Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB807 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	H.B. No. 807
	1	+	By: Larson, Shine (Senate Sponsor - Buckingham) H.B. No. 807
	2	+	(In the Senate - Received from the House April 3, 2019;
	3	+	April 4, 2019, read first time and referred to Committee on Water &
	4	+	Rural Affairs; May 15, 2019, reported favorably by the following
	5	+	vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 15, 2019, sent to printer.)
	6	+	Click here to see the committee vote
2	7
3	8
	9	+	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
4	10		AN ACT
5	11		relating to the state and regional water planning process.
6	12		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
7	13		SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 16, Water Code, is amended
8	14		by adding Section 16.052 to read as follows:
9	15		Sec. 16.052. INTERREGIONAL PLANNING COUNCIL. (a) The
10	16		board, at an appropriate time in each five-year cycle for the
11	17		adoption of a new state water plan, shall appoint an interregional
12	18		planning council. The members of the council serve until a new
13	19		state water plan is adopted.
14	20		(b) The council consists of one member of each regional
15	21		water planning group. Each regional water planning group shall
16	22		nominate one or more members for appointment to the council, and the
17	23		board shall consider the nominations in making appointments to the
18	24		council.
19	25		(c) The purposes of the council are to:
20	26		(1) improve coordination among the regional water
21	27		planning groups, and between each regional water planning group and
22	28		the board, in meeting the goals of the state water planning process
23	29		and the water needs of the state as a whole;
24	30		(2) facilitate dialogue regarding water management
25	31		strategies that could affect multiple regional water planning
26	32		areas; and
27	33		(3) share best practices regarding operation of the
28	34		regional water planning process.
29	35		(d) The council shall:
30	36		(1) hold at least one public meeting; and
31	37		(2) prepare a report to the board on the council's
32	38		work.
33	39		SECTION 2. Sections 16.053(e) and (i), Water Code, are
34	40		amended to read as follows:
35	41		(e) Each regional water planning group shall submit to the
36	42		development board a regional water plan that:
37	43		(1) is consistent with the guidance principles for the
38	44		state water plan adopted by the development board under Section
39	45		16.051(d);
40	46		(2) provides information based on data provided or
41	47		approved by the development board in a format consistent with the
42	48		guidelines provided by the development board under Subsection (d);
43	49		(2-a) is consistent with the desired future conditions
44	50		adopted under Section 36.108 for the relevant aquifers located in
45	51		the regional water planning area as of the most recent deadline for
46	52		the board to adopt the state water plan under Section 16.051 or, at
47	53		the option of the regional water planning group, established
48	54		subsequent to the adoption of the most recent plan; provided,
49	55		however, that if no groundwater conservation district exists within
50	56		the area of the regional water planning group, the regional water
51	57		planning group shall determine the supply of groundwater for
52	58		regional planning purposes; the Texas Water Development Board shall
53	59		review and approve, prior to inclusion in the regional water plan,
54	60		that the groundwater supply for the regional planning group without
55	61		a groundwater conservation district in its area is physically
56	62		compatible, using the board's groundwater availability models,
57	63		with the desired future conditions adopted under Section 36.108 for
58	64		the relevant aquifers in the groundwater management area that are
59	65		regulated by groundwater conservation districts;
60	66		(3) identifies:
61	67		(A) each source of water supply in the regional
62	68		water planning area, including information supplied by the
63	69		executive administrator on the amount of modeled available
64	70		groundwater in accordance with the guidelines provided by the
65	71		development board under Subsections (d) and (f);
66	72		(B) factors specific to each source of water
67	73		supply to be considered in determining whether to initiate a
68	74		drought response;
69	75		(C) actions to be taken as part of the response;
70	76		[and]
71	77		(D) existing major water infrastructure
72	78		facilities that may be used for interconnections in the event of an
73	79		emergency shortage of water; and
74	80		(E) unnecessary or counterproductive variations
75	81		in specific drought response strategies, including outdoor
76	82		watering restrictions, among user groups in the regional water
77	83		planning area that may confuse the public or otherwise impede
78	84		drought response efforts;
79	85		(4) has specific provisions for water management
80	86		strategies to be used during a drought of record;
81	87		(5) includes but is not limited to consideration of
82	88		the following:
83	89		(A) any existing water or drought planning
84	90		efforts addressing all or a portion of the region and potential
85	91		impacts on public health, safety, or welfare in this state;
86	92		(B) approved groundwater conservation district
87	93		management plans and other plans submitted under Section 16.054;
88	94		(C) all potentially feasible water management
89	95		strategies, including but not limited to improved conservation,
90	96		reuse, and management of existing water supplies, conjunctive use,
91	97		acquisition of available existing water supplies, and development
92	98		of new water supplies;
93	99		(D) protection of existing water rights in the
94	100		region;
95	101		(E) opportunities for and the benefits of
96	102		developing regional water supply facilities or providing regional
97	103		management of water supply facilities;
98	104		(F) appropriate provision for environmental
99	105		water needs and for the effect of upstream development on the bays,
100	106		estuaries, and arms of the Gulf of Mexico and the effect of plans on
101	107		navigation;
102	108		(G) provisions in Section 11.085(k)(1) if
103	109		interbasin transfers are contemplated;
104	110		(H) voluntary transfer of water within the region
105	111		using, but not limited to, regional water banks, sales, leases,
106	112		options, subordination agreements, and financing agreements;
107	113		(I) emergency transfer of water under Section
108	114		11.139, including information on the part of each permit, certified
109	115		filing, or certificate of adjudication for nonmunicipal use in the
110	116		region that may be transferred without causing unreasonable damage
111	117		to the property of the nonmunicipal water rights holder; and
112	118		(J) opportunities for and the benefits of
113	119		developing large-scale desalination facilities for:
114	120		(i) marine seawater that serve local or
115	121		regional entities; and
116	122		(ii) [seawater or] brackish groundwater
117	123		that serve local or regional brackish groundwater production zones
118	124		identified and designated under Section 16.060(b)(5);
119	125		(6) identifies river and stream segments of unique
120	126		ecological value and sites of unique value for the construction of
121	127		reservoirs that the regional water planning group recommends for
122	128		protection under Section 16.051;
123	129		(7) assesses the impact of the plan on unique river and
124	130		stream segments identified in Subdivision (6) if the regional water
125	131		planning group or the legislature determines that a site of unique
126	132		ecological value exists;
127	133		(8) describes the impact of proposed water projects on
128	134		water quality; [and]
129	135		(9) includes information on:
130	136		(A) projected water use and conservation in the
131	137		regional water planning area; and
132	138		(B) the implementation of state and regional
133	139		water plan projects, including water conservation strategies,
134	140		necessary to meet the state's projected water demands;
135	141		(10) if the regional water planning area has
136	142		significant identified water needs, provides a specific assessment
137	143		of the potential for aquifer storage and recovery projects to meet
138	144		those needs;
139	145		(11) sets one or more specific goals for gallons of
140	146		water use per capita per day in each decade of the period covered by
141	147		the plan for the municipal water user groups in the regional water
142	148		planning area; and
143	149		(12) assesses the progress of the regional water
144	150		planning area in encouraging cooperation between water user groups
145	151		for the purpose of achieving economies of scale and otherwise
146	152		incentivizing strategies that benefit the entire region.
147	153		(i) The regional water planning groups shall submit their
148	154		adopted regional water plans to the board by January 5, 2001, for
149	155		approval and inclusion in the state water plan. In conjunction with
150	156		the submission of regional water plans, each planning group should
151	157		make legislative recommendations, if any, to facilitate more
152	158		voluntary water transfers in the region or for any other changes
153	159		that the members of the planning group believe would improve the
154	160		water planning process. Subsequent regional water plans shall be
155	161		submitted at least every five years thereafter, except that a
156	162		regional water planning group may elect to implement simplified
157	163		planning, no more often than every other five-year planning cycle,
158	164		and in accordance with guidance to be provided by the board, if the
159	165		group determines that, based on its own initial analyses using
160	166		updated groundwater and surface water availability information,
161	167		there are no significant changes to the water availability, water
162	168		supplies, or water demands in the regional water planning area. At
163	169		a minimum, simplified planning will require updating groundwater
164	170		and surface water availability values in the regional water plan,
165	171		meeting any other new statutory or other planning requirements that
166	172		come into effect during each five-year planning cycle, and formally
167	173		adopting and submitting the regional water plan for approval.
168	174		Public participation for revised regional plans shall follow the
169	175		procedures under Subsection (h).
170	176		SECTION 3. The Texas Water Development Board shall appoint
171	177		the members of the initial interregional planning council under
172	178		Section 16.052, Water Code, as added by this Act, not later than
173	179		September 1, 2020.
174	180		SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
175	181		a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
176	182		provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
177	183		Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
178	184		Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
179		-	______________________________ ______________________________
180		-	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
181		-	I certify that H.B. No. 807 was passed by the House on April
182		-	2, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 146, Nays 1, 1 present, not
183		-	voting.
184		-	______________________________
185		-	Chief Clerk of the House
186		-	I certify that H.B. No. 807 was passed by the Senate on May
187		-	21, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 1.
188		-	______________________________
189		-	Secretary of the Senate
190		-	APPROVED: _____________________
191		-	Date
192		-	_____________________
193		-	Governor
	185	+	* * * * *