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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the ownership of groundwater below the surface of land, |
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the right to produce that groundwater, and the management of |
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groundwater in this state. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 36.002, Water Code, is amended to read as |
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follows: |
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Sec. 36.002. OWNERSHIP OF GROUNDWATER. (a) The |
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legislature recognizes that a landowner owns the groundwater below |
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the surface of the landowner's land as real property. |
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(b) The groundwater ownership and rights described by this |
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section: |
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(1) entitle the landowner, including a landowner's |
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lessees, heirs, or assigns, to drill for and produce the |
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groundwater below the surface of real property, subject to |
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Subsection (d), without causing waste or malicious drainage of |
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other property or negligently causing subsidence, but does not |
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entitle a landowner, including a landowner's lessees, heirs, or |
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assigns, to the right to capture a specific amount of groundwater |
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below the surface of his land; and |
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(2) do not affect the existence of common law defenses |
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or other defenses to liability under the rule of capture. |
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(c) Nothing [The ownership and rights of the owners of the
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land and their lessees and assigns in groundwater are hereby
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recognized, and nothing] in this code shall be construed as |
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granting the authority to deprive [depriving] or divest a |
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landowner, including a landowner's lessees, heirs, or assigns, |
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[divesting the owners or their lessees and assigns] of the |
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groundwater ownership and rights described by this section [or
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rights, except as those rights may be limited or altered by rules
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promulgated by a district]. |
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(d) This section does not: |
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(1) prohibit a district from limiting or prohibiting |
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the drilling of a well by a landowner for failure or inability to |
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comply with minimum well spacing or tract size requirements adopted |
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by the district; |
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(2) affect the ability of a district to regulate |
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groundwater production as authorized under Section 36.113, 36.116, |
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or 36.122 or otherwise under this chapter or a special law governing |
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a district; or |
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(3) require that a rule adopted by a district allocate |
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to each landowner a proportionate share of available groundwater |
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for production from the aquifer based on the number of acres owned |
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by the landowner [A rule promulgated by a district may not
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discriminate between owners of land that is irrigated for
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production and owners of land or their lessees and assigns whose
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land that was irrigated for production is enrolled or participating
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in a federal conservation program]. |
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(e) This section does not affect the ability to regulate |
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groundwater in any manner authorized under: |
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(1) Chapter 626, Acts of the 73rd Legislature, Regular |
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Session, 1993, for the Edwards Aquifer Authority; |
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(2) Chapter 8801, Special District Local Laws Code, |
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for the Harris-Galveston Coastal Subsidence District; and |
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(3) Chapter 8834, Special District Local Laws Code, |
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for the Fort Bend Subsidence District. |
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SECTION 2. Section 36.101, Water Code, is amended by |
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amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as |
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follows: |
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(a) A district may make and enforce rules, including rules |
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limiting groundwater production based on tract size or the spacing |
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of wells, to provide for conserving, preserving, protecting, and |
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recharging of the groundwater or of a groundwater reservoir or its |
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subdivisions in order to control subsidence, prevent degradation of |
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water quality, or prevent waste of groundwater and to carry out the |
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powers and duties provided by this chapter. In adopting a rule under |
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this chapter, a district [During the rulemaking process the board] |
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shall: |
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(1) consider all groundwater uses and needs; |
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(2) [and shall] develop rules that [which] are fair |
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and impartial; |
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(3) consider the groundwater ownership and rights |
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described by Section 36.002; |
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(4) consider the public interest in conservation, |
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preservation, protection, recharging, and prevention of waste of |
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groundwater, and of groundwater reservoirs or their subdivisions, |
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and in controlling subsidence caused by withdrawal of water from |
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those groundwater reservoirs or their subdivisions, consistent |
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with the objectives of Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution; |
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(5) consider the goals developed as part of the |
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district's comprehensive management plan under Section 36.1071; |
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and |
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(6) [and that do] not discriminate between land that |
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is irrigated for production and land that was irrigated for |
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production and enrolled or participating in a federal conservation |
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program. |
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(a-1) Any rule of a district that discriminates between land |
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that is irrigated for production and land that was irrigated for |
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production and enrolled or participating in a federal conservation |
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program is void. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011. |