Texas 2021 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1801 Introduced / Bill

Filed 02/10/2021

                    87R6879 BRG-F
 By: Larson H.B. No. 1801


 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 AN ACT
 relating to withdrawals of water from the Edwards Aquifer to supply
 a military installation.
 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 SECTION 1.  The heading to Section 1.33, Chapter 626, Acts of
 the 73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, is amended to read as
 follows:
 Sec. 1.33.  WELL METERING AND PERMITTING EXEMPTIONS
 [EXEMPTION].
 SECTION 2.  Section 1.33, Chapter 626, Acts of the 73rd
 Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, is amended by adding
 Subsections (e), (f), and (g) to read as follows:
 (e)  In addition to permitted withdrawals from the aquifer, a
 municipally owned utility owned by the City of San Antonio, without
 a permit, may withdraw groundwater from the aquifer if:
 (1)  the utility uses the groundwater to supply a
 military installation with water for human consumption,
 irrigation, operations, mission support, or infrastructure
 maintenance; and
 (2)  the utility and the military installation enter
 into a contract requiring the installation to reduce its
 groundwater withdrawals from the aquifer by the same amount of
 withdrawn water the installation receives from the utility.
 (f)  Subsection (e) of this section does not alter the
 obligations of a military installation under a biological opinion
 issued by a federal agency.
 (g)  The amount of water provided by a municipally owned
 utility to a military installation under Subsection (e) of this
 section may not exceed the maximum amount of water that the military
 installation is authorized to withdraw from the aquifer under a
 biological opinion issued by a federal agency.
 SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.