87R1323 BRG-F
By: Harris H.B. No. 666
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the regulation of groundwater conservation districts.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 36.066, Water Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (g) and adding Subsection (i) to read as
follows:
(g) If the district prevails in any suit other than a suit in
which it voluntarily intervenes, the district may seek and the
court may [shall] grant, in the interests of justice and as provided
by Subsection (h), in the same action, recovery for attorney's
fees, costs for expert witnesses, and other costs incurred by the
district before the court. The amount of the attorney's fees shall
be fixed by the court.
(i) Notwithstanding Section 36.052(a), Subsections (g) and
(h) of this section prevail over any other special law inconsistent
with those subsections unless the other law prohibits an award of
attorney's fees or costs.
SECTION 2. Subchapter D, Chapter 36, Water Code, is amended
by adding Section 36.1025 to read as follows:
Sec. 36.1025. PETITION TO CHANGE RULES. (a) A person with
groundwater ownership and rights may petition the district where
the property that gives rise to the ownership and rights is located
to adopt a rule or modify a rule adopted under this chapter.
(b) A petition submitted under this section must include:
(1) an explanation of why the adoption or modification
of the rule requested is necessary to be consistent with:
(A) ownership and rights recognized under
Section 36.002; or
(B) conservation or beneficial use of the
groundwater resources located in the district, in regard to either:
(i) the entire district; or
(ii) an aquifer, subdivision of an aquifer,
or geologic strata located in the district; and
(2) proof that the petitioner has complied with the
notice requirements described by Subsection (c).
(c) A petitioner under this section must provide written
notice of the petition to each person with groundwater ownership
and rights in the geographic area that would be affected by the
adoption or modification of the rule described in the petition.
(d) The district may consider the petition at a public
hearing or a regularly scheduled board meeting. If a district meets
quarterly, the district must grant or deny the petition not later
than the 90th day after the date the district received the petition.
(e) After a hearing held under Subsection (d), the district
shall grant or deny the petition and may grant or deny the petition
wholly or partly. The district shall provide an explanation for the
action the district takes on the petition, including a
determination about the consistency of the action with the concerns
raised by the petitioner's explanation required by Subsection
(b)(1).
(f) As soon as practicable after a petition or a portion of a
petition is granted, the district shall engage in rulemaking
consistent with the granted petition or the granted portion of the
petition.
SECTION 3. Section 36.114(h), Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(h) An application is administratively complete if it
contains the information set forth under Sections 36.113 and
36.1131 and, if applicable, the applicant has submitted proof of
notice required under Section 36.1141. A district shall not require
that additional information be included in an application for a
determination of administrative completeness.
SECTION 4. Subchapter D, Chapter 36, Water Code, is amended
by adding Section 36.1141 to read as follows:
Sec. 36.1141. NOTICE REQUIRED FOR APPLICATION FOR PERMIT OR
PERMIT AMENDMENT. (a) Not later than the date that a person submits
an application for a permit or permit amendment to a district, the
person shall provide notice by certified mail, return receipt
requested, to each person with a real property interest in the
groundwater beneath the land within the space prescribed by the
district's spacing rules for the proposed or existing well.
(b) The notice required under Subsection (a) must inform the
recipient of the notice that the recipient may contest the
application for the permit or permit amendment.
(c) A person who provides notice under Subsection (a) shall
submit proof of providing the notice with the person's application
for the permit or permit amendment.
SECTION 5. Section 36.415, Water Code, is amended by adding
Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) For purposes of this section, a person entitled to
receive notice under Section 36.1141 is considered to have a
personal justiciable interest described by Subsection (b).
SECTION 6. Section 36.066, Water Code, as amended by this
Act, applies only to a suit involving a groundwater conservation
district that is filed on or after the effective date of this Act. A
suit filed before the effective date of this Act is subject to the
law in effect on the date the suit is filed, and that law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 7. Sections 36.114 and 36.415, Water Code, as
amended by this Act, and Section 36.1141, Water Code, as added by
this Act, apply only to an application for a permit or permit
amendment submitted on or after the effective date of this Act. An
application submitted before the effective date of this Act is
subject to the law in effect on the date the application is
submitted, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.