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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, Serious problems in managing the High Plains Aquifer |
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illustrate the pressing need for interstate compacts concerning |
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groundwater; and |
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WHEREAS, The High Plains Aquifer is the largest aquifer in |
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the continental United States, spanning Texas, Colorado, Kansas, |
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Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wyoming; with |
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more water currently being drawn from the aquifer than is being |
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recharged, it is in jeopardy of depletion in the near future; and |
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WHEREAS, Most of the law governing groundwater is state law, |
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as states have generally assumed responsibility for managing this |
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resource; since eight states overlie the High Plains Aquifer, there |
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are eight different, sometimes conflicting, groundwater doctrines |
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governing portions of the aquifer; this fractured governance scheme |
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is inequitable and inefficient and promotes unsustainable use; and |
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WHEREAS, Interstate conflicts over water resources can now |
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lead to litigation before the United States Supreme Court, which |
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addresses issues on a case-by-case basis, but they could be |
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addressed more quickly and comprehensively by an interstate compact |
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in which the parties can reach an agreement themselves that will |
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hopefully also resolve future disputes over the interstate water |
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resource in question; and |
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WHEREAS, The United States Constitution permits states to |
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enter into binding agreements with one another that are approved by |
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Congress and thereby become federal law, which can preempt |
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contradictory state law; such interstate compacts are most commonly |
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used to create an intermediate, regional level of regulation to |
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resolve problems that extend beyond a single state but do not merit |
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national attention, and they have been used to manage forest fire |
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fighting, sanitation, transportation, and other issues when they |
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cross state boundaries; most notably, there are already numerous |
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interstate compacts for the allocation of such surface water |
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resources as rivers, reservoirs, and river basins; and |
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WHEREAS, An interstate compact for groundwater would create a |
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more equitable and administratively efficient governance regime, |
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allowing states to work together to safeguard the supply and to |
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determine a fair distribution of this increasingly precious |
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resource; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby urge the United States Congress to enact legislation |
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authorizing states to enter into interstate compacts concerning |
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groundwater; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
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the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of |
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Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the |
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members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that |
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this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a |
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memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. |