86R4413 AAF-F
By: Larson H.B. No. 726
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the regulation of groundwater.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 36.113, Water Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (d-1) to read as
follows:
(d) This subsection does not apply to the renewal of an
operating permit issued under Section 36.1145. Before granting or
denying a permit, or a permit amendment issued in accordance with
Section 36.1146, the district shall consider whether:
(1) the application conforms to the requirements
prescribed by this chapter and is accompanied by the prescribed
fees;
(2) the projected effect of the proposed production
[use of water] unreasonably affects aquifer conditions, artesian
pressure, depletion, or subsidence, existing groundwater and
surface water resources, [or] existing permit holders, or
registered wells that are exempt from the requirement to obtain a
permit under this chapter or district rules;
(3) the proposed use of water is dedicated to any
beneficial use;
(4) the proposed use of water is consistent with the
district's approved management plan;
(5) if the well will be located in the Hill Country
Priority Groundwater Management Area, the proposed use of water
from the well is wholly or partly to provide water to a pond, lake,
or reservoir to enhance the appearance of the landscape;
(6) the applicant has agreed to avoid waste and
achieve water conservation; and
(7) the applicant has agreed that reasonable diligence
will be used to protect groundwater quality and that the applicant
will follow well plugging guidelines at the time of well closure.
(d-1) The district's consideration of the projected effect
of the proposed production on a registered well described by
Subsection (d)(2) does not affect a permit exemption for the
registered well under this chapter or district rules.
SECTION 2. Subchapter D, Chapter 36, Water Code, is amended
by adding Section 36.1147 to read as follows:
Sec. 36.1147. LIMITATION ON APPLICABILITY OF RULES. The
rules of a district in effect on the date an application for a
permit or a permit amendment is submitted to the district are the
only district rules that may govern the district's decision to
grant or deny the application.
SECTION 3. The heading to Section 36.122, Water Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 36.122. EXPORT [TRANSFER] OF GROUNDWATER OUT OF
DISTRICT.
SECTION 4. Section 36.122, Water Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e) and adding
Subsections (f-1) and (f-2) to read as follows:
(a) This section applies to [If] an application for a permit
or an amendment to a permit under Section 36.113 that proposes the
export [transfer] of groundwater for use outside of a district's
boundaries[, the district may also consider the provisions of this
section in determining whether to grant or deny the permit or permit
amendment].
(b) A district may promulgate rules requiring a person to
obtain an operating [a] permit or an amendment to an operating [a]
permit under Section 36.113 from the district to produce and export
[for the transfer of] groundwater. A district may not require a
separate permit for the export of groundwater for use outside [out]
of the district [to:
[(1) increase, on or after March 2, 1997, the amount of
groundwater to be transferred under a continuing arrangement in
effect before that date; or
[(2) transfer groundwater out of the district on or
after March 2, 1997, under a new arrangement].
(c) Except as provided in Subsection (e) [Section
36.113(e)], the district may not impose more restrictive
requirements or permit conditions on exporters [transporters] than
the district imposes on [existing] in-district users. A district
may not deny a permit because the applicant intends to export
groundwater for use outside of the district.
(d) The district may impose a reasonable fee for processing
an application under this section. The fee may not exceed fees that
the district imposes for processing other applications under
Section 36.113. An application filed under [to comply with] this
section shall be considered and processed under the same procedures
as other applications for permits under Section 36.113 [and shall
be combined with applications filed to obtain a permit for
in-district water use under Section 36.113 from the same
applicant].
(e) The district may impose an export fee or surcharge on
the holder of an operating permit for water exported for use outside
of the district using one of the following methods:
(1) a fee negotiated between the district and the
exporter;
(2) a rate not to exceed the equivalent of the
district's tax rate per hundred dollars of valuation for each
thousand gallons of water exported from the district or 2.5 cents
per thousand gallons of water, if the district assesses a tax rate
of less than 2.5 cents per hundred dollars of valuation; or
(3) for a fee-based district, a 50 percent surcharge,
in addition to the district's production fee, for water exported
from the district.
(f-1) A district shall extend a term for a permit issued
under this section that existed on May 27, 2019, on or before its
expiration in the manner prescribed by Section 36.1145:
(1) to a term that is not shorter than the term of an
operating permit for the production of water to be exported that is
in effect at the time of the extension; and
(2) for each additional term for which that operating
permit for production is renewed under Section 36.1145 or remains
in effect under Section 36.1146.
(f-2) A permit extended under Subsection (f-1) continues to
be subject to conditions contained in the permit as issued before
the extension.
SECTION 5. Chapter 36, Water Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter M-1 to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER M-1. MORATORIUM ON ISSUING PERMIT
Sec. 36.426. PROCEDURE FOR ADOPTING MORATORIUM. A district
may not adopt a moratorium on the issuance of a permit or permit
amendment unless the district:
(1) complies with the notice and hearing procedures
prescribed by Section 36.427; and
(2) makes written findings supporting the district's
determination regarding the issuance, including the district's
justification for imposing the moratorium, if applicable.
Sec. 36.427. NOTICE AND PUBLIC HEARING REQUIREMENTS. (a) A
district may impose a moratorium on the issuance of a permit or
permit amendment only after the district conducts a public hearing
as provided by this section. The public hearing must provide
residents of the district and other affected parties an opportunity
to be heard.
(b) The district shall publish notice of the date, time, and
place of the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in the
district on or before the fourth day before the date of the hearing.
(c) During the period beginning on the fifth business day
after the date a notice is published under Subsection (b) and ending
on the date the district makes its determination under Subsection
(d), a temporary moratorium is imposed. During that period, a
district may stop issuing permits or permit amendments.
(d) Not later than the 12th day after the date of the public
hearing, the district shall make a final determination on whether
to impose the moratorium and shall issue written findings
supporting the district's determination, including the district's
justification for imposing the moratorium, if applicable.
Sec. 36.428. EXPIRATION OF MORATORIUM; EXTENSION
PROHIBITED. A moratorium imposed under this subchapter expires on
the 90th day after the date the district makes its determination
under Section 36.427(d) to impose the moratorium. The district may
not extend a moratorium imposed under this subchapter.
SECTION 6. Sections 36.122(f), (g), (h), (i), (j), (k),
(l), (m), (n), (o), and (q), Water Code, are repealed.
SECTION 7. A moratorium on the issuance of a permit or
permit amendment that is adopted by a groundwater conservation
district before September 1, 2019, may not continue in effect after
November 30, 2019.
SECTION 8. (a) A permit to export groundwater approved by a
groundwater conservation district before the effective date of this
Act is validated and confirmed in all respects. This subsection
does not apply to a permit to export groundwater that is subject to
litigation:
(1) that is pending on the effective date of this Act;
or
(2) that results in final judgment that may not be
appealed that the permit is invalid.
(b) An administratively complete permit application to
export groundwater received by a groundwater conservation district
before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
effect when the application became administratively complete. The
former law is continued for the purpose of processing an
application received before the effective date of this Act.
(c) A groundwater conservation district that imposed an
export fee or surcharge on the holder of a permit to export
groundwater before the effective date of this Act may continue to
impose the fee or surcharge on the holder for the duration of the
permit and any renewal of the permit if the holder of the permit to
export groundwater is not the same person who holds the associated
operating permit.
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.