Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB152 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	87R19940 BRG-F
2		-	By: Perry, et al. S.B. No. 152
3		-	(King of Uvalde, et al.)
4		-	Substitute the following for S.B. No. 152: No.
	1	+	By: Perry, Creighton S.B. No. 152
5	2
6	3
7	4		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	5		AN ACT
9	6		relating to the regulation of groundwater conservation districts.
10	7		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11		-	SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 36, Water Code, is amended
	8	+	SECTION 1. Section 36.066, Water Code, is amended by
	9	+	amending Subsection (g) and adding Subsection (i) to read as
	10	+	follows:
	11	+	(g) If the district prevails in any suit other than a suit in
	12	+	which it voluntarily intervenes, the district may seek and the
	13	+	court may [shall] grant, in the interests of justice and as provided
	14	+	by Subsection (h), in the same action, recovery for attorney's
	15	+	fees, costs for expert witnesses, and other costs incurred by the
	16	+	district before the court. The amount of the attorney's fees shall
	17	+	be fixed by the court.
	18	+	(i) Notwithstanding Section 36.052(a), Subsections (g) and
	19	+	(h) of this section prevail over any other special law inconsistent
	20	+	with those subsections unless the other law prohibits an award of
	21	+	attorney's fees or costs.
	22	+	SECTION 2. Subchapter D, Chapter 36, Water Code, is amended
12	23		by adding Section 36.1025 to read as follows:
13	24		Sec. 36.1025. PETITION TO CHANGE RULES. (a) A person with
14	25		a real property interest in groundwater may petition the district
15	26		where the property that gives rise to the real property interest is
16	27		located to adopt a rule or modify a rule adopted under this chapter.
17	28		(b) The district by rule shall prescribe the form for a
18	29		petition submitted under this section and the procedure for the
19	30		submission, consideration, and disposition of the petition.
20	31		(c) Not later than the 90th day after the date the district
21	32		receives the petition, the district shall:
22	33		(1) deny the petition and provide an explanation for
23	34		the denial; or
24	35		(2) engage in rulemaking consistent with the granted
25	36		petition.
26	37		(d) Nothing in this section may be construed to create a
27	38		private cause of action for a decision to accept or deny a petition
28	39		filed under this section.
29		-	SECTION 2. Section 36.1071, Water Code, is amended by
	40	+	SECTION 3. Section 36.1071, Water Code, is amended by
30	41		amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (b-1) and (b-2) to
31	42		read as follows:
32	43		(b) The management plan, or any amendments to the plan,
33	44		shall:
34	45		(1) be developed using the district's best available
35	46		data and forwarded to the regional water planning group for use in
36	47		their planning process; and
37	48		(2) include the:
38	49		(A) most recently approved desired future
39	50		conditions adopted under Section 36.108; and
40	51		(B) amount of modeled available groundwater
41	52		corresponding to the most recently approved desired future
42	53		conditions.
43	54		(b-1) A district shall amend a management plan before the
44	55		second anniversary of the adoption of desired future conditions
45	56		included under Subsection (b).
46	57		(b-2) If a petition challenging the reasonableness of a
47	58		desired future condition is filed under Section 36.1083(b), the
48	59		executive administrator shall consider the management plan
49	60		administratively complete if the district includes:
50	61		(1) the most recently approved desired future
51	62		conditions adopted under Section 36.108;
52	63		(2) the amount of modeled available groundwater
53	64		corresponding to the desired future conditions;
54	65		(3) a statement of the status of the petition
55	66		challenging the reasonableness of a desired future condition; and
56	67		(4) the information required by Subsections (a) and
57	68		(e).
58		-	SECTION 3. Subchapter D, Chapter 36, Water Code, is amended
	69	+	SECTION 4. Subchapter D, Chapter 36, Water Code, is amended
59	70		by adding Section 36.1141 to read as follows:
60	71		Sec. 36.1141. NOTICE REQUIRED FOR APPLICATION FOR PERMIT OR
61	72		PERMIT AMENDMENT. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a
62	73		district that has adopted rules regulating the spacing of wells
63	74		under Section 36.116(a)(1) to require wells to be spaced a certain
64	75		distance from other wells shall adopt rules requiring that notice
65	76		of an application for a permit or permit amendment to drill a well
66	77		or increase the production capacity of an existing well be provided
67	78		to each landowner whose:
68	79		(1) land is located wholly or partly within the
69	80		spacing distances from other wells under the spacing rules of the
70	81		district; and
71	82		(2) right to obtain a permit or permit amendment for a
72	83		well of a certain size or location under the spacing rules of the
73	84		district will be affected if the district approves the application.
74		-	(b) A district is not required to adopt rules requiring
75		-	notice under Subsection (a):
	85	+	(b) Notice is not required under Subsection (a):
76	86		(1) for a replacement well to be drilled at or near the
77	87		location of the well which it is intended to replace that has an
78	88		equal or lesser production capacity than the well which it is
79	89		intended to replace as determined by the rules of the district;
80	90		(2) for an emergency well necessary to mitigate a loss
81	91		of production capacity of an existing well as determined by the
82	92		rules of the district;
83	93		(3) if the notice is to be provided to the lessors of
84	94		the right to produce groundwater from a property where the
85	95		applicant for the permit or permit amendment is the lessee; or
86	96		(4) if the district:
87	97		(A) posts in a place readily accessible to the
88	98		public at the district's main office a list of the applications
89	99		described by Subsection (a) that includes the name of the applicant
90	100		and address or approximate location of the well or proposed well;
91	101		and
92	102		(B) posts on the home page of the district's
93	103		Internet website, if the district operates an Internet website:
94	104		(i) a list described by Paragraph (A); or
95	105		(ii) a link to a web application that
96	106		includes the information included on a list described by Paragraph
97	107		(A).
98		-	SECTION 4. Not later than December 1, 2021, a groundwater
	108	+	SECTION 5. Section 36.066, Water Code, as amended by this
	109	+	Act, applies only to a suit involving a groundwater conservation
	110	+	district that is filed on or after the effective date of this Act. A
	111	+	suit filed before the effective date of this Act is subject to the
	112	+	law in effect on the date the suit is filed, and that law is
	113	+	continued in effect for that purpose.
	114	+	SECTION 6. Not later than December 1, 2021, a groundwater
99	115		conservation district shall adopt rules to implement Section
100	116		36.1025, Water Code, as added by this Act.
101		-	SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act applicable to
	117	+	SECTION 7. The changes in law made by this Act applicable to
102	118		a petition filed under Section 36.1083, Water Code, apply only to a
103	119		petition filed under that section on or after the effective date of
104	120		this Act. A petition filed before the effective date of this Act is
105	121		governed by the law in effect on the date the hearing was conducted,
106	122		and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
107		-	SECTION 6. Section 36.1141, Water Code, as added by this
	123	+	SECTION 8. Section 36.1141, Water Code, as added by this
108	124		Act, applies only to an application for a permit or permit amendment
109		-	submitted on or after the effective date of this Act. An ~~application~~
110		-	submitted before the effective date of this Act is ~~subject to the~~
111		-	law in effect on the date the application is ~~submitted, and that law~~
112		-	is continued in effect for that purpose.
113		-	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
	125	+	submitted on or after the effective date of this Act. An
	126	+	application submitted before the effective date of this Act is
	127	+	subject to the law in effect on the date the application is
	128	+	submitted, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
	129	+	SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.