BILL ANALYSIS |
C.S.H.B. 340 |
By: Rodriguez, Eddie |
Natural Resources |
Committee Report (Substituted) |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Interested parties note that certain water that has been physically, chemically, or biologically altered is currently prohibited from being injected either into or through the Edwards Aquifer in certain locations and that such prohibition does not take into account whether the water in the aquifer in those locations is fresh water or brackish water. The parties further note that this prohibition was put into place several years ago to protect the freshwater in the aquifer and that the prohibition was not intended to be applicable to the brackish water zones. C.S.H.B. 340 seeks to address this issue by establishing provisions relating to the power of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to authorize certain injection wells that transect or terminate in the Edwards Aquifer in order to allow certain desalination and aquifer storage and recovery projects.
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RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in SECTION 1 of this bill.
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ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 340 amends the Water Code to generally prohibit the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) from authorizing by rule or permit an injection well that transects or terminates in the Edwards Aquifer but authorizes TCEQ by rule to authorize the following: · the injection of fresh water withdrawn from the Edwards Aquifer into a well that transects or terminates in the Edwards Aquifer for the purpose of providing additional recharge; or · the injection of rainwater, storm water, flood water, or groundwater into the Edwards Aquifer by means of an improved natural recharge feature such as a sinkhole or cave located in a karst topographic area for the purpose of providing additional recharge. The bill authorizes TCEQ by general permit to authorize the following: · such injection of fresh water or injection of rainwater, storm water, flood water, or groundwater; · an injection well that transects and isolates the saline portion of the Edwards Aquifer and terminates in a lower aquifer for the purpose of injecting concentrate from a desalination facility or fresh water as part of an engineered aquifer storage and recovery facility; · an injection well that terminates in that part of the saline portion of the Edwards Aquifer that has a total dissolved solids concentration of more than 10,000 milligrams per liter for the purpose of injecting into the saline portion of the Edwards Aquifer concentrate from a desalination facility, provided that the injection well must be at least three miles from the closest outlet of Barton Springs or fresh water as part of an engineered aquifer and storage recovery facility, provided that each well used for injection or withdrawal from the facility must be at least three miles from the closest outlet of Barton Springs; or · an injection well that transects or terminates in the Edwards Aquifer for aquifer remediation, for the injection of a nontoxic tracer dye as part of a hydrologic study, or for another beneficial activity that is designed and undertaken for the purpose of increasing protection of an underground source of drinking water from pollution or other deleterious effects. The bill requires TCEQ to hold a public meeting before issuing a general permit under the bill's provisions.
C.S.H.B. 340 requires rules adopted or a general permit issued under the bill's provisions to do the following: · require that an injection well authorized by the rules or permit be monitored by means of a monitoring well operated by the injection well owner if TCEQ determines that there is an underground source of drinking water in the area of review that is potentially affected by the injection well or, if TCEQ does not make such determination, by means of a monitoring well operated by a party other than the injection well owner, provided that all results of monitoring are promptly made available to the injection well owner; · ensure that an authorized activity will not result in the waste or pollution of fresh water; · require any authorization granted to be renewed at least as frequently as every 10 years; · require that certain authorized injection wells be monitored on an ongoing basis by or in coordination with the well owner and that the well owner file monitoring reports with TCEQ at least as frequently as every three months; and · ensure that any injection well authorized for the purpose of injecting concentrate from a desalination facility does not transect the fresh water portion of the Edwards Aquifer. The bill prohibits the rules adopted or a general permit issued under the bill's provisions from authorizing certain injection wells unless the well is initially associated with a small-scale research project designed to evaluate the long-term feasibility and safety of the injection of concentrate from a desalination facility or of an aquifer storage and recovery project.
C.S.H.B. 340 establishes provisions relating to the authorization for certain monitoring wells to be used for monitoring a saline water production well; the criteria for a project to be considered a small-scale research project; the authorization of a general permit to authorize owners of certain authorized injection wells to continue operating an applicable well for the purpose of implementing a desalination or engineered aquifer storage and recovery project following completion of a small-scale research project; and the ability of TCEQ to require an operator to cease operating certain injection wells.
C.S.H.B. 340 applies only to the portion of the Edwards Aquifer that is within the geographic area circumscribed by the external boundaries of the Barton Springs-Edwards Aquifer Conservation District but is not in that district's territory or the territory of the Edwards Aquifer Authority. The bill specifies that, to the extent of a conflict, its provisions prevail over certain statutory provisions prohibiting TCEQ from authorizing by rule or permit an injection well that transects or terminates in the Edwards Aquifer and authorizing TCEQ by rule to authorize certain injections of water. The bill defines "Edwards Aquifer," "engineered aquifer storage and recovery facility," "fresh water," and "saline portion of the Edwards Aquifer."
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EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2013.
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COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 340 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and highlighted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
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