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Senate Bill 1532 |
Senate Author: Zaffirini |
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Effective: 9-1-13 |
House Sponsor: Rodriguez, Eddie |
Senate Bill 1532 amends the Injection Well Act in the Water Code to establish provisions relating to permits for injection wells applicable only to the portion of the Edwards Aquifer that is within the geographic area circumscribed by the external boundaries of the Barton Springs-Edwards Aquifer Conservation District but is not in that district's territory or the territory of the Edwards Aquifer Authority. The bill generally prohibits the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) from authorizing by rule or permit an injection well that transects or terminates in the aquifer but authorizes TCEQ by rule to authorize, for the purpose of providing additional recharge, the injection of fresh water withdrawn from the aquifer into a well that transects or terminates in the aquifer or the injection of rainwater, storm water, flood water, or groundwater into the aquifer by means of an improved natural recharge feature. The bill authorizes TCEQ by general permit to authorize such injections as well as certain injection wells for specified purposes, such as injecting concentrate from a desalination facility or injecting fresh water as part of an engineered aquifer storage and recovery facility.
Senate Bill 1532 sets out requirements for rules adopted and general permits issued under its provisions, including requirements for the monitoring of an authorized injection well and the association of certain wells with a small-scale research project. The bill establishes provisions relating to the authorization for certain monitoring wells to be used for monitoring a saline water production well; the criteria for a project to be considered a small-scale research project; the authorization of a general permit to authorize owners of certain authorized injection wells to continue operating an applicable well for the purpose of implementing a desalination or engineered aquifer storage and recovery project following completion of a small-scale research project; and the ability of TCEQ to require an operator to cease operating certain injection wells.