By Bernsen                                            S.B. No. 1645
         77R6001 MI-F                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to limiting the water rights to be protected from an
 1-3     indirect reuse permit.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1. Sections 11.042(a), (b), and (c), Water Code, are
 1-6     amended to read as follows:
 1-7           (a)  Under rules prescribed by the commission, a person[,
 1-8     association of persons, corporation, water control and improvement
 1-9     district, water improvement district, or irrigation district]
1-10     supplying stored or conserved water under contract as provided in
1-11     this chapter may use the bank and bed of any flowing natural stream
1-12     in the state to convey the water from the place of storage to the
1-13     place of use or to the diversion point of the appropriator.
1-14           (b)  A person who wishes to discharge and then subsequently
1-15     divert and reuse the person's existing return flows derived from
1-16     privately owned groundwater must obtain prior authorization from
1-17     the commission for the diversion and the reuse of these return
1-18     flows.  The authorization may allow for the diversion and reuse by
1-19     the discharger of existing return flows, less carriage losses, and
1-20     shall be subject to special conditions if necessary to protect an
1-21     existing water right that was granted subsequent to the discharge
1-22     based on the use or availability of these return flows.  Special
1-23     conditions may also be provided to help maintain instream uses and
1-24     freshwater inflows to bays and estuaries.  A person wishing to
 2-1     divert and reuse future increases of return flows derived from
 2-2     privately owned groundwater must obtain authorization to reuse
 2-3     increases in return flows before the increase.
 2-4           (c)  Except as otherwise provided in Subsection (a) of this
 2-5     section, a person who wishes to convey and subsequently divert
 2-6     return flows from a surface water right [water] in a watercourse or
 2-7     stream must obtain the prior approval of the commission through a
 2-8     bed and banks authorization.  The authorization shall allow to be
 2-9     diverted only the amount of water put into a watercourse or stream,
2-10     less carriage losses and subject to any special conditions that may
2-11     address the impact of the discharge, conveyance, and diversion on
2-12     existing permits, certified filings, or certificates of
2-13     adjudication granted subsequent to and based on the return flows
2-14     and on[,] instream uses[,] and freshwater inflows to bays and
2-15     estuaries.  Water discharged into a watercourse or stream under
2-16     this chapter shall not cause a degradation of water quality to the
2-17     extent that the stream segment's classification would be lowered.
2-18     Authorizations under this section and water quality authorizations
2-19     may be approved in a consolidated permit proceeding.
2-20           SECTION 2.  (a)  This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
2-21           (b)  The change in law made by this Act to Section 11.042(a),
2-22     Water Code, applies only to an authorization the application for
2-23     which is pending before the Texas Natural Resource Conservation
2-24     Commission on or is filed with the commission on or after September
2-25     1, 2001.