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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the authority of a local government to prohibit the |
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Railroad Commission of Texas or the Texas Commission on |
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Environmental Quality from issuing a permit for a disposal well. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 27.033, Water Code, is amended to read as |
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follows: |
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Sec. 27.033. LETTER FROM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. A person |
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making application to the railroad commission for a permit under |
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this chapter shall submit with the application a letter from the |
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executive director stating that: |
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(1) drilling and using the disposal well and injecting |
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oil and gas waste into the subsurface stratum will not endanger the |
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freshwater strata in that area; |
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(2) [and that] the formation or stratum to be used for |
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the disposal is not freshwater sand; and |
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(3) the commission has not been notified by a local |
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government as defined by Section 26.001 the territory of which |
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overlies the formation or stratum to be used for the disposal that |
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the local government has determined that the formation or stratum |
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is unsuited for that use because of its proximity to a water table. |
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SECTION 2. Section 27.051, Water Code, is amended by adding |
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Subsection (i) to read as follows: |
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(i) The commission or railroad commission may not issue a |
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permit for a disposal well if a local government as defined by |
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Section 26.001 the territory of which overlies the formation or |
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stratum to be used for the disposal determines that the formation or |
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stratum is unsuited for that use because of its proximity to a water |
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table and notifies the commission or railroad commission, as |
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applicable, of its determination. |
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SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply to |
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permit applications pending before the Railroad Commission of Texas |
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or the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on or after the |
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effective date of this Act. A permit issued before the effective |
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date of this Act is governed by the law in effect when the permit was |
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issued, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |