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

The bill creates the Northern Dallam County Groundwater Conservation District (District) in described areas of Dallam County with the powers and duties of Water Code, Chapter 36 related to general law for groundwater conservation districts (GCDs). The purpose of the District is to benefit property by providing for the conservation, preservation, protection, recharging, and prevention of waste of groundwater, and to control subsidence caused by the withdrawal of groundwater under powers conferred by Article XVI, Section 59 of the Texas Constitution. Creation of the District is subject to a confirmation election. 

1)  Population – The very specific description of the proposed boundaries is in terminology which does not match Census geography, thus population can be estimated only for an area somewhat larger than the district will actually cover.  Population in this larger area, of which this district will only be a part, could be as high as 766 based on the 2000 Census.

Dallam County is projected to grow from a population of 6,222 in the year 2000 to 6,851 in 2010 and to 7,387 in 2020.

2)  Location – The proposed district’s initial boundaries are described in a combination of Original Texas Land Surveys and metes and bounds. Due to the complexity of these boundaries for the various sub-areas of the district, staff is able to determine only the general location of the proposed district.

The district’s area is approximately 354.6 square miles, and is composed of three non-contiguous areas within Dallam County that are not located within the existing North Plains GCD.

3) Comments on Powers/Duties Different from Similar Types of Districts ¨C Unlike general law GCDs, the bill provides that the District will be governed by six directors elected at large, provides term limits for service as a director, and provides that directors may not receive fees of office that exceed $50 a day or $3,000 a year. The bill provides that three directors will be elected from District Area A, and three directors will be elected from District Areas B and C combined. Under the Water Code, GCD directors are elected by the precinct method, do not have term limits, and can receive fees of office not to exceed $150 a day or $9,000 a year. Similar to general law GCDs, the directors will serve staggered four-year terms. The bill provides that the Commissioners Court of Dallam County shall appoint the temporary directors and that the temporary directors shall schedule and hold an election for the initial directors. The bill provides that the initial directors shall draw lots for terms ending June 1 of the next even-numbered year and June 1 two years later. The bill provides that elections for directors shall be held on the May uniform election date of each even-numbered year. Unlike general law GCDs, the bill provides that the Commissioner Court of Dallam County shall appoint a person to fill a vacancy on the District board of directors. Under the Water Code, vacancies are filled by the other members of the board. Unlike general law GCDs, the bill provides that a landowner that does not reside in the District is eligible to vote in District elections. Unlike general law GCDs, the bill provides that the District may not: purchase, sell, transport or distribute surface water or groundwater for any purpose; exercise the power of eminent domain; and, exceed bond or note indebtedness of $500,000. The District may require any new well or class of wells exempt from permitting to be registered. By rule, the District may require the owner or operator or a well or class of wells exempt from permitting to report groundwater usage, except for private domestic, livestock, or poultry water wells producing less than 25,000 gallons per day on a tract of land larger than ten acres. The District is provided authority to assess a disincentive fee for enforcement remedy purposes. The bill provides that annual District well production fees be capped for agricultural use at $1 per acre-foot and for other uses capped at $0.0425 per 1,000 gallons. Under the general law, GCD production fees are capped at $1 per acre-foot-year for agricultural use and $10 per acre-foot/year for other uses.

4) Overlapping Services ©¤ The District¡¯s boundaries would be coextensive with three noncontiguous areas within Dallam County and each forms a closure. The bill provides the boundary descriptions for the three noncontiguous areas, Areas A, B, and C. The bill provides that the initial District territory does not include any territory in Areas A, B, or C that was added to the North Plains Groundwater Conservation District before the effective date of the Act. The bill provides that as soon as practicable after the effective date of the Act, the North Plains GCD shall provide its boundary description to the District and the TCEQ. The bill provides that within one year of the effective date of the Act, an owner of land on the boundary of the District and the North Plains GCD may petition the TCEQ to remove the land from the North Plains GCD and add the land to the District. The bill provides the TCEQ shall grant the petition. GCD functions do not conflict with services provided by other types of water districts or utilities.

5)  TCEQ Supervision - As with general law GCDs, the TCEQ will have general supervisory authority, including bond review authority and authority as it is related to the District¡¯s development and implementation of a management plan; the District would not have to comply with TCEQ financial auditing requirements.

6)  Water Use – Within Dallam County, 99.5 percent of total water use was groundwater (Ogallala and Rita Blanca aquifers) in 2008.  Less than one percent of groundwater pumping was for municipal purposes.