By Armbrister S.B. No. 1565
76R9016 MI-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the administration, powers, duties, and operation of
1-3 the Edwards Aquifer Authority and the management of the Edwards
1-4 Aquifer.
1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-6 SECTION 1. Section 1.03(20), Chapter 626, Acts of the 73rd
1-7 Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, is amended to read as follows:
1-8 (20) "Underground water" means water percolating below
1-9 the surface of the earth and that is suitable for agriculture,
1-10 gardening, domestic or stock raising purposes, but does not include
1-11 defined subterranean streams or the underflow of rivers [has the
1-12 meaning assigned by Section 52.001, Water Code].
1-13 SECTION 2. Section 1.14(b), Chapter 626, Acts of the 73rd
1-14 Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, is amended to read as follows:
1-15 (b) Except as provided by Subsections (d), (f), and (h) of
1-16 this section and Section 1.26 of this article, for the period
1-17 beginning January 1, 2000, and ending December 31, 2007, the amount
1-18 of permitted withdrawals from the aquifer may not exceed 450,000
1-19 acre-feet of water for each calendar year.
1-20 SECTION 3. Section 1.15(c), Chapter 626, Acts of the 73rd
1-21 Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, is amended to read as follows:
1-22 (c) The authority may issue regular permits, term permits,
1-23 and emergency permits. The authority shall, in issuing the initial
1-24 regular permits, reduce to the 450,000 acre-feet per year or other
2-1 maximum required by this Act the initial regular permits if the
2-2 maximum beneficial use of water without waste during the historical
2-3 period exceeds the 450,000 acre-feet per year or other maximum
2-4 withdrawal limitation required by Section 1.14(b).
2-5 SECTION 4. Section 1.16, Chapter 626, Acts of the 73rd
2-6 Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, is amended by amending
2-7 Subsection (e) and relettering Subsections (f)-(h) to read as
2-8 follows:
2-9 (e) To the extent water is available for permitting, the
2-10 board shall issue the existing user a permit for withdrawal of an
2-11 amount of water equal to the user's maximum beneficial use of water
2-12 without waste during any one calendar year of the historical
2-13 period. An existing irrigation user shall receive an initial
2-14 regular permit for the user's maximum beneficial use of water
2-15 without waste, but not less than two acre-feet per year for each
2-16 acre of land the user actually irrigated in any one calendar year
2-17 during the historical period. To the extent water is available for
2-18 permitting, and subject to proportionate reduction in accordance
2-19 with Subsection (f), the authority shall issue an existing
2-20 municipal or industrial user a permit for withdrawal of an amount
2-21 of water equal to the user's maximum beneficial use of water
2-22 without waste during any one calendar year of the historical
2-23 period. If a water user does not have historical use for a full
2-24 year, then the authority shall issue a permit for withdrawal based
2-25 on an amount of water that would normally be beneficially used
2-26 without waste for the intended purpose for a calendar year.
2-27 (f) If the total amount of water [determined to have been
3-1 beneficially used without waste under this subsection] exceeds the
3-2 amount of water available for permitting, the authority shall
3-3 adjust the amount of water authorized for withdrawal under the
3-4 permits proportionately to meet the amount available for permitting
3-5 as follows:
3-6 (1) an [. An] existing irrigation user shall receive a
3-7 permit for not less than two acre-feet a year for each acre of land
3-8 the user actually irrigated in any one calendar year during the
3-9 historical period; and
3-10 (2) the authority shall adjust the amount of water
3-11 authorized for withdrawal for all other [. An] existing users
3-12 proportionately to meet the amount of water available for
3-13 permitting [user who has operated a well for three or more years
3-14 during the historical period shall receive a permit for at least
3-15 the average amount of water withdrawn annually during the
3-16 historical period].
3-17 (g) [(f)] The board by rule shall consider the equitable
3-18 treatment of a person whose historic use has been affected by a
3-19 requirement of or participation in a federal program.
3-20 (h) [(g)] The authority shall issue an initial regular
3-21 permit without a term, and an initial regular permit remains in
3-22 effect until the permit is abandoned, cancelled, or retired.
3-23 (i) [(h)] The board shall notify each permit holder that the
3-24 permit is subject to limitations as provided by this article.
3-25 SECTION 5. Section 1.29(e), Chapter 626, Acts of the 73rd
3-26 Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, is amended to read as follows:
3-27 (e) In developing an equitable fee structure under this
4-1 section, the authority may establish different fee rates on a per
4-2 acre-foot basis for different types of use. The fees must be
4-3 equitable between types of uses. The fee rate for agricultural use
4-4 shall be based on the volume of water withdrawn for agricultural
4-5 purposes and may not be more than 20 percent of the fee rate for
4-6 municipal use. The authority shall assess the fees on the amount
4-7 of water a permit holder is authorized to withdraw under the
4-8 permit.
4-9 SECTION 6. Section 1.31(a), Chapter 626, Acts of the 73rd
4-10 Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, is amended to read as follows:
4-11 (a) Not later than December 31, 1999, the [The] owner of a
4-12 nonexempt well that withdraws water from the aquifer shall install
4-13 and maintain a measuring device approved by the authority designed
4-14 to indicate the flow rate and cumulative amount of water withdrawn
4-15 by that well. This requirement may be waived by the authority on
4-16 written request by a well owner to use an alternative method of
4-17 determining the amount of water withdrawn.
4-18 SECTION 7. The importance of this legislation and the
4-19 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-20 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-21 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-22 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
4-23 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
4-24 passage, and it is so enacted.