Texas 2017 - 85th 1st C.S.

Texas House Bill HB27 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85S10519 SLB-F
2	2	By: Larson H.B. No. 27
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the development of brackish groundwater.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 36, Water Code, is amended
10	10	by adding Section 36.1015 to read as follows:
11	11	Sec. 36.1015. RULES FOR PERMITS IN BRACKISH GROUNDWATER
12	12	PRODUCTION ZONES. (a) In this section:
13	13	(1) "Designated brackish groundwater production zone"
14	14	means an aquifer, subdivision of an aquifer, or geologic stratum
15	15	designated under Section 16.060(b)(5).
16	16	(2) "Development board" means the Texas Water
17	17	Development Board.
18	18	(3) "Gulf Coast Aquifer" means the system of
19	19	hydrogeologic units that run along the Gulf Coast from the Sabine
20	20	River to the Rio Grande, including:
21	21	(A) the Catahoula confining system, including
22	22	the Frio Formation, the Anahuac Formation, and the Catahoula Tuff
23	23	or Sandstone;
24	24	(B) the Jasper Aquifer, including the Oakville
25	25	Sandstone and Fleming Formation;
26	26	(C) the Burkeville confining system separating
27	27	the Jasper Aquifer from the Evangeline Aquifer;
28	28	(D) the Evangeline Aquifer, including the Goliad
29	29	Sand; and
30	30	(E) the Chicot Aquifer, including the Willis
31	31	Sand, the Bentley and Montgomery Formations, the Beaumont Clay, and
32	32	alluvial deposits at the surface.
33	33	(b) A district located over any part of a designated
34	34	brackish groundwater production zone may adopt rules to govern the
35	35	issuance of permits for the completion and operation of a well for
36	36	the withdrawal of brackish groundwater from a designated brackish
37	37	groundwater production zone and shall adopt rules described by this
38	38	subsection if the district receives a petition from a person with a
39	39	legally defined interest in groundwater in the district. The
40	40	district must adopt the rules not later than the 180th day after the
41	41	date the district receives the petition. Rules adopted under this
42	42	subsection apply only to a permit for a project described by
43	43	Subsection (c).
44	44	(c) A person may obtain a permit under rules adopted under
45	45	this section for the following projects:
46	46	(1) a municipal project designed to treat brackish
47	47	groundwater to drinking water standards for the purpose of
48	48	providing a public source of drinking water; and
49	49	(2) an electric generation project to treat brackish
50	50	groundwater to water quality standards sufficient for the project
51	51	needs.
52	52	(d) The rules adopted must:
53	53	(1) provide for processing an application for a
54	54	brackish groundwater production zone operating permit in the same
55	55	manner as an application for an operating permit for a fresh
56	56	groundwater well, except as provided by this section;
57	57	(2) allow withdrawals and rates of withdrawal of
58	58	brackish groundwater from a designated brackish groundwater
59	59	production zone not to exceed and consistent with the withdrawal
60	60	amounts identified in Section 16.060(e);
61	61	(3) provide for a minimum term of 30 years for a permit
62	62	issued for a well that produces brackish groundwater from a
63	63	designated brackish groundwater production zone;
64	64	(4) require implementation of a monitoring system
65	65	recommended by the development board to monitor water levels and
66	66	water quality in the same or an adjacent aquifer, subdivision of an
67	67	aquifer, or geologic stratum in which the designated brackish
68	68	groundwater production zone is located;
69	69	(5) for a project located in a designated brackish
70	70	groundwater production zone in the Gulf Coast Aquifer, require
71	71	reasonable monitoring by the district of land elevations to
72	72	determine if production from the project is causing or is likely to
73	73	cause subsidence during the permit term;
74	74	(6) require from the holder of a permit issued under
75	75	rules adopted under this section annual reports that must include:
76	76	(A) the amount of brackish groundwater
77	77	withdrawn;
78	78	(B) the average monthly water quality of the
79	79	brackish groundwater withdrawn and in the monitoring wells; and
80	80	(C) aquifer levels in both the designated
81	81	brackish groundwater production zone and in any aquifer,
82	82	subdivision of an aquifer, or geologic stratum for which the permit
83	83	requires monitoring; and
84	84	(7) be consistent with and not impair property rights
85	85	described by Sections 36.002(a) and (b).
86	86	(e) An application for a brackish groundwater production
87	87	zone operating permit must include:
88	88	(1) the proposed well field design compared to the
89	89	designated brackish groundwater production zone;
90	90	(2) the requested maximum groundwater withdrawal rate
91	91	for the proposed project;
92	92	(3) the number and location of monitoring wells needed
93	93	to determine the effects of the proposed project on water levels and
94	94	water quality in the same or an adjacent aquifer, subdivision of an
95	95	aquifer, or geologic stratum in which the designated brackish
96	96	groundwater production zone is located; and
97	97	(4) a report that includes:
98	98	(A) a simulation of the projected effects of the
99	99	proposed production on water levels and water quality in the same or
100	100	an adjacent aquifer, subdivision of an aquifer, or geologic stratum
101	101	in which the designated brackish groundwater production zone is
102	102	located;
103	103	(B) a description of the model used for the
104	104	simulation described by Paragraph (A); and
105	105	(C) sufficient information for a technical
106	106	reviewer to understand the parameters and assumptions used in the
107	107	model described by Paragraph (B).
108	108	(f) The district shall submit the application to the
109	109	development board and the development board shall conduct a
110	110	technical review of the application. The development board shall
111	111	submit a report of the review of the application that includes:
112	112	(1) findings regarding the compatibility of the
113	113	proposed well field design with the designated brackish groundwater
114	114	production zone; and
115	115	(2) recommendations for the monitoring system
116	116	described by Subsection (d)(4).
117	117	(g) The district may not schedule a hearing on the
118	118	application until the district receives the report from the
119	119	development board described by Subsection (f).
120	120	(h) The district shall provide the reports required under
121	121	Subsection (d)(6) to the development board. Not later than the
122	122	120th day after the date the development board receives a request
123	123	from the district, the development board shall investigate and
124	124	issue a report on whether brackish groundwater production under the
125	125	project that is the subject of the report from the designated
126	126	brackish groundwater production zone is projected to cause:
127	127	(1) significant aquifer level declines in the same or
128	128	an adjacent aquifer, subdivision of an aquifer, or geologic stratum
129	129	that were not anticipated by the development board in the
130	130	designation of the zone;
131	131	(2) negative effects on quality of water in an
132	132	aquifer, subdivision of an aquifer, or geologic stratum; or
133	133	(3) for a project located in a designated brackish
134	134	groundwater production zone in the Gulf Coast Aquifer, subsidence
135	135	during the permit term.
136	136	(i) After receiving from the development board a report
137	137	issued under Subsection (h) and after notice and hearing subject to
138	138	Subchapter M, the district may:
139	139	(1) amend the applicable permit to establish a
140	140	production limit necessary to mitigate any negative effects
141	141	identified by the report;
142	142	(2) approve a mitigation plan that alleviates any
143	143	negative effects identified by the report; or
144	144	(3) both amend the permit to establish a production
145	145	limit and approve a mitigation plan.
146	146	SECTION 2. Section 36.1132, Water Code, is amended by
147	147	adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
148	148	(d) Production under a permit issued under Section 36.1015
149	149	to produce brackish groundwater from a designated brackish
150	150	groundwater production zone is in addition to the amount of
151	151	groundwater that may be produced based on Subsections (b)(1) and
152	152	(2). To the extent possible, a district shall issue permits up to
153	153	the point that the total volume of exempt and permitted groundwater
154	154	production in a designated brackish groundwater production zone
155	155	equals the amount of brackish groundwater that may be produced
156	156	annually to achieve the groundwater availability described by the
157	157	Texas Water Development Board in its designation of the brackish
158	158	groundwater production zone under Section 16.060(e).
159	159	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect December 1, 2017.