83R9890 PMO-F

By: Hilderbran H.B. No. 3114

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the regional groundwater planning process for minor aquifers.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 36.108(a), Water Code, is amended by adding Subdivisions (3) and (4) to read as follows:

(3) "Major aquifer" means an aquifer designated as major by the development board.

(4) "Minor aquifer" means an aquifer designated as minor by the development board.

SECTION 2. Section 36.108, Water Code, is amended by amending Subsections (d), (d-2), and (d-3) and adding Subsection (d-5) to read as follows:

(d) Not later than September 1, 2010, and every five years thereafter, the districts shall consider groundwater availability models and other data or information for the management area and shall propose for adoption desired future conditions for the relevant major aquifers within the management area. Before voting on the proposed desired future conditions of the aquifers under Subsection (d-2), the districts shall consider:

(1) aquifer uses or conditions within the management area, including conditions that differ substantially from one geographic area to another;

(2) the water supply needs and water management strategies included in the state water plan;

(3) hydrological conditions, including for each aquifer in the management area the total estimated recoverable storage as provided by the executive administrator, and the average annual recharge, inflows, and discharge;

(4) other environmental impacts, including impacts on spring flow and other interactions between groundwater and surface water;

(5) the impact on subsidence;

(6) socioeconomic impacts reasonably expected to occur;

(7) the impact on the interests and rights in private property, including ownership and the rights of management area landowners and their lessees and assigns in groundwater as recognized under Section 36.002;

(8) the feasibility of achieving the desired future condition; and

(9) any other information relevant to the specific desired future conditions.

(d-2) The desired future conditions proposed under Subsection (d) must provide a balance between the highest practicable level of groundwater production and the conservation, preservation, protection, recharging, and prevention of waste of groundwater and control of subsidence in the management area. This subsection does not prohibit the establishment of desired future conditions that provide for the reasonable long-term management of groundwater resources consistent with the management goals under Section 36.1071(a). The desired future conditions proposed under Subsection (d) for the major aquifers in the management area must be approved by a two-thirds vote of all the district representatives. The desired future conditions proposed under Section 36.10801 for the minor aquifers in the management area must be approved by a two-thirds vote of the representatives of the districts in which the minor aquifers are located and which are relevant in the management area. Not later than 10 days after the date of the approval, the desired future conditions for the major aquifers must be distributed [for distribution] to all [the] districts in the management area and the desired future conditions for the minor aquifers must be distributed to the districts in which minor aquifers are located. A period of not less than 90 days for public comments begins on the day the proposed desired future conditions are mailed to the districts. During the public comment period and after posting notice as required by Section 36.063, each district shall hold a public hearing on any proposed desired future conditions for aquifers relevant to that district. During the public comment period, the district shall make available in its office a copy of the proposed desired future conditions for aquifers relevant to that district and any supporting materials, such as the documentation of factors considered under Subsection (d) and groundwater availability model run results. After the public hearing, the district shall compile for consideration at the next joint planning meeting a summary of relevant comments received, any suggested revisions to the proposed desired future conditions, and the basis for the revisions.

(d-3) After the earlier of the date on which all the districts have submitted their district summaries or the expiration of the public comment period under Subsection (d-2), the district representatives shall reconvene to review the reports, consider any district's suggested revisions to the proposed desired future conditions, and finally adopt the desired future conditions for the management area. The desired future conditions for the major aquifers in the management area must be adopted as a resolution by a two-thirds vote of all the district representatives. The desired future conditions for the minor aquifers in the management area must be adopted by a two-thirds vote of the representatives of districts for which the minor aquifers are relevant for joint planning purposes. For each minor aquifer, a representative chosen by the districts for which the minor aquifer is relevant shall forward to the groundwater management area a desired future condition explanatory report for the minor aquifer to include in the groundwater management area's explanatory report to the development board. The district representatives shall produce a desired future conditions explanatory report for the management area and submit to the development board and each district in the management area proof that notice was posted for the joint planning meeting, a copy of the resolution, and a copy of the explanatory report. The report must:

(1) identify each desired future condition;

(2) provide the policy and technical justifications for each desired future condition;

(3) include documentation that the factors under Subsection (d) were considered by the districts and a discussion of how the adopted desired future conditions impact each factor;

(4) list other desired future condition options considered, if any, and the reasons why those options were not adopted; and

(5) discuss reasons why recommendations made by advisory committees and relevant public comments received by the districts were or were not incorporated into the desired future conditions.

(d-5) Not later than September 1 of the third year of a five-year joint planning cycle established under Subsection (d), the district representatives of all districts in the groundwater management area shall conduct a joint meeting to identify the districts in which minor aquifers are relevant. By two-thirds vote of all the district representatives, the representatives shall adopt a resolution identifying the districts in which each minor aquifer is relevant. The representatives shall submit to the development board:

(1) the resolution adopted; and

(2) proof that notice of the meeting at which the vote was conducted was in compliance with Section 36.063.

SECTION 3. Subchapter D, Chapter 36, Water Code, is amended by adding Section 36.10801 to read as follows:

Sec. 36.10801. JOINT PLANNING; MINOR AQUIFERS. (a) The definitions in Section 36.108(a) apply to this section.

(b) Except as provided by Subsection (d), not later than September 1, 2015, and every five years thereafter, district representatives of districts for which minor aquifers are relevant shall:

(1) meet to consider groundwater availability models and other data or information related to the groundwater management area; and

(2) propose for adoption desired future conditions for the relevant minor aquifers within the management area.

(c) The district representatives shall forward the proposed desired future conditions for each minor aquifer to all the districts in the groundwater management area for consideration at the next five-year meeting under Section 36.108.

(d) A district is exempt from the joint planning requirements under Subsection (b) and Section 36.108 if:

(1) no major aquifer is located within the groundwater management area in which the district is located; and

(2) the entire relevant portion of a minor aquifer in the groundwater management area is wholly located within the district.

SECTION 4. The procedures for the adoption and reporting of desired future conditions of groundwater resources in a management area under Section 36.108, Water Code, as amended by this Act, and Section 36.10801, Water Code, as added by this Act, apply only to the adoption of desired future conditions that occurs on or after the effective date of this Act. Desired future conditions adopted before the effective date of this Act are governed by the law in effect on the date the desired future conditions were adopted, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.