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79R14224 QS-F
By: Puente H.B. No. 2424
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2424:
By: Puente C.S.H.B. No. 2424
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the consideration of historic or existing use in the
regulation of pumping by a groundwater conservation district.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 36.113, Water Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (c), and (e) and adding Subsections (h),
(i), (j), (k), (l), and (m) to read as follows:
(a) A district shall require permits for the drilling,
equipping, [or] completing, or operating of wells or for
substantially altering the size of wells or well pumps.
(c) A district may require that the following be included in
the permit application:
(1) the name and mailing address of the applicant and
the owner of the land on which the well will be located;
(2) if the applicant is other than the owner of the
property, documentation establishing the applicable authority to
construct and operate a well for the proposed purpose of use;
(3) a statement of the nature and purpose of the
proposed use and the amount of water to be used for each purpose;
(4) a water conservation plan or a declaration that
the applicant will comply with the district's management plan;
(5) the location of each well and the estimated rate at
which water will be withdrawn;
(6) a water well closure plan or a declaration that the
applicant will comply with well plugging guidelines and report
closure to the commission; and
(7) a drought contingency plan.
(e) The district may impose more restrictive permit
conditions on new permit applications and increased use by historic
or existing users if the limitations:
(1) apply to all subsequent new permit applications
and increased use by historic or existing users, regardless of type
or location of use;
(2) bear a reasonable relationship to the existing
district management plan; and
(3) are reasonably necessary to protect existing use.
(h) A district shall provide that a change in the purpose of
use under a permit that was granted for historic or existing use may
not be made without a permit amendment. The district shall grant a
permit amendment changing the purpose of use on application of the
holder of a permit that was granted for historic or existing use,
and the rules that apply to the operation of a well under any other
permit issued by the district not based on historic or existing use
apply to the operation of the well under the amended permit.
(i) A district that authorizes a permit for historic or
existing use shall issue that type of permit based on evidence of
the maximum amount of water beneficially used without waste during
any one year before the district was created, or any one year before
the effective date of any rule preserving historic or existing use,
and only for the purpose of use and amount beneficially used without
waste in that year.
(j) In issuing a permit for an existing or historic use, a
district may not discriminate between land that is irrigated for
production and land or wells on land enrolled or participating in a
federal conservation program.
(k) A permitting decision by a district is void if:
(1) the district makes its decision in violation of
Subsection (i) or (j); and
(2) the district would have reached a different
decision if the district had:
(A) based its decision on the evidence required
under Subsection (i); or
(B) treated land or wells on land enrolled or
participating in a federal conservation program the same as land
irrigated for production.
(l) On the application of an affected owner of land or the
owner's lessee or assigns, the district shall reconsider a decision
that violates Subsection (i) and base its decision on the evidence
required under Subsection (i). Not later than the 90th day after
the date the district receives an application under this
subsection, the district shall notify the owners of land in the
district of its reconsidered decision.
(m) On the application of an affected owner of land or the
owner's lessee or assigns, the district shall reconsider a decision
that violates Subsection (j) and base its decision on the equal
treatment of land or wells on land enrolled or participating in a
federal conservation program and land that is irrigated for
production. Not later than the 90th day after the date the district
receives an application under this subsection, the district shall
notify the applicant of its reconsidered decision.
SECTION 2. Section 36.116(b), Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(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 3. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), the
changes in law made under Sections 36.113(h) and (i) and Section
36.116(b), Water Code, as amended by this Act, do not apply to:
(1) an application or permit issued on the basis of an
application filed before January 1, 2005;
(2) a renewal or amendment of a permit issued on the
basis of an application filed before January 1, 2005;
(3) a permit issued under rules in effect as of January
1, 2005; or
(4) a renewal or amendment to a permit issued under
rules in effect as of January 1, 2005.
(b) The changes in law made by Sections 36.113(h) and (i)
and Section 36.116(b), Water Code, as amended by this Act, apply to:
(1) an application filed with the Hudspeth County
Underground Water Conservation District No. 1 that is pending on
the effective date of this Act; or
(2) a permit decision by the Hudspeth County
Underground Water Conservation District No. 1 that is not final on
the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.