Amend HB 1763 by adding the following sections and renumber
accordingly:
SECTION ___. Section 16.053, Water Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (e) and (p) and adding Subsections (p-1),
(p-2), (p-3) and (p-4) to read as follows:
(e) Each regional water planning group shall submit to the
development board a regional water plan that:
(1) is consistent with the guidance principles for the
state water plan adopted by the development board under Section
16.051(d);
(2) provides information based on data provided or
approved by the development board in a format consistent with the
guidelines provided by the development board under Subsection (d);
(3) identifies:
(A) each source of water supply in the regional
water planning area, including information supplied by the
executive administrator on the amount of managed available
groundwater in accordance with the guidelines provided by the
development board under Subsections (d) and (f);
(B) factors specific to each source of water
supply to be considered in determining whether to initiate a
drought response; and
(C) actions to be taken as part of the response;
(4) has specific provisions for water management
strategies to be used during a drought of record;
(5) includes but is not limited to consideration of the
following:
(A) any existing water or drought planning
efforts addressing all or a portion of the region;
(B) approvedcertified groundwater
conservation district management plans and other plans submitted
under Section 16.054;
(C) all potentially feasible water management
strategies, including but not limited to improved conservation,
reuse, and management of existing water supplies, conjunctive use,
acquisition of available existing water supplies, and development
of new water supplies;
(D) protection of existing water rights in the
region;
(E) opportunities for and the benefits of
developing regional water supply facilities or providing regional
management of water supply facilities;
(F) appropriate provision for environmental
water needs and for the effect of upstream development on the bays,
estuaries, and arms of the Gulf of Mexico and the effect of plans on
navigation;
(G) provisions in Section 11.085(k)(1) if
interbasin transfers are contemplated;
(H) voluntary transfer of water within the region
using, but not limited to, regional water banks, sales, leases,
options, subordination agreements, and financing agreements; and
(I) emergency transfer of water under Section
11.139, including information on the part of each permit, certified
filing, or certificate of adjudication for nonmunicipal use in the
region that may be transferred without causing unreasonable damage
to the property of the nonmunicipal water rights holder;
(6) identifies river and stream segments of unique
ecological value and sites of unique value for the construction of
reservoirs that the regional water planning group recommends for
protection under Section 16.051;
(7) assesses the impact of the plan on unique river and
stream segments identified in Subdivision (6) if the regional water
planning group or the legislature determines that a site of unique
ecological value exists; and
(8) describes the impact of proposed water projects on
water quality.
(p) If a groundwater conservation district files a petition
with the development board stating that a conflict requiring
resolution may exist between the district's approvedcertified
groundwater conservation district management plan developed under
Section 36.1071 and anthe approved stateregional water plan,
the development board shall provide technical assistance to and
facilitate coordination between the district and the involved
region to resolve the conflict. Not later than the 45th day after
the date the groundwater conservation district files a petition
with the development board, if the conflict has not been resolved,
the district and the involved region shall mediate the conflict.
The district and the involved region may seek the assistance of the
Center for Public Policy Dispute Resolution at The University of
Texas School of Law or an alternative dispute resolution system
established under Chapter 152, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, in
obtaining a qualified impartial third party to mediate the
conflict. The cost of the mediation services must be specified in
the agreement between the parties and the Center for Public Policy
Dispute Resolution or the alternative dispute resolution system.
If the district and the involved region cannot resolve the conflict
through mediationremains, the development board shall resolve
the conflict not later than the 60th day after the date the
mediation is completed as provided by Subsections (p-1) and (p-2).
(p-1) If the development board determines that resolution
of the conflict requires a revision of an approved regional water
plan, the development board shall suspend the approval of that plan
and provide information to the regional water planning group. The
regional water planning group shall prepare any revisions to its
plan specified by the development board and shall hold, after
notice, at least one public hearing at some central location within
the regional water planning area. The regional water planning
group shall consider all public and development board comments,
prepare, revise, and adopt its plan, and submit the revised plan to
the development board for approval and inclusion in the state water
plan.
(p-2) If the development board determines that resolution
of the conflict requires a revision of the district's approved
certified groundwater conservation district management plan, the
development board shall suspend the certification of that plan and
provide information to the district. The groundwater district
shall prepare any revisions to its plan based on the information
providedspecified by the development board and shall hold, after
notice, at least one public hearing at some central location within
the district. The groundwater district shall consider all public
and development board comments, prepare, revise, and adopt its
plan, and submit the revised plan to the development board for
certification.
(p-3) If the groundwater conservation district disagrees
with the decision of the development board under Subsection (p),
the district may appeal the decision to a district court in Travis
County. Costs for the appeal shall be set by the court hearing the
appeal. An appeal under this subsection is by trial de novo.
(p-4) On the request of the involved region or groundwater
conservation district, the development board shall include
discussion of the conflict and its resolution in the state water
plan that the development board provides to the governor, the
lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of
representatives under Section 16.051(e).
SECTION ___. Section 36.001, Water Code, is amended by
striking Subdivision (17) amending and adding Subdivisions (4-a)
and (24) through (29) to read as follows:
(4-a) "Federal conservation program" means the
Conservation Reserve Program of the United States Department of
Agriculture.
(17) "Applicant" means a newly confirmed district
applying for a loan from the loan fund.
(24) "Total aquifer storage" means the total
calculated volume of groundwater that an aquifer is capable of
producing.
(25) "Managed available groundwater" means the amount
of water that may be permitted by a district for beneficial use in
accordance with the desired future condition of the aquifer as
determined under Section 36.108.
(26) "Recharge" means the amount of water that
infiltrates to the water table of an aquifer.
(27) "Inflows" means the amount of water that flows
into an aquifer from another formation.
(28) "Discharge" means the amount of water that leaves
an aquifer by natural or artificial means.
(29) "Evidence of historic or existing use" means
evidence that is material and relevant to a determination of the
amount of groundwater beneficially used without waste by a permit
applicant during the relevant time period set by district rule that
regulates groundwater based on historic use. Evidence in the form
of oral or written testimony shall be subject to cross-examination.
The Texas Rules of Evidence govern the admissibility and
introduction of evidence of historic or existing use, except that
evidence not admissible under the Texas Rules of Evidence may be
admitted if it is of the type commonly relied upon by reasonably
prudent persons in the conduct of their affairs.
SECTION ___. Subsections (a), (b), and (d) through (h),
Section 36.1071, Water Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) Following notice and hearing, the district shall, in
coordination with surface water management entities on a regional
basis, develop a comprehensive management plan which addresses the
following management goals, as applicable:
(1) providing the most efficient use of groundwater;
(2) controlling and preventing waste of groundwater;
(3) controlling and preventing subsidence;
(4) addressing conjunctive surface water management
issues;
(5) addressing natural resource issues;
(6) addressing drought conditions; and
(7) addressing conservation, recharge enhancement,
rainwater harvesting, precipitation enhancement, or brush control,
where appropriate and cost-effective; and
(8) addressing in a quantitative manner the desired
future conditions of the groundwater resources;
(b) After January 5, 2002, aA district management plan, or
any amendments to a district management plan, shall be developed by
the district using the district's best available data and forwarded
to the regional water planning group for useconsideration in
their planning process.
(d) The commission shall provide technical assistance to a
district during its initial operational phase. If requested by a
district, the Texas Water Development Board shall train the
district on basic data collection methodology and provide technical
assistance to districts as provided by Section 16.0122.
(e) In the management plan described under Subsection (a),
the district shall:
(1) identify the performance standards and management
objectives under which the district will operate to achieve the
management goals identified under Subsection (a);
(2) specify, in as much detail as possible, the
actions, procedures, performance, and avoidance that are or may be
necessary to effect the plan, including specifications and proposed
rules;
(3) include estimates of the following:
(A) managed availablethe existing total
usable amount of groundwater in the district based on the desired
future condition established under Section 36.108;
(B) the amount of groundwater being used within
the district on an annual basis;
(C) the annual amount of recharge from
precipitation, if any, to the groundwater resources within the
district and how natural or artificial recharge may be increased;
and
(D) for each aquifer, the annual volume of water
that discharges from the aquifer to springs and any surface water
bodies, including lakes, streams, and rivers;
(E) the annual volume of flow into and out of the
district within each aquifer and between aquifers in the district,
if a groundwater availability model is available;
(F) the projected surface water supply in the
district according to the most recently adopted state water plan;
and
(G) the projected total demand for water in the
district according to the most recently adopted state water plan
projected water supply and demand for water within the district;
and
(4) consider theaddress water supply needs and water
management strategies included in a manner that is not in conflict
with the adopted stateappropriate approved regional water plan
if a regional water plan has been approved under Section 16.053.
(f) The district shall adopt rules necessary to implement
the management plan. Prior to the development of the management
plan and its approval under Section 36.1072, the district may not
adopt rules other than rules pertaining to the registration and
interim permitting of new and existing wells and rules governing
spacing and procedure before the district's board; however, the
district may not adopt any rules limiting the production of wells,
except rules requiring that groundwater produced from a well be put
to a non-wasteful, beneficial use a district may accept
applications for permits under Section 36.113, provided the
district does not act on any such application until the district's
management plan is approved as provided in Section 36.1072.
(g) The districtboard shall adopt amendments to the
management plan as necessary. Amendments to the management plan
shall be adopted after notice and hearing and shall otherwise
comply with the requirements of this section.
(h) In developing its management plan, the district shall
use the groundwater availability modeling information provided by
the executive administrator togetherin conjunction with any
available site-specific information that has been provided by the
district to the executive administrator for review and comment
before being used in the plan [and acceptable to the executive
administrator.
SECTION ___. Section 36.1072, Water Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 36.1072. TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD REVIEW AND
APPROVALCERTIFICATION OF MANAGEMENT PLAN. (a) A district
shall, not later than threetwo years after the creation of the
district or, if the district required confirmation, after the
election confirming the district's creation, submit the management
plan required under Section 36.1071 to the executive administrator
for review and approvalcertification.
(b) Within 60 days of receipt of a management plan adopted
under Section 36.1071, readopted under Subsection (e) or (g) of
this section, or amended under Section 36.1073, the executive
administrator shall approvecertify a management plan if the plan
is administratively complete. A management plan is
administratively complete when it contains the information
required to be submitted under Section 36.1071(a) and (e).
The executive administrator may determine whetherthat
conditions justify waiver of the requirements under Section
36.1071(e)(4).
(c) Once the executive administrator has approved a
determination that a management plan is administratively complete
has been made:
(1) the executive administrator may not revoke but may
suspend the approval as provided by Subsection (g)determination
that a management plan is administratively complete; and
(2) the executive administrator may request
additional information from the district if the information is
necessary to clarify, modify, or supplement previously submitted
material, but; and
(3) a request for additional information does not
render the management plan unapprovedincomplete.
(d) A management plan takes effect on approval
certification by the executive administrator or, if appealed, on
approvalcertification by the Texas Water Development Board.
(e) The districtboard may review the plan annually and
must review and readopt the plan with or without revisions at least
once every five years. The district shall provide the readopted
plan to the executive administrator not later than the 60th day
after the date on which the plan was readopted. Approval of the
preceding management plan remains in effect until:
(1) the district fails to timely readopt a management
plan;
(2) the district fails to timely submit the district's
readopted management plan to the executive administrator; or
(3) the executive administrator determines that the
readopted management plan does not meet the requirements for
approval, and the district has exhausted all appeals to the Texas
Water Development Board or appropriate court.
(f) If the executive administrator does not approve
certify the management plan, the executive administrator shall
provide to the district, in writing, the reasons for the action.
Not later than the 180th day after the date a district receives
notice that its management plan has not been approvedcertified,
the district may submit a revised management plan for review and
approvalcertification. The executive administrator's decision
may be appealed to the Texas Water Development Board. If the Texas
Water Development Board decides not to approve the management plan
on appeal, the district may request that the conflict be mediated.
The district and the board may seek the assistance of the Center for
Public Policy Dispute Resolution at The University of Texas School
of Law or an alternative dispute resolution system established
under Chapter 152, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, in obtaining a
qualified impartial third party to mediate the conflict. The cost
of the mediation services must be specified in the agreement
between the parties and the Center for Public Policy Dispute
Resolution or the alternative dispute resolution system. If the
parties do not resolve the conflict through mediation, theThe
decision of the Texas Water Development Board noton whether to
approvecertify the management plan may not be appealed to a
district court in Travis County. Costs for the appeal shall be set
by the court hearing the appeal. An appeal under this subsection is
by trial de novo. The commission shall not take enforcement action
against a district under Subchapter I until the later of the
expiration of the 180-day period,or the date the Texas Water
Development Board has taken final action withholding approval
certification of a revised management plan, the date the mediation
is completed, or the date a final judgment upholding the board's
decision is entered by a district court. An enforcement action may
not be taken against a district by the commission or the state
auditor under Subchapter I because the district's management plan
and the approved regional water plan are in conflict while the
parties are attempting to resolve the conflict before the
development board, in mediation, or in court. Rules of the district
continue in full force and effect until all appeals under this
subsection have been exhausted and the final judgment is adverse to
the district.
(g) In this subsection, "development board" means the Texas
Water Development Board. A person with a legally defined interest
in groundwater in a district or the regional water planning group
may file a petition with the development board stating that a
conflict requiring resolution may exist between the district's
approvedcertified groundwater conservation district management
plan developed under Section 36.1071 and the state water plan. If a
conflict exists, the development board shall provide technical
assistance to and facilitate coordination between the involved
person or regional water planning group and the district to resolve
the conflict. Not later than the 45th day after the date the person
or the regional water planning group files a petition with the
development board, if the conflict has not been resolved, the
district and the involved person or regional planning group may
mediate the conflict. The district and the involved person or
regional planning group may seek the assistance of the Center for
Public Policy Dispute Resolution at The University of Texas School
of Law or an alternative dispute resolution system established
under Chapter 152, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, in obtaining a
qualified impartial third party to mediate the conflict. The cost
of the mediation services must be specified in the agreement
between the parties and the Center for Public Policy Dispute
Resolution or the alternative dispute resolution system. If the
district and the involved person or regional planning group cannot
resolve the conflict through mediationremains, the development
board shall resolve the conflict not later than the 60th day after
the date the mediation is completed. The development board action
under this provision may be consolidated, at the option of the
board, with related action under Section 16.053(p). If the
development board determines that resolution of the conflict
requires a revision of the approvedcertified groundwater
conservation district management plan, the development board shall
suspend the certification of the plan and provide information to
the district. The district shall prepare any revisions to the plan
based on the information providedspecified by the development
board and shall hold, after notice, at least one public hearing at
some central location within the district. The district shall
consider all public and development board comments, prepare,
revise, and adopt its plan, and submit the revised plan to the
development board for approvalcertification. On the request of
the district or the regional water planning group, the development
board shall include discussion of the conflict and its resolution
in the state water plan that the development board provides to the
governor, the lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of
representatives under Section 16.051(e). If the groundwater
conservation district disagrees with the decision of the
development board under this subsection, the district may appeal
the decision to a district court in Travis County. Costs for the
appeal shall be set by the court hearing the appeal. An appeal
under this subsection is by trial de novo.
SECTION ___. Section 36.1073, Water Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 36.1073. AMENDMENT TO MANAGEMENT PLAN. Any amendment
to the management plan shall be submitted to the executive
administrator within 60 days following adoption of the amendment by
the district's board. The executive administrator shall review and
approvecertify any amendment which substantially affects the
management plan in accordance with the procedures established under
Section 36.1072.
SECTION ___. Subchapter D, Chapter 36, Water Code, is
amended by amending Section 36.108 to read as follows:
Sec. 36.108. JOINT PLANNING IN MANAGEMENT AREA. (a) In this
section, "development board" means the Texas Water Development
Board.
(a)(b) If two or more districts are located within the
boundaries of the same management area, each district shall prepare
a comprehensive management plan as required by Section 36.1071
covering that district's respective territory. On completion and
approvalcertification of the plan as required by Section
36.1072, each district shall forward a copy of the new or revised
management plan to the other districts in the management area. The
boards of the districts shall consider the plans individually and
shall compare them to other management plans then in force in the
management area.
(b)(c)The board of directors ofThe presiding officer,
or their designee, of each district located in whole or in part in
the management area shall meet at least annually to conductmay,
by resolution, call for joint planning with the other districts in
the management area and to review the management plans and
accomplishments for the management area. In reviewing the
management plans, the districtsboards shall consider:
(1) the goals of each management plan and its impact on
planning throughout the management area;
(2) the effectiveness of the measures established by
each management plan for conserving and protecting groundwater and
preventing waste, and the effectiveness of these measures in the
management area generally; and
(3) any other matters that the boards consider relevant
to the protection and conservation of groundwater and the
prevention of waste in the management area; and.
(4) the degree to which each management plan achieves
the desired future conditions established during the joint planning
process.
(d) Not later than five years after the effective date of
this subsection and every five years thereafter, During the joint
planning process, the districts shall consider groundwater
availability models and other data or information for the
management area and shall establish desired future conditions for
the relevant aquifers within the management area. In establishing
the desired future conditions of the aquifers under this section,
the districts shall consider uses or conditions of an aquifer
within the management area that differ substantially from one
geographic area to another. The districts may establish different
desired future conditions for:
(1) each aquifer, subdivision of an aquifer, or
geologic strata located in whole or in part within the boundaries of
the management area; or
(2) each geographic area overlying an aquifer in whole
or in part or subdivision of an aquifer within the boundaries of the
management area.
(d-1) The desired future conditions established under
Subsection (d) must be adopted by two-thirds vote of the district
representatives present at a meeting.
(1) at which at least two-thirds of the districts
located in whole or in part in the management area have a voting
representative in attendance; and
(2) for which all districts located in whole or in part
in the management area provide public notice in accordance with
Chapter 551, Government Code.
(d-2) Each district in the management area shall ensure that
its management plan contains goals and objectives consistent with
achieving the desired future conditions of the relevant aquifers as
adopted during the joint planning process.
(e)If aA joint meeting of the boards of directors is
called, the meeting must beunder this section must be held in
accordance with Chapter 551, Government Code. Each district shall
comply with Chapter 552, Government Code. Notice of the meeting
shall be given in accordance with the requirements for notice of
district board of directors meetings under that Act.
(d)(f) A district or person with a legally defined interest
in the groundwater within the management area may file [with good
cause] a petition with the commission requesting an inquiry if the
petitioner district adopted a resolution calling for joint planning
and the othera district or districts refused to join in the
planning process or the process failed to result in adequate
planning, including the establishment of reasonable future desired
conditions of the aquifers, and the petition provides evidence
that:
(1) anothera district in the groundwater management
area has failed to adopt rules;
(2) the rules adopted by a district are not designed to
achieve the desired future condition of the groundwater resources
in the groundwater management area established during the joint
planning process;
(3) the groundwater in the management area is not
adequately protected by the rules adopted by anothera district;
or
(4)(3) the groundwater in the groundwater management
area is not adequately protected due to the failure of aanother
district to enforce substantial compliance with its rules.
(e)(g) Not later than the 90th day after the date the
petition is filed, the commission shall review the petition and
either:
(1) dismiss the petition if the commissionit if it
finds that the evidence is not adequate to show that any of the
conditions alleged in the petition exist; or
(2) select a review panel as provided in Subsection
(f)(h).
(f)(h) If the petition is not dismissed under Subsection
(e)(g), the commission shall appoint a review panel consisting of a
chairman and four other members. A director or general manager of a
district located outside the groundwater management area that is
the subject of the petition may be appointed to the review panel.
The commission may not appoint more than two members of the
review panel from any one district. The commission also shall
appoint a disinterested person to serve as a nonvoting recording
secretary for the review panel. The recording secretary may be an
employee of the commission. The recording secretary shall record
and document the proceedings of the panel.
(g)(i) Not later than the 120th day after appointment, the
review panel shall review the petition and any evidence relevant to
the petition and, in a public meeting, consider and adopt a report
to be submitted to the commission. The commission may direct the
review panel to conduct public hearings at a location in the
groundwater management area to take evidence on the petition. The
review panel may attempt to negotiate a settlement or resolve the
dispute by any lawful means.
(h)(j) In its report, the review panel shall include:
(1) a summary of all evidence taken in any hearing on
the petition;
(2) a list of findings and recommended actions
appropriate for the commission to take and the reasons it finds
those actions appropriate; and
(3) any other information the panel considers
appropriate.
(i)(k) The review panel shall submit its report to the
commission. The commission may take action under Section 36.3011.
(l) A person with a legally defined interest in the
groundwater in the groundwater management area, a district in or
adjacent to the groundwater management area, or a regional water
planning group for a region in the groundwater management area may
file a petition with the development board appealing the approval
of the desired future conditions of the groundwater resources
established under this section. The petition must provide evidence
that the districts did not establish a reasonable desired future
condition of the groundwater resources in the groundwater
management area.
(m) The development board shall review the petition and any
evidence relevant to the petition. The development board shall
hold at least one hearing at a central location in the management
area to take testimony on the petition. The development board may
delegate responsibility for a hearing to the executive
administrator or to a person designated by the executive
administrator. If the development board finds that the conditions
require revision, the development board shall submit a report to
the districts that includes a list of findings and recommended
revisions to the desired future conditions of the groundwater
resources.
(n) The districts shall prepare a revised plan in accordance
with development board recommendations and hold, after notice, at
least one public hearing at a central location in the groundwater
management area. After consideration of all public and development
board comments, the districts shall revise the conditions and
submit it to the development board for review.
(j)(o) The districts shall submit the conditions established
under this section to the executive administrator. The executive
administrator shall provide each district and regional water
planning group located wholly or partly in the management area with
the managed available groundwater in the management area based upon
the desired future condition of the groundwater resources
established under this section.
(p) Districts located within the same groundwater management
areas or in adjacent management areas may contract to jointly
conduct studies or research, or to construct projects, under terms
and conditions that the districts consider beneficial. These joint
efforts may include studies of groundwater availability and
quality, aquifer modeling, and the interaction of groundwater and
surface water; educational programs; the purchase and sharing of
equipment; and the implementation of projects to make groundwater
available, including aquifer recharge, brush control, weather
modification, desalination, regionalization, and treatment or
conveyance facilities. The districts may contract under their
existing authorizations including those of Chapter 791, Government
Code, if their contracting authority is not limited by Sections
791.011(c)(2) and (d)(3) and Section 791.014, Government Code.
SECTION __. Section 36.109, Water Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 36.109. COLLECTION OF INFORMATION. A district may
collect any information the board deems necessary, including
information regarding the use of groundwater, water conservation,
and the practicability of recharging a groundwater reservoir. At
the request of the executive administrator, the district shall
provide any data collected by the district in a format acceptable to
the executive administrator.
SECTION __. Subchapter D, Chapter 36, Water Code, is
amended by adding Section 36.1132 to read as follows:
Sec. 36.1132. PERMITS BASED ON MANAGED AVAILABLE
GROUNDWATER. A district, to the extent possible, shall issue
permits up to the point that the total volume of groundwater
permitted equals the managed available groundwater, if
administratively complete permit applications are submitted to the
district.
SECTION ___. Section 36.3011, Water Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 36.3011. FAILURE OF A DISTRICT TO CONDUCT JOINT
PLANNING. (a) If the board of a district within a common
management area fails to forward a copy of its new or revised
certified management plan under Section 36.108, the commission
shall take appropriate action under Section 36.303.
(b) Not later than the 45th day after receiving the review
panel's report under Section 36.108, the executive director or the
commission shall take action to implement any or all of the panel's
recommendations. The commission may take any action against a
district it considers necessary in accordance with Section 36.303
ifIf the commission finds that:
(1) a district in the joint planning area has failed to
submit its plan to the executive administrator;
(2) a district has failed to adopt rules;
(3) the rules adopted by the district are not designed
to achieve the desired future condition of the groundwater
resources in the groundwater management area; or
(4) the groundwater in the management area is not
adequately protected by the rules adopted by the district, or the
groundwater in the management area is not adequately protected
because of the district's failure to enforce substantial compliance
with its rules, the commission may take any action it considers
necessary in accordance with Section 36.303.
SECTION __. Subsection (d), Section 36.302, Water Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(d) The state auditor may perform the review under
Subsection (a) following the first anniversary of the initial
approval certification of the plan by the Texas Water Development
Board under Section 36.1072 and at least as often as once every
seven years after that date, subject to a risk assessment and to the
legislative audit committee's approval of including the review in
the audit plan under Section 321.013, Government Code.
SECTION __. Subsection (a), Section 36.304, Water Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The commission may dissolve a district that:
(1) is not operational, as determined under Section
36.302; and
(2) has no outstanding bonded indebtedness.
SECTION __. Subsection (a) and (b), Section 36.116, Water
Code is amended as follows:
(a) In order to minimize as far as practicable the drawdown
of the water table or the reduction of artesian pressure, to control
subsidence, to prevent interference between wells, to prevent
degradation of water quality, or to prevent waste, a district by
rule may regulate:
(1) the spacing of water wells by:
(A) requiring all water wells to be spaced a
certain distance from property lines or adjoining wells;
(B) requiring wells with a certain production
capacity, pump size, or other characteristic related to the
construction or operation of and production from a well to be spaced
a certain distance from property lines or adjoining wells; or
(C) imposing spacing requirements adopted by the
board; and
(2) the production of groundwater by:
(A) setting production limits on wells;
(B) limiting the amount of water produced based
on acreage or tract size;
(C) limiting the amount of water that may be
produced from a defined number of acres assigned to an authorized
well site;
(D) limiting the maximum amount of water that may
be produced on the basis of acre-feet per acre or gallons per minute
per well site per acre; or
(E) managed depletion; or
(F) any combination of the methods listed above
in Paragraphs (A) through (E)(D).
(b) In promulgating any rules limiting groundwater
production, the district may preserve historic or existing use
before the effective date of the rules to the maximum extent
practicable consistent with the district's comprehensive
management plan under Section 36.1071 and as provided by Section
36.113.
SECTION __. Section 9.017, Water Code, is repealed.