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Senate Bill 1537 |
Senate Author: Armbrister |
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Effective: 5-27-05 |
House Sponsor: Callegari |
Senate Bill 1537 amends the enabling laws of the Harris-Galveston Coastal Subsidence District and the Fort Bend Subsidence District. The bill changes the name of the first district to the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District and converts it from a groundwater conservation district to a conservation and reclamation district. Other changes make Water Code general-law chapters governing water districts and groundwater conservation districts inapplicable in both cases, and instead incorporate various administrative and other replacement provisions in both enabling laws. The bill removes provisions relating to the annexation of adjoining counties.
The bill authorizes both districts to adopt different rules for each aquifer, aquifer subdivision, or geologic stratum located wholly or partly in the district, or for each geographic area overlying an aquifer or aquifer subdivision. The bill specifies that the districts' authority to regulate groundwater withdrawals includes withdrawals of injected water. Both districts may adopt rules to prevent waste of water or degradation of water quality. Permitting decisions may include consideration of an applicant's compliance record, and permit issuance may be conditioned on the resolution of a prior or continuing violation, including a civil penalty or settlement amount. The bill authorizes disincentive permit fees to discourage overreliance on groundwater. Among other provisions, it modifies provisions relating to rules, orders, and permits to provide for addressing the availability of alternative water supplies generally (e.g., treated effluent, desalination), and not just surface water, in limiting groundwater withdrawals. The bill requires both districts to submit their annual subsidence reports and copies of their most recent district plans to the regional water planning group.