79R5429 HLT-F
By: Cook of Colorado H.B. No. 1670
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the resolution of conflicts between regional water
plans and groundwater conservation district management plans.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 16.053(p), Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(p) If a groundwater conservation district files a petition
with the board stating that a conflict requiring resolution may
exist between the district's certified groundwater conservation
district management plan developed under Section 36.1071 and the
approved regional water plan, the board shall provide technical
assistance to and facilitate coordination between the district and
the involved region to resolve the conflict. [If conflict remains,
the board shall resolve the conflict. If the board determines that
resolution of conflict requires a revision of an approved regional
water plan, the 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 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 board comments, prepare, revise, and adopt
its plan, and submit the revised plan to the board for approval and
inclusion in the state water plan. If the board determines that
resolution of conflict requires a revision of the district's
certified groundwater conservation district management plan, the
board shall suspend the certification of that plan and provide
information to the district. The groundwater district shall
prepare any revisions to its plan specified by the 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 board comments, prepare, revise, and adopt
its plan, and submit the revised plan to the board for
certification.] On the request of the involved region or
groundwater conservation district, the board shall include
discussion of the conflict and its resolution in the state water
plan that the board provides to the governor, the lieutenant
governor, and the speaker of the house of representatives under
Section 16.051(e).
SECTION 2. Section 36.1071, Water Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (e) and (h) and adding Subsection (i) to read
as follows:
(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; and
(3) include estimates of the following:
(A) the existing total usable amount of
groundwater in the district;
(B) the amount of groundwater being used within
the district on an annual basis;
(C) the annual amount of recharge, if any, to the
groundwater resources within the district and how natural or
artificial recharge may be increased; and
(D) the projected water supply and demand for
water within the district[; and
[(4) address water supply needs in a manner that is not
in conflict with the appropriate approved regional water plan if a
regional water plan has been approved under Section 16.053].
(h) In developing its management plan, the district shall
use the groundwater availability modeling information provided by
the executive administrator together [in conjunction] with any
available site-specific information provided by the district [and
acceptable to the executive administrator].
(i) In developing its management plan, the district shall
consider the water supply needs and water management strategies
outlined in the appropriate approved regional water plan.
SECTION 3. Sections 36.1072(b), (f), and (g), Water Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(b) Within 60 days of receipt of a management plan adopted
under Section 36.1071, the executive administrator shall certify 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(e)
[36.1071]. [The executive administrator may determine that
conditions justify waiver of the requirements under Section
36.1071(e)(4).]
(f) If the executive administrator does not 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 certified, the district may submit a
revised management plan for review and certification. The
executive administrator's decision may be appealed to the Texas
Water Development Board. A [The] decision of the Texas Water
Development Board not [on whether] to certify the management plan
may [not] be appealed to a district court in the county in which the
district is headquartered. 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
certification of a revised management plan, or the date a final
judgment upholding the board's decision is entered by a district
court.
(g) In this subsection, "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 board stating that a conflict requiring
resolution may exist between the district's certified groundwater
conservation district management plan developed under Section
36.1071 and the state water plan. If a conflict exists, the 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. [If conflict remains, the
board shall resolve the conflict. The board action under this
provision may be consolidated, at the option of the board, with
related action under Section 16.053(p). If the board determines
that resolution of the conflict requires a revision of the
certified groundwater conservation district management plan, the
board shall suspend the certification of the plan and provide
information to the district. The district shall prepare any
revisions to the plan specified by the 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 board
comments, prepare, revise, and adopt its plan, and submit the
revised plan to the board for certification.] On the request of the
district or the regional water planning group, the board shall
include discussion of the conflict and its resolution in the state
water plan that the board provides to the governor, the lieutenant
governor, and the speaker of the house of representatives under
Section 16.051(e).
SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to a management plan adopted on or after the effective date of this
Act. A management plan adopted before the effective date of this
Act is covered by the law in effect on the date the management plan
was adopted, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.