By: Hegar S.B. No. 1714
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to evidence of beneficial use and other matters in
  connection with the issuance of permits by a groundwater
  conservation district in accordance with its management plan.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 36.001, Water Code, is amended by adding
  Subdivision (28-a) to read as follows:
               (28-a)  "Evidence of beneficial use" means evidence
  that is material and relevant to a determination of the amount of
  groundwater that is reasonable for a beneficial use without waste
  proposed by a permit applicant consistent with generally accepted
  agriculture or industry standards for the proposed type of use and
  does not exclude innovations in conservation in agriculture or
  industry practices. Evidence of beneficial use that satisfies the
  requirements of Subdivision (9)(C) includes evidence that may be in
  the form of a:
                     (A)  statutory requirement applicable to an
  applicant who is a supplier of water to the public to provide
  continuous and adequate water service consistent with the state
  water plan; or
                     (B)  contractual obligation applicable to the
  applicant for the use of the water based on a demonstrated need for
  the water by an end user.
         SECTION 2.  Subsection (a), Section 36.1071, Water Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  Following notice and hearing, the district shall, in
  coordination with surface water management entities on a regional
  basis, develop a comprehensive management plan which addresses the
  following management goals, as applicable:
               (1)  providing the most efficient use of groundwater;
               (2)  controlling and preventing waste of groundwater;
               (3)  controlling and preventing subsidence;
               (4)  addressing conjunctive surface water management
  issues;
               (5)  addressing natural resource issues;
               (6)  addressing drought conditions;
               (7)  addressing conservation, recharge enhancement,
  rainwater harvesting, precipitation enhancement, or brush control,
  where appropriate and cost-effective; [and]
               (8)  addressing in a quantitative manner the desired
  future conditions of the groundwater resources; and
               (9)  addressing the ability of the district's
  groundwater resources to meet the future water supply needs of the
  district.
         SECTION 3.  Subsection (g), Section 36.1072, Water Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (g)  In this subsection, "development board" means the Texas
  Water Development Board.  A person with a legally defined interest
  in groundwater in a district or in the management area in which a
  district is located or a [the] regional water planning group
  located in the management area may file a petition with the
  development board stating that a conflict requiring resolution may
  exist between the district's approved management plan developed
  under Section 36.1071 and the state water plan.  If a conflict
  exists, the development board shall provide technical assistance to
  and facilitate coordination between the involved person or regional
  water planning group and the district to resolve the conflict.  Not
  later than the 45th day after the date the person or the regional
  water planning group files a petition with the development board,
  if the conflict has not been resolved, the district and the involved
  person or regional planning group may mediate the conflict.  The
  district and the involved person or regional planning group may
  seek the assistance of the Center for Public Policy Dispute
  Resolution at The University of Texas School of Law or an
  alternative dispute resolution system established under Chapter
  152, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, in obtaining a qualified
  impartial third party to mediate the conflict.  The cost of the
  mediation services must be specified in the agreement between the
  parties and the Center for Public Policy Dispute Resolution or the
  alternative dispute resolution system.  If the district and the
  involved person or regional planning group cannot resolve the
  conflict through mediation, the development board shall resolve the
  conflict not later than the 60th day after the date the mediation is
  completed.  The development board action under this provision may
  be consolidated, at the option of the board, with related action
  under Section 16.053(p).  If the development board determines that
  resolution of the conflict requires a revision of the approved
  groundwater conservation district management plan, the development
  board shall provide information to the district.  The district
  shall prepare any revisions to the plan based on the information
  provided by the development board and shall hold, after notice, at
  least one public hearing at some central location within the
  district.  The district shall consider all public and development
  board comments, prepare, revise, and adopt its plan, and submit the
  revised plan to the development board for approval.  On the request
  of the district or the regional water planning group, the
  development board shall include discussion of the conflict and its
  resolution in the state water plan that the development board
  provides to the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the speaker
  of the house of representatives under Section 16.051(e).  If the
  groundwater conservation district disagrees with the decision of
  the development board under this subsection, the district may
  appeal the decision to a district court in Travis County.  Costs
  for the appeal shall be set by the court hearing the appeal.  An
  appeal under this subsection is by trial de novo.
         SECTION 4.  Subsections (f) and (l), Section 36.108, Water
  Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (f)  A district, regional water planning group dependent on
  the groundwater resources in the groundwater management area, or
  person with a legally defined interest in the groundwater within
  the management area may file a petition with the commission
  requesting an inquiry if a district or districts refused to join in
  the planning process or the process failed to result in adequate
  planning, including the establishment of reasonable future desired
  conditions of the aquifers, and the petition provides evidence
  that:
               (1)  a district in the groundwater management area has
  failed to adopt rules;
               (2)  the rules adopted by a district are not designed to
  achieve the desired future condition of the groundwater resources
  in the groundwater management area established during the joint
  planning process;
               (3)  the groundwater in the management area is not
  adequately protected by the rules adopted by a district; or
               (4)  the groundwater in the groundwater management area
  is not adequately protected due to the failure of a district to
  enforce substantial compliance with its rules.
         (l)  A person with a legally defined interest in the
  groundwater in the groundwater management area, a district in or
  adjacent to the groundwater management area, or a regional water
  planning group [for a region] in the groundwater management area to
  meet a water management strategy identified in the adopted regional
  water plan may file a petition with the development board appealing
  the approval of the desired future conditions of the groundwater
  resources established under this section.  The petition must
  provide evidence that the districts did not establish a reasonable
  desired future condition of the groundwater resources in the
  groundwater management area.
         SECTION 5.  Section 36.113, Water Code, is amended by adding
  Subsection (e-1) to read as follows:
         (e-1)  A district may not grant a permit unless the applicant
  provides evidence of an actual and reasonable beneficial use.
         SECTION 6.  Section 36.122, Water Code, is amended by
  amending Subsection (f) and adding Subsection (r) to read as
  follows:
         (f)  In reviewing a proposed transfer of groundwater out of
  the district, the district shall consider:
               (1)  the availability of water in the district and in
  the proposed receiving area during the period for which the water
  supply is requested;
               (2)  the projected effect of the proposed transfer on
  aquifer conditions, depletion, subsidence, or effects on existing
  permit holders or other groundwater users within the district; and
               (3)  the approved [regional water plan and certified]
  district management plan.
         (r)  A district may not grant a permit that allows the
  transfer of groundwater outside the district unless the applicant
  provides evidence of beneficial use as described by Section
  36.001(28-a).
         SECTION 7.  Subsection (e-1), Section 36.113, Water Code, as
  added by this Act, and Section 36.122, Water Code, as amended by
  this Act, apply only to an application for a permit that is
  submitted to a groundwater conservation district on or after the
  effective date of this Act. An application submitted before the
  effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
  date the application was submitted, and that law continues in
  effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 8.  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, 2009.