By: Perry S.B. No. 2658
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the production and study of brackish groundwater.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 16.060(b) and (e), Water Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(b) The board shall prepare a biennial progress report on
the implementation of seawater or brackish groundwater
desalination activities in the state and shall submit it to the
governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of
representatives not later than December 1 of each even-numbered
year. The report shall include:
(1) results of the board's studies and activities
relative to seawater or brackish groundwater desalination during
the preceding biennium;
(2) identification and evaluation of research,
regulatory, technical, and financial impediments to the
implementation of seawater or brackish groundwater desalination
projects;
(3) evaluation of the role the state should play in
furthering the development of large-scale seawater or brackish
groundwater desalination projects in the state;
(4) the anticipated appropriation from general
revenues necessary to continue investigating water desalination
activities in the state during the next biennium; and
(5) identification and designation of local or
regional brackish groundwater production zones in areas of the
state with moderate to high availability and productivity of
brackish groundwater that can be used to reduce the use of fresh
groundwater and that:
(A) are separated by hydrogeologic barriers
sufficient to prevent significant impacts to water availability or
water quality in any area of the same or other aquifers,
subdivisions of aquifers, or geologic strata that have an average
total dissolved solids level of 1,000 milligrams per liter or less
at the time of designation of the zones; and
(B) are not located in:
(i) an area of the Edwards Aquifer subject
to the jurisdiction of the Edwards Aquifer Authority;
(ii) the boundaries of the:
(a) Barton Springs-Edwards Aquifer
Conservation District;
(b) Harris-Galveston Subsidence
District; or
(c) Fort Bend Subsidence District; or
(iii) an aquifer, subdivision of an
aquifer, or geologic stratum that:
(a) has an average total dissolved
solids level of more than 1,000 milligrams per liter; and
(b) is serving as a significant source
of water supply for municipal, domestic, or agricultural purposes
at the time of designation of the zones[; or
[(iv) an area of a geologic stratum that is
designated or used for wastewater injection through the use of
injection wells or disposal wells permitted under Chapter 27].
(e) In designating a brackish groundwater production zone
under this section, the board shall:
(1) determine the amount of brackish groundwater that
the zone is capable of producing over a 30-year period and a 50-year
period without causing a significant impact to water availability
or water quality as described by Subsection (b)(5)(A); and
(2) include in the designation description:
(A) the amounts of brackish groundwater that the
zone is capable of producing during the periods described by
Subdivision (1); [and]
(B) recommendations regarding reasonable
monitoring to observe the effects of brackish groundwater
production within the zone;
(C) an allocation of the available amounts of
brackish groundwater identified in Paragraph (A) to each
groundwater conservation district and county located in the zone;
and
(D) a description of any area of a geologic
stratum in the zone that is designated or used for wastewater
injection through the use of injection or disposal wells permitted
under Chapter 27.
SECTION 2. Section 36.117, Water Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (b) and (d) and adding Subsections (e-1),
(e-2), (e-3), and (k-1) to read as follows:
(b) Except as provided by this section, a district shall
provide an exemption from the district requirement to obtain a
permit for:
(1) drilling or operating a well used solely for
domestic use or for providing water for livestock or poultry if the
well is:
(A) located or to be located on a tract of land
larger than 10 acres; and
(B) drilled, completed, or equipped so that it is
incapable of producing more than 25,000 gallons of groundwater a
day;
(2) drilling a water well used solely to supply water
for a rig that is actively engaged in drilling or exploration
operations for an oil or gas well permitted by the Railroad
Commission of Texas provided that the person holding the permit is
responsible for drilling and operating the water well and the water
well is located on the same lease or field associated with the
drilling rig;
(3) drilling a water well authorized under a permit
issued by the Railroad Commission of Texas under Chapter 134,
Natural Resources Code, or for production from the well to the
extent the withdrawals are required for mining activities
regardless of any subsequent use of the water; [or]
(4) drilling a water well for temporary use to supply
water for a rig that is actively engaged in drilling a groundwater
production well permitted by the district; or
(5) drilling or operating a well for the withdrawal of
groundwater from a designated brackish groundwater production
zone, as defined by Section 36.1015, if:
(A) the operator of the well provides the
district with documentation:
(i) from an environmental testing
laboratory accredited under commission rules for water quality
analysis in permitting decisions demonstrating that the well
produces water with a total dissolved solids concentration of at
least 3,000 milligrams per liter; and
(ii) showing that the operator has acquired
a real property interest in the groundwater described by this
paragraph underlying each tract of land within the spacing area
assigned to the well or the spacing distances required for the
drilling of other wells, as applicable, under the well spacing
rules of the district; and
(B) total brackish groundwater production from
the area of the designated brackish groundwater production zone
located in the district would not exceed the applicable estimated
withdrawal amounts allocated to the district by the Texas Water
Development Board pursuant to Section 16.060(e)(2)(C).
(d) A district may cancel a previously granted exemption and
may require an operating permit for or restrict production from a
well and assess any appropriate fees if:
(1) the groundwater withdrawals that were exempted
under Subsection (b)(1) are no longer used solely for domestic use
or to provide water for livestock or poultry;
(2) the groundwater withdrawals that were exempted
under Subsection (b)(2) are no longer used solely to supply water
for a rig that is actively engaged in drilling or exploration
operations for an oil or gas well permitted by the Railroad
Commission of Texas;
(3) the groundwater withdrawals that were exempted
under Subsection (b)(3) are no longer necessary for mining
activities or are greater than the amount necessary for mining
activities specified in the permit issued by the Railroad
Commission of Texas under Chapter 134, Natural Resources Code; [or]
(4) the groundwater withdrawals that were exempted
under Subsection (b)(4) are no longer used solely to supply water
for a rig that is actively engaged in drilling a groundwater
production well permitted by the district; or
(5) for groundwater withdrawals that were exempted
under Subsection (b)(5):
(A) the withdrawals are no longer from a
designated brackish groundwater production zone, as defined by
Section 36.1015; or
(B) the groundwater produced no longer has an
average total dissolved solids concentration of 3,000 milligrams
per liter or more.
(e-1) A person owning or operating a well withdrawing water
from a brackish groundwater production zone that is exempt from the
requirement to obtain a permit under Subsection (b)(5) shall:
(1) implement a monitoring system approved by the
district that accomplishes the purposes of Sections 36.1015(e)(4)
and (5); and
(2) submit an annual report to the district that
contains the information required by Section 36.1015(e)(6).
(e-2) Before approving a proposed monitoring system under
Subsection (e-1), the district shall consult with the Texas Water
Development Board to ensure that the proposed monitoring system
aligns with the recommendations provided under Section
16.060(e)(2)(B) and with Sections 36.1015(e)(4) and (5). The
district shall provide each report required under Subsection
(e-1)(2) to the development board.
(e-3) A district may cancel a previously granted exemption
granted in accordance with Subsection (b)(5) and may require an
operating permit for or restrict production from a well if:
(1) the person who owns or operates the well fails to:
(A) implement and maintain the monitoring system
required under Subsection (e-1)(1); or
(B) submit an annual report as required under
Subsection (e-1)(2); or
(2) the district finds by a preponderance of the
evidence, based on data from the monitoring system required under
Subsection (e-1)(1), that the production of water from the brackish
groundwater production zone:
(A) is negatively impacting or is likely to
negatively impact water quality in an adjacent aquifer, subdivision
of an aquifer, or geologic stratum; or
(B) is causing or is likely to cause subsidence.
(k-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (k) or any other law, a
district may not subject water withdrawn from a well exempted from a
permit requirement by Subsection (b)(5) to a transport or export
fee greater than 10 cents per thousand gallons of transported or
exported water.
SECTION 3. Section 36.205, Water Code, is amended by adding
Subsection (h) to read as follows:
(h) A district may not assess a production fee under this
section for any water produced under an exemption under Section
36.117(b)(5).
SECTION 4. The Texas Water Development Board shall make any
identifications of, redesignations of, or adjustments to brackish
groundwater production zones as necessary to comply with the
changes in law made by this Act in Section 16.060, Water Code, using
staff, contractors, equipment, and data acquired by the board
before September 1, 2025.
SECTION 5. Sections 36.117(k-1) and 36.205(h), Water Code,
as added by this Act, apply only to water withdrawn from a well on or
after the effective date of this Act. Water withdrawn from a well
before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
effect on the date the water is withdrawn, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.