMISSION AUTHORITY; DELEGATION. (a) If a
board is appointed under Section 11.603, the commission shall:
(1) delegate to the board the authority to enforce the
plan adopted under this subchapter; and
(2) supervise the board in the board's performance of
the duties given to the board under this subchapter.
(b) The commission shall:
(1) conduct not more often than once a year an
investigation of the board to determine the board's compliance with
this subchapter; and
(2) prepare an annual report concerning the status of
the board's performance.
(c) If the commission determines that the board does not
consistently enforce the plan adopted under this subchapter, the
commission shall hold a hearing and determine whether to continue
the delegation.
(d) If the commission delegates authority to the board under
this subchapter, the board is considered the regulatory authority.
(e) If the commission has not yet delegated authority to the
board or revokes authority delegated to the board, the commission
is considered the regulatory authority.
(f) The regulatory authority is responsible for enforcing
the plan adopted under this subchapter.
Sec. 11.607. PLAN. (a) The commission by rule shall adopt
a plan for the administration of water use and water rights in the
segment of the San Saba River described by Section 11.602 in times
of drought or other emergency shortage of water to supplement the
water rights system established by this chapter. For the purposes
of this section, a drought or other emergency shortage of water has
the meaning assigned by commission rules, as provided by Section
11.053(c).
(b) Before adopting the plan, the commission shall seek
input on the plan from the board or, if a board has not been created,
from the commissioners courts of Mason, Menard, McCulloch, and
Schleicher Counties.
(c) Subject to the limitations provided by Subsections (d),
(e), and (f), the plan must:
(1) include measures to maximize the beneficial use of
and minimize waste of the water in the segment of the San Saba River
described by Section 11.602;
(2) include measures to protect the environment in the
territory described by Section 11.602;
(3) include measures to protect agricultural
activities that require the use of the water in the segment of the
San Saba River described by Section 11.602;
(4) include measures to maintain flows in the San Saba
River in Mason and McCulloch Counties while minimizing negative
impacts on irrigation in Menard and Schleicher Counties, which may
include curtailment orders to be issued to water right holders in
Menard and Schleicher Counties;
(5) provide that if at any time irrigation from the San
Saba River is prohibited in Menard and Schleicher Counties under
the plan, a person who holds a domestic or livestock riparian right
in the segment of the San Saba River described by Section 11.602 may
not use the right if the person has access to an alternative source
of water; and
(6) include a process for the board to request from the
commission temporary changes to required plan measures to respond
to conditions in the plan territory.
(d) The plan may not require the regulatory authority to
override a water right granted under Subchapter B. The plan may
provide for the regulatory authority to request that a water right
holder curtail use to support the plan.
(e) At any time, a person affected by the plan may submit to
the commission a petition to use a right granted to that person
under this chapter to use water from the San Saba River in a manner
or amount that is not authorized under the plan. The commission
shall approve the petition if the person satisfies all other
applicable requirements for exercising the right.
(f) The regulatory authority may not enforce a plan
requirement against a person who is exercising a right that has been
approved as described by Subsection (e) during the period the right
is approved by the commission to be exercised.
Sec. 11.608. REGISTRATION. (a) Each person who holds a
water right in an area that is included in the territory described
by Section 11.602 in Menard County or McCulloch County must
register the water right with the commission.
(b) Each person who uses surface water for domestic or
livestock purposes in an area that is included in the territory
described by Section 11.602 must register the use with the
commission.
Sec. 11.609. METERING. (a) The commission by rule shall
require each registered water right holder to:
(1) if the right is for 20 acre feet or more of water,
install a pump meter to monitor the water used under the right; or
(2) if the right is for less than 20 acre feet of
water, install a pump meter to monitor the water used under the
right if the regulatory authority receives funding from the Texas
Water Development Board or another source to cover the costs of the
meter.
Sec. 11.610. BUDGET; ASSESSMENTS. (a) Registered water
right holders shall reimburse the regulatory authority for the
necessary expenses of implementing the plan in the manner provided
by this section.
(b) Each fiscal year, the executive director shall:
(1) propose a budget for the implementation of the
plan by the regulatory authority;
(2) hold a public hearing on the proposed budget at a
location in Mason, Menard, McCulloch, or Schleicher County;
(3) not later than the 60th day before the date of the
hearing, provide notice to the board, if a board is created under
Section 11.603, and the advisory committee, if one is created under
Section 11.605, of the proposed budget showing the amount of
expenses that will be required annually for the administration of
water rights and use under the plan; and
(4) not later than the 30th day before the date of the
hearing, provide notice to each registered water right holder and
user of the proposed budget showing the amount of expenses that will
be required annually for the administration of water rights and use
under the plan.
(c) The board or the advisory committee may request that the
executive director modify the budget before providing the budget to
registered water right holders and users under Subsection (b)(4).
(d) After the hearing, the commission shall:
(1) equitably apportion the costs of the plan among
the registered water right holders; and
(2) issue an order assessing the apportioned costs on
registered water right holders, payable to the regulatory
authority.
(e) The regulatory authority may provide for payment of an
assessment in installments and shall specify the dates by which
payments shall be made to the regulatory authority.
(f) If the commission is the regulatory authority, the
executive director shall collect and deposit the assessments in the
watermaster administration account.
(g) Water may not be diverted, taken, or stored by, or
delivered to, any person while the person is delinquent in the
payment of assessed costs.
(h) An order of the commission assessing costs remains in
effect until the commission issues a further order. The commission
may modify, revoke, or supersede an order assessing costs with a
subsequent order.
Sec. 11.611. GIFTS AND GRANTS. The board may apply for,
request, solicit, contract for, receive, and accept gifts, grants,
donations, and other assistance from any source to carry out its
powers and duties under this subchapter.
Sec. 11.612. ENFORCEMENT. (a) The regulatory authority
may issue orders to implement the plan.
(b) When issuing an order to implement a measure authorized
by the plan, the regulatory authority shall issue the order to each
person who is subject to the order using the United States Postal
Service. If the regulatory authority determines that a person has
not received an order issued to the person, the regulatory
authority shall attempt to contact the person by telephone or in
person.
(c) If a person fails to comply with a rule adopted under
this subchapter or a board order, the board may recommend to the
commission that the commission take enforcement action.
Sec. 11.613. COMPLAINT; APPEAL. (a) A person dissatisfied
with any action of the board may submit a complaint to the board in
writing using the United States Postal Service not later than the
10th day after the board officially adopts the action.
(b) Not later than the 40th day after the date the board
receives the complaint, the board shall:
(1) hold a hearing on the complaint; and
(2) issue a decision on the complaint.
(c) The person may appeal the board's decision to the
commission and request relief. The commission shall evaluate the
board's decision and approve or reverse the decision.
(d) If the board receives a complaint regarding water
quality, the board shall forward the complaint to the commission.
The board is not responsible for responding to water quality
complaints.
Sec. 11.614. EXPIRATION. This subchapter expires September
1, 2021.
SECTION 2. Section 11.3291, Water Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (f) and (g) to read as follows:
(f) If the commission is acting as the regulatory authority
under Subchapter L:
(1) the commission is considered to be a watermaster
for the purposes of this section; and
(2) the territory described by Section 11.602 is
considered to be a water division for the purposes of this section.
(g) Subsection (f) and this subsection expire September 1,
2021.
SECTION 3. Notwithstanding Section 11.603(f), Water Code,
as added by this Act, in appointing the initial directors of the
water rights board under Section 11.603, Water Code, as added by
this Act, the county commissioners courts of Mason, Menard,
McCulloch, and Schleicher Counties shall each designate one
director from their respective counties to serve a term that
expires on the first anniversary of the date the director is
appointed.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.