By: Hegar S.B. No. 1811

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the Fort Bend Subsidence District.

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

SECTION 1. Sec. 8834.001, Special District Local Laws Code, is amended to read as follows:

DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:

(1) "Agricultural crop":

(A) means food or fiber commodities that are grown for resale or commercial purposes and that are to be used for food, clothing, or animal feed; and

(B) includes nursery products and florist items that are in the possession of a nursery grower.

(2) "Alternative water supply" means any water source other than groundwater withdrawn within the district, and may include any water supplied through an approved groundwater reduction plan.

(3) "Beneficial use" means any use that is useful or beneficial to the user, including:

(A) an agricultural, gardening, domestic, stock raising, municipal, mining, manufacturing, industrial, commercial, or recreational use, or a use for pleasure purposes; or

(B) exploring for, producing, handling, or treating oil, gas, sulfur, or other minerals.

(4[2]) "Board" means the district's board of directors.

(5[3]) "Commission" means the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

(6[4]) "District" means the Fort Bend Subsidence District.

(7) "Florist item" means a cut flower, potted plant, blooming plant, inside foliage plant, bedding plant, corsage flower, cut foliage, floral decoration, or live decorative material.

(8[5]) "Groundwater" means water existing below the earth's surface in the district. The term does not include water produced with oil in the production of oil and gas.

(9) "Nursery grower" means a person who grows in any medium more than 50 percent of the nursery products or florist items that the person sells or leases. A person grows a nursery product or florist item if the person cultivates or propagates the product or item by engaging in activities associated with the production or multiplying of stock, including the development of new plants from cuttings, grafts, plugs, or seedlings. The term does not include a person who merely holds or maintains a nursery product or florist item before sale or lease.

(10) "Nursery product" includes a tree, shrub, vine, cutting, graft, scion, grass, bulb, or bud that is grown or kept for, or capable of, propagation and distribution for sale or lease.

(11[6]) "Regional water supplier" means a political subdivision of the State of Texas with the authority to conserve, store, transport, treat, purify, distribute, sell, and deliver water to persons, corporations, municipal corporations, political subdivisions of the state and others, either by statutory authorization or contract, and has an approved groundwater reduction plan.

(12) "Subsidence" means the lowering in elevation of the surface of land by groundwater withdrawal.

(13[7]) "Waste" means:

(A) groundwater withdrawal from a groundwater reservoir at a rate and in an amount that causes or threatens to cause intrusion into the reservoir of water unsuitable for agricultural, gardening, domestic, or stock raising purposes;

(B) groundwater withdrawal from a groundwater reservoir through a well if the water withdrawn is not used for a beneficial use or if the amount used is more than is reasonably required for a beneficial use;

(C) escape of groundwater from a groundwater reservoir to any other reservoir or geologic strata that does not contain groundwater;

(D) pollution or harmful alteration of groundwater in a groundwater reservoir by saltwater or other harmful matter admitted from another stratum or from the surface of the ground;

(E) unless the discharge is authorized by a permit, rule, or order issued by the commission under Chapter 26, Water Code, wilfully or negligently causing, suffering, or allowing groundwater to escape or flow:

(i) into a river, creek, natural watercourse, depression, lake, reservoir, drain, sewer, street, highway, road, or road ditch; or

(ii) onto land that does not belong to the owner of the well;

(F) unless the occupant of the land receiving the discharge granted permission for the discharge, the escape of groundwater pumped for irrigation as irrigation tailwater onto land that does not belong to the owner of the well; or

(G) wilfully causing or knowingly permitting the water withdrawn from an artesian well to run off the owner's land or to percolate through the stratum above which the water is found, as prescribed by Section 11.205, Water Code.

(14) "Water conservation" means a measure that seeks to make a water supply available for alternative or future use. The term includes best management practices, improved efficiency or accountability, recycling, reuse, pollution prevention, and reduction in consumption, loss, or waste.

(15[8]) "Well" means a facility, device, or method used to withdraw groundwater.

(16) "Well owner" means a person who has an ownership interest in a well, operates a well, owns land on which a well is located, or owns the water withdrawn or to be withdrawn from a well.

(17[9]) "Withdrawal" means the act of extracting by pumping or another method.

SECTION 2. Sec. 8834.006, Special District Local Laws Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 8834.006. CERTAIN OTHER STATUTES INAPPLICABLE. (a) Other laws governing the administration or operation of a conservation and reclamation district created under Section 52, Article III, or Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, including Chapters 36 and 49, Water Code, do not apply to the district.

(b) Notwithstanding Section 36.052, Water Code, this chapter prevails over any other law in conflict or inconsistent with this chapter.

SECTION 3. Sec. 8834.055, Special District Local Laws Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 8834.055. OFFICERS. (a) Each year, at the first meeting after the new directors take office, the directors shall select a chairman [president], a vice chairman [president], and a secretary.

(b) An officer selected under Subsection (a) serves at the will of the board and may be removed and replaced by a majority of the board at any time.

(c) The chairman [president] shall preside over meetings of the board. If the chairman [president] is not present, the vice chairman [president] shall preside.

(d) The secretary shall ensure that all records and books of the district are properly kept and attest to the chair's signature on all documents. The board may authorize another director, the general manager, or any employee or contractor to execute documents on behalf of the district and to certify the authenticity of any record of the district.

SECTION 4. Sec. 8834.056, Special District Local Laws Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) The board shall hold [one] regular [meeting each month] meetings at a time set by the board.

(b) The board may hold a special meeting at the call of the chairman [president] or on the written request of at least three directors.

(c) A majority of the membership of the board constitutes a quorum for any meeting, and a concurrence of a majority of the entire membership of the board is sufficient for transacting any district business. Any member that abstains from voting on a particular matter does not count as part of the membership for the purposes of that vote, and a majority of the remaining membership is sufficient for transacting any district business.

SECTION 5. Sec. 8834.057(b), Special District Local Laws Code, is amended to read as follows:

(b) A meeting of a committee of the board is not subject to Chapter 551, Government Code, if less than a quorum of the board is present at the meeting.

SECTION 6. Sec. 8834.104(a), Special District Local Laws Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) The [Before March 31 of each year, the] board shall hold an annual [a] hearing to determine the effects during the preceding calendar year of groundwater withdrawal on subsidence in the district.

SECTION 7. Sec. 8834.115, Special District Local Laws Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 8834.115. NOTICE OF HEARINGS. (a) Not later than the 10th day before the date set for a hearing other than a permit application hearing, the district shall deliver or mail notice of the hearing to:

(1) each county, regional water supplier and municipal government in the district; and

(2) each person that the board considers to have an interest in the subject matter of the hearing.

(b) Not later than the 10th day before the date set for a hearing, the district shall:

(1) publish notice of the hearing once in a newspaper of general circulation in each county in the district; and

(2) provide a copy of the [post] notice of the hearing to the county clerk to be posted at the county courthouse of each county in the district in the place where notices are usually posted.

SECTION 8. Chapter 8834, Subchapter D, Special District Local Laws Code, is amended by adding Section 8834.158 to read as follows:

Sec. 8834.158. INVESTMENT OFFICER. (a) Notwithstanding Section 2256.005(f), Government Code, the board may contract with a person to act as investment officer of the district.

(b) The investment officer of a district shall:

(1) not later than the first anniversary of the date the officer takes office or assumes the officer's duties, attend a training session of at least six hours of instruction relating to investment responsibilities under Chapter 2256, Government Code; and

(2) attend at least four hours of additional investment training within each two-year period after the first year.

(c) Training under this section must be from an independent source approved by:

(1) the board; or

(2) a designated investment committee advising the investment officer.

(d) Training under this section must include education in investment controls, security risks, strategy risks, market risks, diversification of investment portfolio, and compliance with Chapter 2256, Government Code.

SECTION 9. Sec. 8834.201, Special District Local Laws Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 8834.201. GROUNDWATER WITHDRAWALS SUBJECT TO BOARD RULE. (a) Groundwater withdrawals governed by this chapter, including withdrawals of injected water, are subject to reasonable board rules and orders.

(b) The Board may issue permits to drill new wells and may, by rule, provide exemptions from the permit requirements. The district shall grant a permit to drill and operate a new well inside a platted subdivision if water service from a retail public utility is not available to the lot where the well is to be located.

(c) In this section term "retail public utility" has the same meaning as Section 13.002, Water Code.

SECTION 10. Sec. 8834.202, Special District Local Laws Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 8834.202. CERTAIN GROUNDWATER USES [WELLS] EXEMPT. The permit requirements of this [This] chapter do [does] not apply to:

(1) a well regulated under Chapter 27, Water Code;

(2) a well that:

(A) has a casing with an inside diameter of not more than five inches; and

(B) serves only a single-family dwelling; or

(3) a shallow well that:

(A) is not used to provide water for:

(i) human consumption;

(ii) agriculture;

(iii) manufacturing or industry; or

(iv) water injection; and

(B) withdraws water solely:

(i) to prevent hazardous sand boils, dewater surface construction sites, or relieve hydrostatic uplift on permanent structures;

(ii) for groundwater quality analysis and for monitoring migration of subsurface contaminants or pollution; or

(iii) for recovery of contamination or pollution.

SECTION 11. Sec. 8834.206 (a) and (c), Special District Local Laws Code, are amended to read as follows:

(a) A well [The] owner of a well located in the district must obtain a permit from the board before:

(1) drilling, equipping, or completing the well;

(2) substantially altering the size of the well or a well pump; or

(3) operating the well.

(c) A well [An] owner [or operator] commits a violation if the well owner [or operator] does not obtain a permit as required by Subsection (a). A violation occurs on the first day the drilling, equipping, completing, altering, or operation begins. Each day that a violation continues is a separate violation.

SECTION 12. Sec. 8834.209(c), Special District Local Laws Code, is amended to read as follows:

(c) The board shall issue a permit to an applicant if the board finds on sufficient evidence that:

(1) there is no other adequate and available substitute or supplemental source of alternative [surface] water supplies at prices competitive with the prices charged by suppliers of alternative [surface] water supplies in the district; and

(2) compliance with any provision of this chapter or any district rule will result in an arbitrary taking of property or in the practical closing and elimination of any lawful business, occupation, or activity without sufficient corresponding benefit or advantage to the public.

SECTION 13. Sec. 8834.214, Special District Local Laws Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 8834.214. ANNUAL REPORT. (a) Before January 31 each year, a well owner who is required to hold [holds] a permit under this chapter shall submit to the board a report stating:

(1) the well owner's name;

(2) the location of the well;

(3) the total amount of groundwater withdrawn from the well during the preceding calendar year [12-month period];

(4) the total amount of groundwater withdrawn from the well during each month of the preceding calendar year [12-month period];

(5) the purpose for which the groundwater was used; and

(6) any other information required by the board that the board considers necessary for the board to control and prevent subsidence in the district.

(b) For the purposes of this section, a well owner whose well is aggregated with other wells permitted and managed by a regional water supplier is required to file the report with the regional water supplier instead of the district. Regional water suppliers are required to submit to the board the report required in subsection (a) for all wells owned, managed or permitted by that supplier no later than March 31 each year.

SECTION 14. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect on September 1, 2011.