| TO: | Honorable Robert Puente, Chair, House Committee on Natural Resources |
| FROM: | John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HB1830 by Lewis (Relating to county authority to regulate the placement of water wells in unincorporated areas of the county; providing a penalty.), As Introduced |
The bill would authorize county commissioners courts to regulate the placement of private water wells in the unincorporated area of the county. The county would be authorized to establish rules related to placement, to have the county health officer inspect the proposed private water well site, to impose a placement review fee in the amount of not more than $50 to enforce the ordinances, and to charge a person who violates the ordinances with a Class C misdemeanor. The bill would take effect September 1, 2003.
While the $50 review fee would offset most costs in most counties, Harris County states that the requirements for the health officer to conduct the permitting and inspection process would result in Harris County having to change its organizational structure because permitting is currently handled in its public infrastructure department, not its health department. The organizational change would create some initial costs. Harris County estimates inspecting 500 to 600 proposed sites for wells per year, taking at least four hours each, at a manpower cost of $91,000 annually. At $50 per inspection, the revenue would be between $25,000 and $30,000 annually, for an annual net loss of approximately $61,000 to Harris County. Harris County states that the loss would be insignificant compared to the overall budget.
| Source Agencies: | |
| LBB Staff: | JK, CL, DLBa, JB
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