By: Hegar	S.B. No. 1341
	(In the Senate - Filed March 7, 2007; March 19, 2007, read
	first time and referred to Committee on Natural Resources;
	May 1, 2007, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
	Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 1, 2007, sent
	to printer.)
	COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1341	By:  Hegar

	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.  Subsection (f), Section 1.11, Chapter 626, Acts
	of the 73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, is amended to read
	as follows:
	(f)  The authority may own, finance, design, [contract with a
	person who uses water from the aquifer for the authority or that
	person to] construct, operate, or [own, finance, and] maintain
	recharge [water supply] facilities or contract with a person who
	uses water from the aquifer for the authority or that person to own,
	finance, design, construct, operate, or maintain recharge
	facilities. [Management fees or special fees may not be used for
	purchasing or operating these facilities.] For the purpose of this
	subsection, "recharge [water supply] facility" means [includes] a
	dam, reservoir, [treatment facility, transmission facility,] or
	other method of recharge project and associated facilities,
	structures, or works but does not include a facility to recirculate
	water at Comal or San Marcos Springs.
	SECTION 2.  Subsections (a), (c), (e), (f), and (h), Section
	1.14, Chapter 626, Acts of the 73rd Legislature, Regular Session,
	1993, are amended to read as follows:
	(a)  Authorizations to withdraw water from the aquifer and
	all authorizations and rights to make a withdrawal under this Act
	shall be limited in accordance with this section to:
	(1)  protect the water quality of the aquifer;
	(2)  protect the water quality of the surface streams
	to which the aquifer provides springflow;
	(3)  achieve water conservation;
	(4)  maximize the beneficial use of water available for
	withdrawal from the aquifer;
	(5)  recognize the extent of the hydro-geologic
	connection and interaction between surface water and groundwater;
	(6)  protect aquatic and wildlife habitat;
	(7) [(6)]  protect species that are designated as
	threatened or endangered under applicable federal or state law; and
	(8) [(7)]  provide for instream uses, bays, and
	estuaries.
	(c)  Except as provided by Subsections [(d),] (f)[,] and (h)
	of this section and Section 1.26 of this article, for the period
	beginning January 1, 2008, the amount of permitted withdrawals from
	the aquifer may not:
	(1)  be less than 572,000 acre-feet; or
	(2)  exceed the sum of all regular permits issued or for
	which an application was filed and issuance was pending action by
	the authority as of January 1, 2005 [400,000 acre-feet of water for
	each calendar year].
	(e)  The authority may not allow withdrawals from the aquifer
	through wells drilled after June 1, 1993, except for replacement,
	test, or exempt wells or to the extent that the authority approves
	an amendment to an initial regular permit to authorize a change in
	the point of withdrawal under that permit [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
	660 [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.]
	(h)  To accomplish the purposes of this article, [by 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 and to achieve other purposes
	provided by Subsection (a) of this section and Section 1.26 of this
	article. 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 adjustments to [reductions in] the amount
	of water that may be used or withdrawn by existing users or
	categories of other users, including adjustments in accordance with
	the authority's critical period management plan established under
	Section 1.26 of this article; or
	(2)  implementation of alternative management
	practices, procedures, and methods.
	SECTION 3.  Subsection (g), Section 1.16, Chapter 626, Acts
	of the 73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, is amended to read
	as follows:
	(g)  The authority shall issue an initial regular permit
	without a term, and an initial regular permit remains in effect
	until the permit is abandoned or [,] cancelled[, or retired].
	SECTION 4.  Subsection (b), Section 1.19, Chapter 626, Acts
	of the 73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, is amended to read
	as follows:
	(b)  Withdrawal of water under a term permit must be
	consistent with the authority's critical period management plan
	established under Section 1.26 of this article. A holder of a term
	permit may not withdraw water from the San Antonio pool of the
	aquifer unless:
	(1)  the level of the aquifer is higher than 675 [665]
	feet above sea level, as measured at Well J-17;
	(2)  the flow at Comal Springs as determined by Section
	1.26(c) of this article is greater than 350 cubic feet per second;
	and
	(3)  the flow at San Marcos Springs as determined by
	Section 1.26(c) of this article is greater than 200 cubic feet per
	second.
	SECTION 5.  Subsection (a), Section 1.22, Chapter 626, Acts
	of the 73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, is amended to read
	as follows:
	(a)  The authority may acquire permitted rights to use water
	from the aquifer for the purposes of:
	(1)  holding those rights in trust for sale or transfer
	of the water or the rights to persons within the authority's
	jurisdiction who may use water from the aquifer;
	(2)  holding those rights in trust as a means of
	managing overall demand on the aquifer; or
	(3)  holding those rights for resale [or retirement as
	a means of complying with pumping reduction requirements under this
	article; or
	[(4)     retiring those rights, including those rights
	already permitted].
	SECTION 6.  Article 1, Chapter 626, Acts of the 73rd
	Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, is amended by amending Section
	1.26 and adding Section 1.26A to read as follows:
	Sec. 1.26.  CRITICAL PERIOD MANAGEMENT PLAN. (a)  After
	review of the recommendations received in the program document, as
	prescribed by Section 1.26A of this article, the [The] authority by
	rule shall adopt [prepare and coordinate implementation of] a [plan
	for] critical period management plan in a manner consistent with
	Sections 1.14(a), (f), and (h) of this article [on or before
	September 1, 1995]. On adoption of the critical period management
	plan, the authority shall provide a written report to the governor,
	lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of representatives
	describing the actions taken in response to each recommendation
	and, for each recommendation not implemented, the reason it was not
	implemented. The plan [mechanisms] must:
	(1)  distinguish between discretionary use and
	nondiscretionary use;
	(2)  require reductions of all discretionary use to the
	maximum extent feasible;
	(3)  require utility pricing, to the maximum extent
	feasible, to limit discretionary use by the customers of water
	utilities; and
	(4)  require reduction of nondiscretionary use by
	permitted or contractual users, to the extent further reductions
	are necessary, in the reverse order of the following water use
	preferences:
	(A)  municipal, domestic, and livestock;
	(B)  industrial and crop irrigation;
	(C)  residential landscape irrigation;
	(D)  recreational and pleasure; and
	(E)  other uses that are authorized by law.
	(b)  In this section, "MSL" means the elevation above mean
	sea level, measured in feet, of the surface of the water in a well,
	and "CFS" means cubic feet per second. Not later than January 1,
	2008, the authority shall, by rule, adopt and enforce a critical
	period management plan with withdrawal reduction percentages in the
	amounts indicated in Tables 1 and 2 whether according to the index
	well levels or the Comal or San Marcos Springs flow as applicable,
	for a total in critical period Stage IV of 40 percent of the
	permitted withdrawals under Table 1 and 35 percent under Table 2:
	TABLE 1
	CRITICAL PERIOD WITHDRAWAL REDUCTION STAGES
	FOR THE SAN ANTONIO POOL
	Comal San Marcos Springs Flow CFS Index Well J-17 Level MSL Critical Period Stage Withdrawal Reduction- San Antonio Pool
	Springs Flow San Marcos Springs Flow CFS Index Well J-17 Level MSL Critical Period Stage Withdrawal Reduction- San Antonio Pool
	CFS San Marcos Springs Flow CFS Index Well J-17 Level MSL Critical Period Stage Withdrawal Reduction- San Antonio Pool
	225 <96 <660 I 20%
	200 <80 <650 II 30%
	150 N/A <640 III 35%
	100 N/A <630 IV 40%
	TABLE 2
	CRITICAL PERIOD WITHDRAWAL REDUCTION STAGES
	FOR THE UVALDE POOL
	Withdrawal Reduction-Uvalde Pool Index Well J-27 Level MSL Critical Period Stage
	N/A --- I
	5% <850 II
	20% <845 III
	35% <842 IV
	(c)  A change to a critical period stage with higher
	withdrawal reduction percentages is triggered if the 10-day average
	of daily springflows at the Comal Springs or the San Marcos Springs
	or the 10-day average of daily aquifer levels at the J-17 Index Well
	drops below the lowest number of any of the trigger levels indicated
	in Table 1.  A change to a critical period stage with lower
	withdrawal reduction percentages is triggered only when the 10-day
	average of daily springflows at the Comal Springs and the San Marcos
	Springs and the 10-day average of daily aquifer levels at the J-17
	Index Well are all above the same stage trigger level. The
	authority may adjust the withdrawal percentages for Stage IV in
	Tables 1 and 2 if necessary in order to comply with Subsection (d)
	or (e) of this section.
	(d)  Beginning September 1, 2007, the authority may not allow
	the volume of permitted withdrawals to be less than an annualized
	rate of 340,000 acre-feet, under critical period Stage IV.
	(e)  After January 1, 2013, the authority may not allow the
	volume of permitted withdrawals to be less than an annualized rate
	of 320,000 acre-feet, under critical period Stage IV unless, after
	review and consideration of the recommendations provided under
	Section 1.26A of this article, the authority determines that a
	different volume of withdrawals is consistent with Sections
	1.14(a), (f), and (h) of this article in maintaining protection for
	listed, protected, and endangered species associated with the
	aquifer to the extent required by federal law.
	(f)  Notwithstanding Subsections (d) and (e) of this
	section, the authority may require further withdrawal reductions
	before reviewing and considering the recommendations provided
	under Section 1.26A of this article if the discharge of Comal
	Springs or San Marcos Springs declines an additional 15 percent
	after Stage IV withdrawal reductions are imposed under Subsection
	(b) of this section. This subsection expires on the date that
	critical period management plan rules adopted by the authority
	based on the recommendations provided under Section 1.26A of this
	article take effect.
	Sec. 1.26A.  DEVELOPMENT OF WITHDRAWAL REDUCTION LEVELS AND
	STAGES FOR CRITICAL PERIOD MANAGEMENT THROUGH RECOVERY
	IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAM. (a)  The authority, with the assistance of
	Texas A&M University, shall develop a recovery implementation
	program through a facilitated, consensus-based process that
	involves input from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service,
	other appropriate federal agencies, and all interested
	stakeholders, including those listed under Subsection (e)(1) of
	this section.  The recovery implementation program shall be
	developed for the species that are:
	(1)  listed as threatened or endangered species under
	federal law; and
	(2)  associated with the aquifer.
	(b)  The authority shall use its best efforts to enter into a
	memorandum of agreement with the United States Fish and Wildlife
	Service, other appropriate federal agencies, the Texas Commission
	on Environmental Quality, the Parks and Wildlife Department, the
	Department of Agriculture, the Texas Water Development Board, and
	other stakeholders in order to develop, not later than December 31,
	2007, a program document that may be in the form of a habitat
	conservation plan used in issuance of an incidental take permit as
	outlined in Subsection (d) of this section.
	(c)  The authority shall use its best efforts to enter into
	an implementing agreement with the United States Fish and Wildlife
	Service, other appropriate federal agencies, the Texas Commission
	on Environmental Quality, the Parks and Wildlife Department, the
	Department of Agriculture, the Texas Water Development Board, and
	other stakeholders to develop a program document as outlined in
	Subsection (d) of this section not later than December 31, 2009.
	(d)  The authority, the Texas Commission on Environmental
	Quality, the Parks and Wildlife Department, the Department of
	Agriculture, the Texas Water Development Board, and other
	stakeholders shall jointly prepare a program document that may be
	in the form of a habitat conservation plan used in issuance of an
	incidental take permit with the United States secretary of the
	interior, through the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and
	other appropriate federal agencies, under Section 4 or Section 6,
	Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. Section 1533 or 1535), as
	applicable, based on the program developed under Subsection (a) of
	this section. The program document shall:
	(1)  provide recommendations for withdrawal
	adjustments based on a combination of spring discharge rates of the
	San Marcos and Comal Springs and levels at the J-17 and J-27 wells
	during critical periods to ensure that federally listed,
	threatened, and endangered species associated with the Edwards
	Aquifer will be protected at all times, including throughout a
	repeat of the drought of record;
	(2)  include provisions to pursue cooperative and grant
	funding to the extent available from all state, federal, and other
	sources for eligible programs included in the cooperative agreement
	under Subsection (c) of this section, including funding for a
	program director; and
	(3)  be approved and executed by each agency not later
	than September 1, 2012, and the agreement shall take effect
	December 31, 2012.
	(e)  Texas A&M University shall assist in the creation of a
	steering committee to oversee and assist in the development of the
	cooperative agreement under Subsection (c) of this section. The
	steering committee must be created not later than September 30,
	2007.  The initial steering committee shall be composed of:
	(1)  a representative of each of the following
	entities, as appointed by the governing body of that entity:
	(A)  the Edwards Aquifer Authority;
	(B)  the Texas Commission on Environmental
	Quality;
	(C)  the Parks and Wildlife Department;
	(D)  the Department of Agriculture;
	(E)  the Texas Water Development Board;
	(F)  the San Antonio Water System;
	(G)  the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority;
	(H)  the San Antonio River Authority;
	(I)  the South Central Texas Water Advisory
	Committee;
	(J)  the Guadalupe Basin Coalition; and
	(K)  Bexar County; and
	(2)  eight other persons who respectively must be:
	(A)  a representative of a holder of an initial
	regular permit issued to a retail public utility other than the San
	Antonio Water System, to be appointed by the authority;
	(B)  a representative of a holder of an initial
	regular permit issued by the authority for industrial purposes, to
	be appointed by the authority;
	(C)  a representative of a holder of an industrial
	surface water right in the Guadalupe River Basin, to be appointed by
	the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality;
	(D)  a representative of a holder of a municipal
	surface water right in the Guadalupe River Basin, to be appointed by
	the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality;
	(E)  a representative of a holder of an initial
	regular permit issued by the authority for irrigation, to be
	appointed by the commissioner of agriculture;
	(F)  a representative of an agricultural producer
	from the Edwards Aquifer region, to be appointed by the
	commissioner of agriculture;
	(G)  a representative of environmental interests
	from the Texas Living Waters Project, to be appointed by the
	governing body of that project; and
	(H)  a representative of recreational interests
	in the Guadalupe River Basin, to be appointed by the Parks and
	Wildlife Commission.
	(f)  The steering committee shall work with Texas A&M
	University to:
	(1)  establish a regular meeting schedule and publish
	that schedule to encourage public participation; and
	(2)  not later than October 31, 2007, hire a program
	director to be housed at Texas A&M University.
	(g)  Texas A&M University may accept outside funding to pay
	the salary and expenses of the program director hired under this
	section and any expenses associated with the university's
	participation in the creation of the steering committee or
	subcommittees established by the steering committee.
	(h)  Where reasonably practicable or as required by law, any
	meeting of the steering committee, the Edwards Aquifer area expert
	science subcommittee, or another subcommittee established by the
	steering committee must be open to the public.
	(i)  The steering committee appointed under this section
	shall appoint an Edwards Aquifer area expert science subcommittee
	not later than December 31, 2007. The expert science subcommittee
	must be composed of an odd number of not fewer than seven or more
	than 15 members who have technical expertise regarding the Edwards
	Aquifer system, the threatened and endangered species that inhabit
	that system, springflows, or the development of withdrawal
	limitations.  The Bureau of Economic Geology of The University of
	Texas at Austin and the River Systems Institute at Texas State
	University shall assist the expert science subcommittee.  Chapter
	2110, Government Code, does not apply to the size, composition, or
	duration of the expert science subcommittee.
	(j)  The Edwards Aquifer area expert science subcommittee
	shall, among other things, analyze species requirements in relation
	to spring discharge rates and aquifer levels as a function of
	recharge and withdrawal levels. Based on that analysis and the
	elements required to be considered by the authority under Section
	1.14 of this article, the expert science subcommittee shall,
	through a collaborative process designed to achieve consensus,
	develop recommendations for withdrawal reduction levels and stages
	for critical period management including, if appropriate,
	establishing separate and possibly different withdrawal reduction
	levels and stages for critical period management for different
	pools of the aquifer needed to maintain target spring discharge and
	aquifer levels.  The expert science subcommittee shall submit its
	recommendations to the steering committee and all other
	stakeholders involved in the recovery implementation program under
	this section.
	(k)  The initial recommendations of the Edwards Aquifer area
	expert science subcommittee must be completed and submitted to the
	steering committee and other stakeholders not later than December
	31, 2008, and:
	(1)  must include an evaluation of the option of
	designating a separate San Marcos pool and how such a designation
	would affect existing pools; and
	(2)  should include an evaluation as to whether
	adjustments in the trigger levels for the San Marcos Springs flow
	for the San Antonio pool should be made.
	(l)  In developing its recommendations, the Edwards Aquifer
	area expert science subcommittee shall:
	(1)  consider all reasonably available science,
	including any Edwards Aquifer-specific studies, and base its
	recommendations solely on the best science available; and
	(2)  operate on a consensus basis to the maximum extent
	possible.
	(m)  After development of the cooperative agreement, the
	steering committee, with the assistance of the Edwards Aquifer area
	expert science subcommittee and with input from the other recovery
	implementation program stakeholders, shall prepare and submit
	recommendations to the authority. The recommendations must:
	(1)  include a review of the critical period management
	plan, to occur at least once every five years;
	(2)  include specific monitoring, studies, and
	activities that take into account changed conditions and
	information that more accurately reflects the importance of
	critical period management; and
	(3)  establish a schedule for continuing the validation
	or refinement of the critical period management plan adopted by the
	authority and the strategies to achieve the program and cooperative
	agreement described by this section.
	(n)  In this subsection, "recharge facility" means a dam,
	reservoir, or other method of recharge project and associated
	facilities, structures, or works but does not include facilities
	designed to recirculate water at Comal or San Marcos Springs. The
	steering committee shall establish a recharge facility feasibility
	subcommittee to:
	(1)  assess the need for the authority or any other
	entity to own, finance, design, construct, operate, or maintain
	recharge facilities;
	(2)  formulate plans to allow the authority or any
	other entity to own, finance, design, construct, operate, or
	maintain recharge facilities;
	(3)  maximize available federal funding for the
	authority or any other entity to own, finance, design, construct,
	operate, or maintain recharge facilities; and
	(4)  evaluate the financing of recharge facilities,
	including the use of management fees or special fees to be used for
	purchasing or operating the facilities.
	(o)  The steering committee may establish other
	subcommittees as necessary, including a hydrology subcommittee, a
	community outreach and education subcommittee, and a water supply
	subcommittee.
	(p)  On execution of the memorandum of agreement described by
	Subsection (b) of this section, the steering committee described by
	Subsection (e) of this section may, by majority vote of its members,
	vote to add members to the steering committee, change the makeup of
	the committee, or dissolve the committee. If the steering
	committee is dissolved, the program director hired under Subsection
	(f) of this section shall assume the duties of the steering
	committee.
	(q)  The authority shall provide an annual report to the
	governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of
	representatives not later than January 1 of each year that details:
	(1)  the status of the recovery implementation program
	development process;
	(2)  the likelihood of completion of the recovery
	implementation program and the cooperative agreement described by
	Subsection (c) of this section;
	(3)  the extent to which the recommendations of the
	Edwards Aquifer area expert science subcommittee are being
	considered and implemented by the authority;
	(4)  any other actions that need to be taken in response
	to each recommendation;
	(5)  reasons explaining why any recommendation
	received has not been implemented; and
	(6)  any other issues the authority considers of value
	for the efficient and effective completion of the program and the
	cooperative agreement under this section.
	SECTION 7.  Subsections (b), (h), and (i), Section 1.29,
	Chapter 626, Acts of the 73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993,
	are amended to read as follows:
	(b)  The authority shall assess equitable aquifer management
	fees based on aquifer use under the water management plan to finance
	its administrative expenses and programs authorized under this
	article. Each water district governed by Chapter 36 [52], Water
	Code, that is within the authority's boundaries may contract with
	the authority to pay expenses of the authority through taxes in lieu
	of user fees to be paid by water users in the district. The contract
	must provide that the district will pay an amount equal to the
	amount that the water users in the district would have paid through
	user fees. The authority may not collect a total amount of fees and
	taxes that is more than is reasonably necessary for the
	administration of the authority.
	(h)  Fees assessed by the authority may not be used to fund
	the cost of reducing withdrawals or retiring permits or of
	judgments or claims related to withdrawals or permit retirements
	[Special fees collected under Subsection (c) or (d) of this section
	may not be used to finance a surface water supply reservoir
	project].
	(i)  The authority and other stakeholders, including state
	agencies, listed under Section 1.26A of this article shall provide
	money as necessary[, but not to exceed five percent of the money
	collected under Subsection (d) of this section,] to finance the
	activities of the steering committee and any subcommittees
	appointed by the steering committee and the program director of the
	recovery implementation program under Section 1.26A of this
	article.  The authority shall provide, as necessary, up to $75,000
	annually, adjusted for changes in the consumer price index, to
	finance the South Central Texas Water Advisory Committee's
	administrative expenses and programs authorized under this
	article.
	SECTION 8.  Subsection (a), Section 1.45, Chapter 626, Acts
	of the 73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, is amended to read
	as follows:
	(a)  The authority may own, finance, design, construct,
	[build or] operate, and maintain recharge dams and associated
	facilities, structures, or works in the contributing or recharge
	area of the aquifer if the recharge is made to increase the yield of
	the aquifer, [and] the recharge project does not impair senior
	water rights or vested riparian rights, and the recharge project is
	not designed to recirculate water at Comal or San Marcos Springs.
	SECTION 9.  Subsections (b) and (d), Section 1.14, Section
	1.21, and Subsections (a), (c), and (d), Section 1.29, Chapter 626,
	Acts of the 73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, are repealed.
	SECTION 10.  (a)  Before January 1, 2012, a suit may not be
	instituted in a state court contesting:
	(1)  the validity or implementation of this Act; or
	(2)  the groundwater withdrawal amounts recognized in
	Section 1 of this Act.
	(b)  If applicable, a party that files a suit in any court
	shall be automatically removed from the steering committee
	established under Section 1.26A, Chapter 626, Acts of the 73rd
	Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, as added by this Act.
	(c)  A suit against the Edwards Aquifer Authority may not be
	instituted or maintained by a person who owns, holds, or uses a
	surface water right and claims injury or potential injury to that
	right for any reason, including any actions taken by the Edwards
	Aquifer Authority to implement or enforce Article 1, Chapter 626,
	Acts of the 73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, as amended.
	SECTION 11.  The change in law made by this Act applies only
	to a cause of action filed on or after the effective date of this
	Act. A cause of action that is filed before the effective date of
	this Act is governed by the law in effect immediately before the
	effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for
	that purpose.
	SECTION 12.  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.
	* * * * *