Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4896 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R13827 JBD-D
2	2	By: Garcia of Bexar H.B. No. 4896
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to rules and reports related to brackish groundwater
10	10	production zones.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 16.060(b), Water Code, is amended to
13	13	read as follows:
14	14	(b) The board shall prepare a biennial progress report on
15	15	the implementation of seawater or brackish groundwater
16	16	desalination activities in the state and shall submit it to the
17	17	governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of
18	18	representatives not later than December 1 of each even-numbered
19	19	year. The report shall include:
20	20	(1) results of the board's studies and activities
21	21	relative to seawater or brackish groundwater desalination during
22	22	the preceding biennium;
23	23	(2) identification and evaluation of research,
24	24	regulatory, technical, and financial impediments to the
25	25	implementation of seawater or brackish groundwater desalination
26	26	projects;
27	27	(3) evaluation of the role the state should play in
28	28	furthering the development of large-scale seawater or brackish
29	29	groundwater desalination projects in the state;
30	30	(4) the anticipated appropriation from general
31	31	revenues necessary to continue investigating water desalination
32	32	activities in the state during the next biennium; and
33	33	(5) identification and designation of local or
34	34	regional brackish groundwater production zones in areas of the
35	35	state with moderate to high availability and productivity of
36	36	brackish groundwater that can be used to reduce the use of fresh
37	37	groundwater and that:
38	38	(A) are separated by hydrogeologic barriers
39	39	sufficient to prevent significant impacts to water availability or
40	40	water quality in any area of the same or other aquifers,
41	41	subdivisions of aquifers, or geologic strata that have an average
42	42	total dissolved solids level of 1,000 milligrams per liter or less
43	43	at the time of designation of the zones; and
44	44	(B) are not located in:
45	45	(i) an area of the Edwards Aquifer subject
46	46	to the jurisdiction of the Edwards Aquifer Authority;
47	47	(ii) the boundaries of the:
48	48	(a) Barton Springs-Edwards Aquifer
49	49	Conservation District;
50	50	(b) Harris-Galveston Subsidence
51	51	District; or
52	52	(c) Fort Bend Subsidence District; or
53	53	(iii) an aquifer, subdivision of an
54	54	aquifer, or geologic stratum that:
55	55	(a) has an average total dissolved
56	56	solids level of more than 1,000 milligrams per liter; and
57	57	(b) is serving as a significant source
58	58	of water supply for municipal, domestic, or agricultural purposes
59	59	at the time of designation of the zones[; or
60	60	[(iv) an area of a geologic stratum that is
61	61	designated or used for wastewater injection through the use of
62	62	injection wells or disposal wells permitted under Chapter 27].
63	63	SECTION 2. Sections 36.1015(e) and (i), Water Code, are
64	64	amended to read as follows:
65	65	(e) The rules adopted under this section must:
66	66	(1) provide for processing an application for a
67	67	brackish groundwater production zone operating permit in the same
68	68	manner as an application for an operating permit for a fresh
69	69	groundwater well, except as provided by this section;
70	70	(2) allow withdrawals and rates of withdrawal of
71	71	brackish groundwater from a designated brackish groundwater
72	72	production zone not to exceed and consistent with the withdrawal
73	73	amounts identified in Section 16.060(e);
74	74	(3) provide for a minimum term of 30 years for a permit
75	75	issued for a well that produces brackish groundwater from a
76	76	designated brackish groundwater production zone;
77	77	(4) require implementation of a monitoring system
78	78	recommended by the development board to monitor water levels and
79	79	water quality in the same or an adjacent aquifer, subdivision of an
80	80	aquifer, or geologic stratum in which the designated brackish
81	81	groundwater production zone is located;
82	82	(5) for a project located in a designated brackish
83	83	groundwater production zone in the Gulf Coast Aquifer, require
84	84	reasonable monitoring by the district of land elevations to
85	85	determine if production from the project is causing or is likely to
86	86	cause subsidence during the permit term;
87	87	(6) require from the holder of a permit issued under
88	88	rules adopted under this section annual reports that must include:
89	89	(A) the amount of brackish groundwater
90	90	withdrawn;
91	91	(B) the annual [average monthly] water quality of
92	92	the brackish groundwater withdrawn and in the monitoring wells; and
93	93	(C) aquifer levels as measured in accordance with
94	94	Subdivision (4) by monitoring wells required by the permit in:
95	95	(i) [both] the designated brackish
96	96	groundwater production zone; and
97	97	(ii) [in] any aquifer, subdivision of an
98	98	aquifer, or geologic stratum [for which the permit requires
99	99	monitoring];
100	100	(7) provide greater access to brackish groundwater by
101	101	simplifying procedure, avoiding delay in permitting, saving
102	102	expense for the permit seeker, and providing flexibility to permit
103	103	applicants and the district;
104	104	(8) be consistent with and not impair property rights
105	105	described by Sections 36.002(a) and (b); and
106	106	(9) specify all additional information that must be
107	107	included in an application.
108	108	(i) The district may [not] schedule a hearing on the
109	109	application before [until] the district receives the report from
110	110	the development board described by Subsection (h).
111	111	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.