By: Rogers H.B. No. 4891
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the adoption and achievement of desired future
conditions for aquifers by groundwater conservation districts.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 36.1071(e), Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(e) In the management plan described under Subsection (a),
the district shall:
(1) identify the performance standards and management
objectives under which the district will operate to achieve the
management goals identified under Subsection (a);
(2) specify, in as much detail as possible, the
actions, procedures, performance, and avoidance that are or may be
necessary to effect the plan, including specifications and proposed
rules;
(3) include estimates of the following:
(A) modeled available groundwater in the
district based on the desired future condition established under
Section 36.108;
(B) the amount of groundwater being used within
the district on an annual basis;
(C) the annual amount of recharge from
precipitation, if any, to the groundwater resources within the
district;
(D) for each aquifer, the annual volume of water
that discharges from the aquifer to springs and any surface water
bodies, including lakes, streams, and rivers;
(E) the annual volume of flow into and out of the
district within each aquifer and between aquifers in the district,
if a groundwater availability model is available;
(F) the projected surface water supply in the
district according to the most recently adopted state water plan;
and
(G) the projected total demand for water in the
district according to the most recently adopted state water plan;
[and]
(4) consider the water supply needs and water
management strategies included in the adopted state water plan; and
(5) include a plain explanation of how the district is
monitoring and tracking achievement of the desired future
conditions established under Section 36.108 and how the district
performed in achieving the desired future conditions over the
previous five-year joint planning period.
SECTION 2. Section 36.108, Water Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (c) and (d-3) and adding Subsection (d-4) to
read as follows:
(c) The district representatives shall meet at least
annually to conduct joint planning with the other districts in the
management area and to review the management plans of the districts
and their implementation through the rules of the districts, the
accomplishments of the management area, and proposals to adopt new
or amend existing desired future conditions. In reviewing the
management plans, the districts shall consider:
(1) the goals of each management plan and its impact on
planning throughout the management area;
(2) the effectiveness of the measures established by
each district's management plan for conserving and protecting
groundwater and preventing waste, and the effectiveness of these
measures in the management area generally;
(3) any other matters that the boards consider
relevant to the protection and conservation of groundwater and the
prevention of waste in the management area; and
(4) the degree to which each district is achieving
[management plan achieves] the desired future conditions
established during the joint planning process through the
implementation and enforcement of its management plan and rules.
(d-3) After all the districts have submitted their district
summaries, the district representatives shall reconvene to review
the reports, consider any district's suggested revisions to the
proposed desired future conditions, and finally adopt the desired
future conditions for the management area. The desired future
conditions must be approved by a resolution adopted by a two-thirds
vote of all the district representatives not later than January 5,
2022. Subsequent desired future conditions must be proposed and
finally adopted by the district representatives before the end of
each successive five-year period after that date. The district
representatives shall produce a desired future conditions
explanatory report for the management area and submit to the
development board and each district in the management area proof
that notice was posted for the joint planning meeting, a copy of the
resolution, and a copy of the explanatory report. The report must:
(1) identify each desired future condition;
(2) provide the policy and technical
justifications for each desired future condition;
(3) include documentation that the factors under
Subsection (d) were considered by the districts and a discussion of
how the adopted desired future conditions impact each factor;
(4) list other desired future condition options
considered, if any, and the reasons why those options were not
adopted; [and]
(5) for each desired future condition that
changed from the corresponding one, if any, adopted for an aquifer
in the previous five-year joint planning period, include a plain
explanation of why the desired future condition was changed;
(6) discuss reasons why recommendations made by
advisory committees and relevant public comments received by the
districts were or were not incorporated into the desired future
conditions; and
(7) include a summary of how each district is
achieving the desired future conditions through the implementation
and enforcement of its management plan and rules.
(d-4) The district representatives and districts shall
adopt desired future conditions under this section for the
following time periods and may adopt desired future conditions for
other time periods:
(1) for each 50-year planning period identified
by the executive administrator for the preparation of state and
regional water plans; and
(2) for each five-year period within the 50-year
planning period to aid the districts in monitoring interim progress
in achieving the desired future conditions adopted for the 50-year
planning period.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2023.