LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
 
WATER DEVELOPMENT POLICY IMPACT STATEMENT
 
80TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION
 
May 4, 2007

TO:
Honorable Robert Puente, Chair, House Committee on Natural Resources
 
FROM:
John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
 
IN RE:
HB3984 by Phillips (), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted

The Legislative Budget Board, in cooperation with the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), has determined the following:

 

The bill creates Double Platinum Ranch Water Control and Improvement District No. 1 of Grayson County (District) with the powers and duties of a water control and improvement district under Water Code Chapters 49 and 51. The purpose of the District includes providing works and projects under powers conferred by Article XVI, Section 59 of the Texas Constitution to benefit the property within the District and the power of eminent domain. The District is subject to confirmation election by the voters. The District may not hold an election until all of the District’s territory is included in the corporate limits of the City of Gunter. The District may not act as a retail provider of water or wastewater and must make its facilities available to an entity holding the applicable certificate of convenience and necessity. 

 

1)  Population – The detailed description of the proposed boundaries does not allow staff to develop precise population estimates. The 2000 Census population of Grayson County was 110,595, with 26,766 living in areas identified in the 2007 State Water Plan as “County-Other” (outside cities of more than 500 and established water utility districts). The total county population is projected to increase to 163,711 by 2020, the County-Other population is projected to increase to 26,799.

 

2)  Location – The district is located within Grayson County.

 

3)  Comments on Powers/Duties Different from Similar Types of Districts – The District will have road powers. The confirmation election may not take place until all the land in the District has been annexed by the City of Gunter. If the District has not been confirmed before September 1, 2011, then the District is dissolved on September 1, 2011.  The District may be divided into two districts; however, Texas Water Code Sections 51.748 through 51.753 (concerning the division of the original district) do not apply. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality shall appoint the temporary directors upon receipt of a petition by a person owning land within the District.

 

4)  Overlapping Services  – The stated boundaries form a closure. There is insufficient information provided in the bill to determine if the District overlaps any water supply or sewer‑service corporations, investor‑owned utilities, or local water districts or authorities.  An area map containing at least two references points (major road names, road intersections) and the proposed district’s geographic location mapped within Grayson County is needed to complete overlapping service check.  For Tract 1 the overlapping service providers may be CCN No. 12013: City of Dorchester and CCN No. 10150: Gunter Special Utility District.  For Tract 2 the overlapping service providers may be: CCN No. 12013: City of Dorchester, CCN No. 10150: Gunter Special Utility District, and CCN No. 11085: Two Way Special Utility District.

 

5)  TCEQ's Supervision – As with general law districts, the TCEQ will have general supervisory authority, including bond review authority and review of financial reports.

 

6)  Water Use – Sixty-seven percent of Grayson County water use in 2004 was for municipal purposes, with 11 percent for manufacturing. Fifty-nine percent of the total water use, and 57 percent of the municipal use, comes from groundwater sources.



Source Agencies:
580 Water Development Board, 582 Commission on Environmental Quality
LBB Staff:
JOB, DB