84R5049 SLB-F

By: Craddick H.B. No. 2132

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to certain exemptions from the requirement to obtain a permit from a groundwater conservation district; authorizing a fee.

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

SECTION 1. Section 36.117, Water Code, is amended by amending Subsections (b) and (d) and adding Subsection (f-1) to read as follows:

(b) Except as provided by this section, a district shall provide an exemption from the district requirement to obtain a permit for drilling or operating a well and producing groundwater for beneficial use from a well:

(1) [drilling or operating a well] used [solely] for domestic use or for providing water for livestock or poultry if the well is:

(A) located or to be located on a tract of land larger than 10 acres; and

(B) drilled, completed, or equipped so that it is incapable of producing more than 25,000 gallons of groundwater a day;

(2) [drilling a water well] used [solely] to supply water for operations related to oil and gas exploration, development, or production, including hydraulic fracturing or [a rig that is actively engaged in] drilling, completing, recompleting, stimulating, reworking, or deepening [or exploration operations for] an oil or gas well permitted by the Railroad Commission of Texas provided that the person seeking the exemption is responsible for drilling or operating the oil, gas, or water well [holding the permit is responsible for drilling and operating the water well and the water well is located on the same lease or field associated with the drilling rig]; or

(3) used as [drilling a water well] authorized under a permit issued by the Railroad Commission of Texas under Chapter 134, Natural Resources Code, [or] for production [from the well] to the extent the withdrawals from the well are required for mining activities regardless of any subsequent use of the water.

(d) A district may cancel a previously granted exemption, and may require an operating permit for or restrict production from a well, if:

(1) the well is located in the Hill Country Priority Groundwater Management Area and the groundwater withdrawals that were exempted under Subsection (b)(1) are no longer used solely for domestic use or to provide water for livestock or poultry;

(2) the groundwater withdrawals that were exempted under Subsection (b)(2) are no longer used [solely] to supply water for [a rig that is actively engaged in drilling or exploration operations for] an oil or gas well permitted by the Railroad Commission of Texas; or

(3) the groundwater withdrawals that were exempted under Subsection (b)(3) are no longer necessary for mining activities or are greater than the amount necessary for mining activities specified in the permit issued by the Railroad Commission of Texas under Chapter 134, Natural Resources Code.

(f-1) The owner or operator of a water well exempt under Subsection (b)(2) shall comply with rules adopted by the district for wells described by Subsection (b)(2) that govern:

(1) registration of wells;

(2) production requirements with uniform application to all wells in the district, provided that the allowable production must equal or exceed the highest production amount allowed for any well in the district regardless of the water's use or whether the well is exempt under district rules;

(3) payment of production fees assessed by the district based on the amount of water actually withdrawn from a well, provided that the production fee may not exceed a fee adopted by the district under Section 36.205(c)(2) for municipal purposes inside the district;

(4) recordkeeping and reporting related to groundwater withdrawals consistent with the requirements uniformly imposed on nonexempt wells; and

(5) filing an accurate drillers' log and electronic log for any exempt well drilled under Subsection (b)(2) after September 1, 2015.

SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.