BILL ANALYSIS |
C.S.H.B. 3025 |
By: King, Tracy O. |
Natural Resources |
Committee Report (Substituted) |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Interested parties contend that the number of open, uncovered, abandoned, or deteriorated water wells in Texas is increasing and causing serious economic and environmental harm. C.S.H.B. 3025 seeks to address this issue by revising provisions relating to the regulation of such wells.
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CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
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RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
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ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 3025 amends the Occupations Code to change the action that a landowner or other person who possesses a deteriorated water well is required to take after learning of the well's condition from having the well plugged or capped under certain standards and procedures to having the well repaired or plugged under those standards and procedures.
C.S.H.B. 3025 amends the Water Code to distinguish between an abandoned well and a deteriorated well in provisions relating to the powers and duties of a groundwater conservation district. The bill includes an abandoned well among the types of wells for which a district may require the owner or lessee of land on which the well is located to keep the well permanently closed or capped with a covering capable of sustaining weight of at least 400 pounds. The bill specifies in that requirement for an open or uncovered well or an abandoned well that the covering be not easily removed.
C.S.H.B. 3025 requires a district to require the owner or lessee of land on which a deteriorated well is located to plug the well or repair the well sufficiently to prevent pollution of any water in Texas, including groundwater, and requires the district to notify the owner or lessee of this requirement. The bill authorizes any person, firm, or corporation employed by the district not later than the 10th day after the date the owner or lessee receives the notice from the district to go on the owner's or lessee's land and repair or plug the well safely and securely if the owner or lessee fails or refuses to repair or plug the well in accordance with district rules. The bill replaces references to closing or capping a well with references to repairing or plugging a well in provisions relating to a deteriorated well.
C.S.H.B. 3025 authorizes an employee of the Bandera County River Authority and Groundwater District to cap an open, uncovered, or abandoned well, or repair or plug a deteriorated well, if the employee has received training for capping, repairing, or plugging a well located in a karst topographic area. The bill exempts an employee acting in that manner from the requirement to have a license under Occupations Code provisions regulating water well drillers to perform the authorized action.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2017.
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COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 3025 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and formatted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
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