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House Bill 2647 |
House Author: Ashby et al. |
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Effective: Vetoed |
Senate Sponsor: Estes |
House Bill 2647 amends the Water Code to entitle an owner or operator of a well that produces groundwater used to support the operation of a power generation facility or a mine that provides fuel to such a facility to petition a groundwater conservation district for a delay in the effective date of any district action that would reduce or curtail production from the well or limit the groundwater production rate of the well to less than certain amounts.
Reason Given for Veto: "Texas landowners have a constitutionally protected right to access the groundwater under their property. Government action affecting that vested right must be based only on very careful deliberation, which ideally should take place at the local level based on local needs and concerns. Statewide groundwater rules are less able to take vitally important local interests into account.
"Under current law, local groundwater conservation districts have the ability to implement specific management strategies, such as curtailment, that prioritize certain users as deemed appropriate after local deliberation. House Bill 2647 eliminates local discretion by mandating the preferential treatment of certain types of groundwater use over other important uses. If one class of landowners is automatically exempt from curtailment, others will have to bear an unequal burden when water is scarce. Enshrining in state law the rule that groundwater conservation districts will give priority to one class of water users could result in the abridgement of other users' groundwater rights. Groundwater management should be based on sound science and public input at the local level, not on one-size-fits-all state mandates like House Bill 2647."