By: Hegar S.B. No. 1341

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the management of groundwater in the area regulated by the Edwards Aquifer Authority and to the operations and oversight of the Edwards Aquifer Authority.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 1.14, Chapter 626, Acts of the 73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, is amended by amending Subsection (b), adding a new Subsection (c), and amending the subsequent subsections to read as follows:

(b) Except as provided by Subsections (d), (f), and (h) of this section and Section 1.26 of this article, for the period [ending December 31, [2007] beginning January 1, 2010, the amount of permitted withdrawals from the aquifer may not exceed 450,000 acre-feet of water for each calendar year.

(c) Except as provided by Subsections (d), (f), and (h) of this section and Section 1.26 of this article, for the period beginning February 1, [2008] 2010, the amount of permitted withdrawals from the aquifer may not exceed 400,000 acre-feet of water for each calendar year.

SECTION 2. Section 1.21, Chapter 626, Acts of the 73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, is amended by amending Subsections (a) and (c) to read as follows:

(a) The authority shall prepare and implement a plan for reducing, by January 1, [2008] 2010, the maximum annual volume of water authorized to be withdrawn from the aquifer under regular permits to 400,000 acre-feet a year or the adjusted amount determined under Subsection (d) of Section 1.14 of this article.

(c) If, on or after February 1, [2008] 2010, the overall volume of water authorized to be withdrawn from the aquifer under regular permits is greater than 400,000 acre-feet a year or greater than the adjusted amount determined under Subsection (d) of Section 1.14 of this article, the maximum authorized withdrawal of each regular permit shall be immediately reduced by an equal percentage as is necessary to reduce overall maximum demand to 400,000 acre-feet a year or the adjusted amount, as appropriate. The amount reduced may be restored, in whole or in part, as other appropriate measures are implemented that maintain overall demand at or below the appropriate amount.

SECTION 3. Section 1.29, Chapter 626, Acts of the 73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, is amended by amending Subsections (a) and (d) to read as follows:

(a) The cost of reducing withdrawals or permit retirements must be borne:

(1) solely by users of the aquifer for reducing withdrawals from the level on the effective date of this article to 450,000 acre-feet a year, or the adjusted amount determined under Subsection (d) of Section 1.14 of this article for the period [ending December 31, 2007] beginning January 1, 2010; and

(2) equally by aquifer users and downstream water rights holders for permit retirements from 450,000 acre-feet a year, or the adjusted amount determined under Subsection (d) of Section 1.14 of this article for the period [ending December 31, 2007] beginning January 1, 2010, to 400,000 acre-feet a year, or the adjusted amount determined under Subsection (d) of Section 1.14 of this article, for the period beginning February 1, [2008] 2010.

(d) The commission shall assess equitable special fees on all downstream water rights holders in the Guadalupe River Basin to be used solely to finance the retirement of aquifer rights necessary to meet the goals provided by Section 1.21 of this article. Fees assessed under this subsection may not exceed one-half of the cost of permit retirements from 450,000 acre-feet a year, or the adjusted amount determined under Subsection (d) of Section 1.14 of this article, for the period [ending December 31, 2007] beginning January 1, 2010, to 400,000 acre-feet a year for the period beginning February 1, [2008] 2010. The authority shall report to the commission the estimated costs of the retirements. The amount of fees assessed under this subsection shall be determined in accordance with rules adopted by the commission for fees under the South Texas watermaster program with adjustments as necessary to ensure that fees are equitable between users, including priority and nonpriority hydroelectric users. A downstream water rights holder shall pay fees assessed under this subsection to the authority. A fee may not be assessed by the commission under this subsection on contractual deliveries of water stored in Canyon Lake that may be diverted downstream of the San Marcos Springs or Canyon Dam. A person or entity making a contractual sale of water stored upstream of Canyon Dam may not establish a systemwide rate that requires purchasers of upstream-stored water to pay the special fee assessed under this subsection.

(e) The authority may not allow withdrawals from the aquifer through wells drilled after June 1, 1993, except additional water as provided by Subsection (d) and then on an interruptible basis.

(f) If the level of the aquifer is equal to or greater than 650 feet above mean sea level as measured at Well J-17, the authority may authorize withdrawal from the San Antonio pool, on an uninterruptible basis, of permitted amounts. If the level of the aquifer is equal to or greater than 845 feet at Well J-27, the authority may authorize withdrawal from the Uvalde pool, on an uninterruptible basis, of permitted amounts. The authority shall limit the additional withdrawals to ensure that springflows are not affected during critical drought conditions.

(g) The authority by rule may define other pools within the aquifer, in accordance with hydrogeologic research, and may establish index wells for any pool to monitor the level of the aquifer to aid the regulation of withdrawals from the pools.

(h) To accomplish the purposes of this article, by January 1, 2012 [June 1, 1994], the authority, through a program, shall implement and enforce water management practices, procedures, and methods to ensure that, not later than December 31, 2012, the continuous minimum springflows of the Comal Springs and the San Marcos Springs are maintained to protect endangered and threatened species to the extent required by federal law. The authority from time to time as appropriate may revise the practices, procedures, and methods. To meet this requirement, the authority shall require:

(1) phased reductions in the amount of water that may be used or withdrawn by existing users or categories of other users; or

(2) implementation of alternative management practices, procedures, and methods.

(i) The Bureau of Economic Geology at the University of Texas shall develop the program of water management practices, procedures, and methods referred to in Subsection (h) of this section jointly with the authority, the commission, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Texas Department of Agriculture and the Texas Water Development Board. The program shall be developed through a facilitated, consensus-based process that involves input from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and all interested stakeholders, including the San Antonio Water System, other holders of initial regular permits issued by the authority, the South Central Texas Water Advisory Committee, the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority, other holders of surface water rights in the Guadalupe River Basin, recreational interests in the Guadalupe River Basin, the Guadalupe Basin Coalition, the Texas Farm Bureau, and environmental interests. The authority, the commission, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Texas Department of Agriculture and the Texas Water Development Board shall provide two reports to the Edwards Aquifer Legislative Oversight Committee, the first not later than January 1, 2008, and the second not later than September 1, 2008, summarizing the status of the program development process, and indicating the likelihood of completion of the program and the cooperative agreement described in this subsection by January 1, 2012. The authority, the commission, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Texas Department of Agriculture and the Texas Water Development Board shall jointly prepare a cooperative agreement with the Secretary of the Interior, through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, pursuant to Section 6(c) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, 16 U.S.C. Section 1531 et seq., based on the program developed under this subsection. The cooperative agreement shall ensure that listed species associated with the Edwards Aquifer will be protected at all times, including throughout a repeat of the drought of record, based on the requirements of the critical period management plan in effect at that time pursuant to section 1.26 of this article. Each agency shall approve and execute the cooperative agreement not later than January 1, 2012 and the agreement shall take effect not later than December 31, 2012. The authority shall adopt rules to implement the cooperative agreement, to take effect not later than December 31, 2012. The cooperative agreement shall include a commitment by the commission to utilize its enforcement powers under Section 1.39 of this article to the extent necessary to require the authority to perform its duties under this Act, including the authority's duty to regulate withdrawals as required by the critical period management plan approved under section 1.26 of this article. The cooperative agreement shall include agreements by the parties to pursue grant funding to the extent available from all available state, federal, and other sources for eligible programs included in the cooperative agreement.

SECTION 4. Prior to January 1, 2012, no suit may be instituted in any court contesting:

(1) the validity or implementation of this Act; or

(2) the groundwater withdrawal amounts recognized in Section 4 of this Act.

SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2007.