LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
 
WATER DEVELOPMENT POLICY IMPACT STATEMENT
 
82ND LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION
Revision 1
 
May 10, 2011

TO:
Honorable Troy Fraser, Chair, Senate Committee on Natural Resources
 
FROM:
John S O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
 
IN RE:
SB1290 by Hegar (Relating to the creation of the Calhoun County Groundwater Conservation District; providing authority to issue bonds.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted

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, subject to a confirmation election, the Calhoun County Groundwater Conservation District (District) in Calhoun 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 – Calhoun County is projected to grow from a population of 20,647 in the year 2000 to 23,556 in 2010 and to 26,610 in 2020.

 

2)  Location – The district is a groundwater conservation district comprised of all the territory within Calhoun County.

  

3) Comments on Powers/Duties Different from Similar Types of Districts - In addition to the general law authority for GCDs, the bill provides that the District may mitigate and assist owners of exempt domestic and livestock wells experiencing groundwater reduction due to groundwater pumping of others.

 

Unlike general law GCDs, the bill provides that the Commissioners Court of Calhoun County shall, before September 11, 2011, appoint four temporary directors to represent each commissioners precinct and one temporary director to represent the county at-large. The temporary directors are required to hold a confirmation election before September 1, 2012 and the bill provides specific ballot language. If the confirmation election fails, the bill provides that subsequent confirmation elections may be attempted until December 31, 2016, at which time the District will be dissolved if it remains unconfirmed by the voters. The Commissioner Court of Calhoun County must appoint temporary directors again in September 2015 if the District has not been confirmed. These temporary directors would serve until the District is confirmed by election, until all incurred debts are paid and assets transferred to Calhoun County, or until September 1, 2018.

 

The temporary directors become the initial directors if the District is confirmed and serve staggered two- and four-year terms ending on December 31 of even-numbered years. Each November of even-numbered years, the appropriate number of directors will be elected. One elected director will represent each of the four commissioners precincts and one elected director will represent the county at-large. Under the Water Code, general law GCD directors are elected by the single-precinct method.

 

Unlike general law GCDs, the bill provides that the District may not exercise the power of eminent domain, levy a tax for any purpose, or deny a landowner the privilege to produce groundwater from a well incapable of producing more than 25,000 gallons per day. The bill provides that District directors are not entitled to fees of office for service as a director. Under the Water Code, general law GCDs may exercise the power of eminent domain, may assess voter-approved taxes to pay for operation and maintenance expenses and the repayment of bonds, and may receive fees of office not to exceed $150 a day or $9,000 a year. Under the Water Code, domestic, livestock and poultry wells incapable of producing more than 25,000 gallons per day on a tract of land larger than 10 acres must be registered with but do not require a general law GCD permit.

 

4) Overlapping Services - There are no other GCDs in Calhoun County. 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 Calhoun County, 3 percent of the water used was groundwater in 2008.  Fifty-seven percent of groundwater pumping was for municipal purposes.  The groundwater in Calhoun County was drawn entirely from the Gulf Coast aquifer in 2008.

 



Source Agencies:
580 Water Development Board
LBB Staff:
JOB, SZ