BILL ANALYSIS
By: Blake
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Groundwater conservation districts set well spacing requirements and pumping limits to ensure that pumping on one property minimizes draw-down of the water table on another. These rules can be modified as needed due to changes in population, water demand and the water table. Wells that produce greater than 25, 000 gallons a day must be registered with the Pineywoods Groundwater Conservation District (PGCD) and permitted. HB 1981 provides for an increase in the production fee from 1 cent per 1,000 gallons of water to a maximum fee of 2.5 cents per 1,000 gallons of water.
This change will help the district make up for revenue that was lost when the Abitibi Paper Mill closed in 2004. The top three contributors to the PGCD were Abitibi, the city of Lufkin and the city of Nacogdoches.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Section 5(e), Chapter 1330, Acts of the 77th Legislature is amended to read as follows : (e) The board of directors of the district by rule may impose reasonable fees on each well for which a permit is issued by the district and which is not exempt from regulation by the district. The fee shall be based on the amount of water to be withdrawn from the well and may not exceed $0.025 per thousand gallons for groundwater withdrawn for any purpose.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only to a fee imposed on or after the effective date of the Act. A fee imposed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. Sets the effective date.
EFFECTIVE DATE
This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the votes necessary for immediate effect, the Act takes effect September 1, 2005.