By: Brimer S.B. No. 343
(In the Senate - Filed February 3, 2005; February 7, 2005,
read first time and referred to Committee on Intergovernmental
Relations; April 4, 2005, reported adversely, with favorable
Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 4, Nays 0;
April 4, 2005, sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 343 By: Brimer
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to county authority to regulate the placement of water
wells in unincorporated areas of the county; providing a penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 240, Local Government Code, is amended
by adding Subchapter C to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER C. REGULATION OF WATER WELLS IN CERTAIN COUNTIES
Sec. 240.041. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "on-site
sewage disposal system" has the meaning assigned by Section
366.002, Health and Safety Code.
Sec. 240.042. AUTHORITY TO REGULATE PLACEMENT OF WATER
WELLS. (a) The commissioners court of a county with a population
of 1.4 million or more by order may regulate the placement of
private water wells in the unincorporated area of the county to
prevent:
(1) the contamination of a well from an on-site sewage
disposal system;
(2) rendering an on-site sewage disposal system that
was in place before the well was drilled out of compliance with
applicable law because of the placement of the well; and
(3) drilling into a contaminated groundwater plume or
aquifer.
(b) A commissioners court that decides to regulate the
placement of private water wells under this subchapter by order
shall adopt rules governing the placement of a water well in
relation to an existing on-site sewage disposal system or drilling
into a contaminated groundwater plume or aquifer and enforcement of
those rules. The rules must require:
(1) a person desiring to drill a private water well to:
(A) notify the county health officer or an
official designated by the commissioners court of the intent to
drill the well; and
(B) include with the notice a diagram showing the
location of the well and its distance from any on-site sewage
disposal system that is located within 150 feet of the well; and
(2) the county health officer or an official
designated by the commissioners court to:
(A) review the notice and diagram; and
(B) not later than the 10th business day after
the date the notice is received, approve the drilling of the well if
the well will not be drilled into or through an aquifer or
groundwater plume that has been confirmed as contaminated by the
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality or the United States
Environmental Protection Agency and placement of the well will not
violate the rules adopted by the Texas Commission of Licensing and
Regulation under Chapters 1901 and 1902, Occupations Code.
Sec. 240.043. NOTICE. (a) Before a regulation adopted
under Section 240.042 may take effect, the commissioners court of
the county must publish notice of the adoption of the regulation in
a newspaper of general circulation in the county.
(b) The notice must:
(1) include:
(A) a brief summary of the regulation; and
(B) a statement that the full text of the
regulation is on file in the office of the county clerk; and
(2) be published on two separate dates.
(c) The regulation may not take effect until after the 14th
day after the date of the second publication as provided by
Subsection (b)(2).
Sec. 240.044. FEE. The county may impose a placement review
fee in the amount of not more than $50 to be paid by the person
drilling the well. Fees collected under this section shall be
deposited to the county's general fund to be used only for the
administration and enforcement of this subchapter.
Sec. 240.045. INSPECTION. A county health officer or an
official designated by the commissioners court may inspect a
proposed private water well site to ensure that it complies with the
requirements of this subchapter and county rules adopted under this
subchapter.
Sec. 240.046. COMPLIANCE REQUIRED. A person may not drill a
private water well in a county that has chosen to regulate the
placement of private water wells under this subchapter unless the
placement of the well complies with this subchapter and applicable
rules and has been approved by the county health officer or an
official designated by the commissioners court.
Sec. 240.047. OFFENSE; PENALTY. A person who violates this
subchapter or a county ordinance adopted under this subchapter
commits an offense. An offense under this section is a Class C
misdemeanor.
Sec. 240.048. EXCEPTIONS. This subchapter does not apply
to a private water well drilled:
(1) on a parcel of land that:
(A) is 10 acres or more in size; or
(B) is qualified open-space land, as defined by
Section 23.51, Tax Code;
(2) within the boundaries of a groundwater
conservation district; or
(3) within the boundaries of a subsidence district
other than the Harris-Galveston Coastal Subsidence District.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.
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