86R19472 SLB-F
By: Zwiener, Nevárez, Oliverson, et al. H.B. No. 1044
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1044:
By: King of Uvalde C.S.H.B. No. 1044
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to permits for certain injection wells that transect a
portion of the Edwards Aquifer.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 27.0516(a)(1), Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(1) "Edwards Aquifer" means that portion of an arcuate
belt of porous, waterbearing limestones composed of the Edwards
Formation, Georgetown Formation, Comanche Peak Formation, Salmon
Peak Limestone, McKnight Formation, West Nueces Formation, Devil's
River Limestone, Person Formation, Kainer Formation, and Edwards
Group, together with the Upper Glen Rose Formation where scientific
studies have documented a hydrological connection to the overlying
Edwards Group trending from west to east to northeast through
Kinney, Uvalde, Medina, Bexar, Kendall, Comal, Hays, Travis, and
Williamson Counties. The permeable aquifer units generally overlie
the less-permeable Glen Rose Formation to the south, overlie the
less-permeable Comanche Peak and Walnut Formations north of the
Colorado River, and underlie the less-permeable Del Rio Clay
regionally.
SECTION 2. Sections 27.0516(b), (f), (h), (k), and (n),
Water Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) This section applies only to the portion of the Edwards
Aquifer that is within the geographic area circumscribed by the
external boundaries of the Barton Springs-Edwards Aquifer
Conservation District but is not in the jurisdiction [that
district's territory or the territory] of the Edwards Aquifer
Authority. This section does not apply to a wastewater facility
permitted under Chapter 26 or a subsurface area drip dispersal
system permitted under Chapter 32.
(f) The commission by rule, individual permit, or general
permit may authorize:
(1) an activity described by Subsection (e);
(2) an injection well that transects and isolates the
saline portion of the Edwards Aquifer and terminates in a lower
aquifer for the purpose of injecting:
(A) concentrate from a desalination facility; or
(B) fresh water as part of an engineered aquifer
storage and recovery facility;
(3) an injection well that terminates in that part of
the saline portion of the Edwards Aquifer that has a total dissolved
solids concentration of more than 10,000 milligrams per liter for
the purpose of injecting into the saline portion of the Edwards
Aquifer:
(A) concentrate from a desalination facility,
provided that the injection well must be at least three miles from
the closest outlet of Barton Springs; or
(B) fresh water as part of an engineered aquifer
and storage recovery facility, provided that each well used for
injection or withdrawal from the facility must be at least three
miles from the closest outlet of Barton Springs; [or]
(4) an injection well that transects or terminates in
the Edwards Aquifer for:
(A) aquifer remediation;
(B) the injection of a nontoxic tracer dye as
part of a hydrologic study; or
(C) another beneficial activity that is designed
and undertaken for the purpose of increasing protection of an
underground source of drinking water from pollution or other
deleterious effects; or
(5) the injection of fresh water into a well that
transects the Edwards Aquifer provided that:
(A) the well isolates the Edwards Aquifer and
meets the construction and completion standards adopted by the
commission under Section 27.154;
(B) the well is part of an engineered aquifer
storage and recovery facility;
(C) the injected water:
(i) is sourced from a public water system,
as defined by commission rule, that is permitted by the commission;
or
(ii) meets water quality standards for
public drinking water established by commission rule; and
(D) the injection complies with the provisions of
Subchapter G that are not in conflict with this section.
(h) Rules adopted or a [general] permit issued under this
section:
(1) must require that an injection well authorized by
the rules or permit be monitored by means of:
(A) one or more [a] monitoring wells [well]
operated by the injection well owner if the commission determines
that there is an underground source of drinking water in the area of
review that is potentially affected by the injection well; or
(B) if Paragraph (A) does not apply, one or more
[a] monitoring wells [well] operated by a party other than the
injection well owner, provided that all results of monitoring are
promptly made available to the injection well owner;
(2) must ensure that an authorized activity will not
result in the waste or pollution of fresh water;
(3) may not authorize an injection well under
Subsection (f)(2), [or] (3), or (5) unless the well is initially
associated with a small-scale research project designed to evaluate
the long-term feasibility and safety of:
(A) the injection of concentrate from a
desalination facility; or
(B) an aquifer storage and recovery project;
(4) must require any authorization granted to be
renewed at least as frequently as every 10 years;
(5) must require that an injection well authorized
under Subsection (f)(2)(A) or (3)(A) be monitored on an ongoing
basis by or in coordination with the well owner and that the well
owner file monitoring reports with the commission at least as
frequently as every three months; [and]
(6) must ensure that any injection well authorized for
the purpose of injecting concentrate from a desalination facility
does not transect the fresh water portion of the Edwards Aquifer;
and
(7) must ensure that an engineered aquifer storage and
recovery facility project is consistent with the provisions of
Subchapter G that are not in conflict with this section.
(k) Notwithstanding Subsection (h)(3), the commission by
rule, individual permit, or [a] general permit may authorize the
owner of an injection well authorized under Subsection (f)(2), [or]
(3), or (5) to continue operating the well for the purpose of
implementing the desalination or engineered aquifer storage and
recovery project following completion of the small-scale research
project, provided that:
(1) the injection well owner timely submits the
information collected as part of the research project, including
monitoring reports and information regarding the environmental
impact of the well, to the commission;
(2) the injection well owner, following the completion
of studies and monitoring adequate to characterize risks to the
fresh water portion of the Edwards Aquifer, formations included in
the Trinity Group, or [and] other fresh water associated with the
continued operation of the well, and at least 90 days before the
date the owner initiates commercial well operations, files with the
commission a notice of intent to continue operation of the well
after completion of the research project; and
(3) the commission, based on the studies and
monitoring, the report provided by Texas State University--San
Marcos under Subsection (l)(2), and any other reasonably available
information, determines that continued operation of the injection
well as described in the notice of intent does not pose an
unreasonable risk to the fresh water portion of the Edwards
Aquifer, formations included in the Trinity Group, or other fresh
water associated with the continued operation of the well.
(n) If the commission preliminarily determines that
continued operation of the injection well would pose an
unreasonable risk to the fresh water portion of the Edwards
Aquifer, formations included in the Trinity Group, or other fresh
water associated with the continued operation of the well, the
commission shall notify the operator and specify, if possible, what
well modifications or operational controls would be adequate to
prevent that unreasonable risk. If the operator fails to modify the
injection well as specified by the commission, the commission shall
require the operator to cease operating the well.
SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
an application for an authorization described by Section 27.0516,
Water Code, as amended by this Act, filed with the Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality on or after the effective date of this Act.
An application filed with the Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law
in effect on the date of filing, and that law is continued in effect
for that purpose.
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, 2019.