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SECTION 1. Sections
27.0516(b), (f), (h), and (k), Water Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) This section 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].
(f) The commission by general
permit may authorize:
(1) an activity described by
Subsection (e);
(2) 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:
(A) concentrate from a
desalination facility; or
(B) fresh water as part of
an engineered aquifer storage and recovery facility;
(3) 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:
(A) concentrate from a
desalination facility, provided that the injection well must be at least
three miles from the closest outlet of Barton Springs; or
(B) 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]
(4) an injection well that
transects or terminates in the Edwards Aquifer for:
(A) aquifer remediation;
(B) the injection of a
nontoxic tracer dye as part of a hydrologic study; or
(C) 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; or
(5) an injection well that transects the
Edwards Aquifer provided that:
(A) the injection well isolates the Edwards
Aquifer;
(B) the injected water meets the standards under the federal
Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. Section 300f et seq.); and
(C) the injection well is part of an engineered
aquifer storage and recovery facility owned
and operated by a municipality.
(h) Rules adopted or a
general permit issued under this section:
(1) must require that an
injection well authorized by the rules or permit be monitored by means of:
(A) a monitoring well operated by the injection well owner if
the commission determines that there is an underground source of drinking
water in the area of review that is potentially affected by the injection
well; or
(B) if Paragraph (A) does
not apply, 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;
(2) must ensure that an
authorized activity will not result in the waste or pollution of fresh water;
(3) may not authorize an
injection well under Subsection (f)(2), [or] (3), or (5)
unless the well is initially associated with a small-scale research project
designed to evaluate the long-term feasibility and safety of:
(A) the injection of
concentrate from a desalination facility; or
(B) an aquifer storage and
recovery project;
(4) must require any
authorization granted to be renewed at least as frequently as every 10
years;
(5) must require that an
injection well authorized under Subsection (f)(2)(A) or (3)(A) be monitored
on an ongoing basis by or in coordination with the well owner and that the
well owner file monitoring reports with the commission at least as
frequently as every three months; and
(6) must 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.
(k) Notwithstanding
Subsection (h)(3), a general permit may authorize the owner of an injection
well authorized under Subsection (f)(2), [or] (3), or (5)
to continue operating the well for the purpose of implementing the
desalination or engineered aquifer storage and recovery project following
completion of the small-scale research project, provided that:
(1) the injection well owner
timely submits the information collected as part of the research project,
including monitoring reports and information regarding the environmental
impact of the well, to the commission;
(2) the injection well
owner, following the completion of studies and monitoring adequate to
characterize risks to the fresh water portion of the Edwards Aquifer and other fresh water associated with
the continued operation of the well, and at least 90 days before the date
the owner initiates commercial well operations, files with the commission a
notice of intent to continue operation of the well after completion of the
research project; and
(3) the commission, based on
the studies and monitoring, the report provided by Texas State
University--San Marcos under Subsection (l)(2), and any other reasonably
available information, determines that continued operation of the injection
well as described in the notice of intent does not pose an unreasonable
risk to the fresh water portion of the Edwards Aquifer or other fresh water associated with the
continued operation of the well.
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SECTION 2. Sections
27.0516(b), (f), (h), (k), and (n), Water Code, are amended to read as
follows:
(b) This section 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 the jurisdiction [that district's territory or the
territory] of the Edwards Aquifer
Authority.
(f) The commission by
general permit may authorize:
(1) an activity described by
Subsection (e);
(2) 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:
(A) concentrate from a
desalination facility; or
(B) fresh water as part of
an engineered aquifer storage and recovery facility;
(3) 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:
(A) concentrate from a
desalination facility, provided that the injection well must be at least
three miles from the closest outlet of Barton Springs; or
(B) 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]
(4) an injection well that
transects or terminates in the Edwards Aquifer for:
(A) aquifer remediation;
(B) the injection of a
nontoxic tracer dye as part of a hydrologic study; or
(C) 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; or
(5) the injection of fresh water into a
well that transects the Edwards Aquifer provided that:
(A) the well isolates the
Edwards Aquifer and meets the
construction and completion standards adopted by the commission under
Section 27.154;
(B) the well is part of
an engineered aquifer storage and recovery facility;
(C) the injected water is sourced from a public water system,
as defined by commission rule, that is permitted by the commission; and
(D) the injection complies with the provisions of Subchapter G
that are not in conflict with this section.
(h) Rules adopted or a
general permit issued under this section:
(1) must require that an
injection well authorized by the rules or permit be monitored by means of:
(A) one or more [a] monitoring wells [well]
operated by the injection well owner if the commission determines that
there is an underground source of drinking water in the area of review that
is potentially affected by the injection well; or
(B) if Paragraph (A) does
not apply, one or more [a] monitoring wells [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;
(2) must ensure that an
authorized activity will not result in the waste or pollution of native groundwater [fresh water];
(3) may not authorize an
injection well under Subsection (f)(2), [or] (3), or (5)
unless the well is initially associated with a small-scale research project
designed to evaluate the long-term feasibility and safety of:
(A) the injection of
concentrate from a desalination facility; or
(B) an aquifer storage and
recovery project;
(4) must require any
authorization granted to be renewed at least as frequently as every 10
years;
(5) must require that an
injection well authorized under Subsection (f)(2)(A) or (3)(A) be monitored
on an ongoing basis by or in coordination with the well owner and that the
well owner file monitoring reports with the commission at least as
frequently as every three months; [and]
(6) must 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; and
(7) must be consistent with the provisions of Subchapter G that
are not in conflict with this section.
(k) Notwithstanding
Subsection (h)(3), a general permit may authorize the owner of an injection
well authorized under Subsection (f)(2), [or] (3), or (5)
to continue operating the well for the purpose of implementing the
desalination or engineered aquifer storage and recovery project following
completion of the small-scale research project, provided that:
(1) the injection well owner
timely submits the information collected as part of the research project,
including monitoring reports and information regarding the environmental
impact of the well, to the commission;
(2) the injection well owner,
following the completion of studies and monitoring adequate to characterize
risks to the fresh water portion of the Edwards Aquifer, the Trinity Aquifer, or [and] other native groundwater
[fresh water] associated with the continued operation of the well,
and at least 90 days before the date the owner initiates commercial well
operations, files with the commission a notice of intent to continue
operation of the well after completion of the research project; and
(3) the commission, based on
the studies and monitoring, the report provided by Texas State
University--San Marcos under Subsection (l)(2), and any other reasonably
available information, determines that continued operation of the injection
well as described in the notice of intent does not pose an unreasonable
risk to the fresh water portion of the Edwards Aquifer, the Trinity Aquifer, or other native groundwater
[fresh water] associated with the continued operation of the
well.
(n)
If the commission preliminarily determines that continued operation of the
injection well would pose an unreasonable risk to the fresh water portion
of the Edwards Aquifer, the Trinity Aquifer, or other native
groundwater [fresh water] associated with the continued
operation of the well, the commission shall notify the operator and
specify, if possible, what well modifications or operational controls
would be adequate to prevent that unreasonable risk. If the operator fails
to modify the injection well as specified by the commission, the commission
shall require the operator to cease operating the well.
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SECTION 2. Section
27.0516(a)(1), Water Code, is amended to read as follows:
(1) "Edwards
Aquifer" means that portion of an arcuate belt of porous, waterbearing
limestones composed of the Edwards Formation, Georgetown Formation,
Comanche Peak Formation, Salmon Peak Limestone, McKnight Formation, West
Nueces Formation, Devil's River Limestone, Person Formation, Kainer
Formation, and Edwards Group [trending from west to east to northeast
through Kinney, Uvalde, Medina, Bexar, Kendall, Comal, Hays, Travis, and
Williamson Counties]. The permeable aquifer units generally overlie
the less-permeable Glen Rose Formation to the south[, overlie the
less-permeable Comanche Peak and Walnut Formations north of the Colorado
River,] and underlie the less-permeable Del Rio Clay regionally.
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SECTION 1. Sections
27.0516(a)(1) and (3), Water Code, are amended to read as follows:
(1) "Edwards
Aquifer" means that portion of an arcuate belt of porous, waterbearing
limestones composed of the Edwards Formation, Georgetown Formation,
Comanche Peak Formation, Salmon Peak Limestone, McKnight Formation, West
Nueces Formation, Devil's River Limestone, Person Formation, Kainer
Formation, and Edwards Group,
together with the Upper Glen Rose Formation where there is a significant
hydrological connection to the overlying Edwards Group [trending
from west to east to northeast through Kinney, Uvalde, Medina, Bexar,
Kendall, Comal, Hays, Travis, and Williamson Counties]. The permeable
aquifer units generally overlie the less-permeable Glen Rose Formation to
the south[, overlie the less-permeable Comanche Peak and Walnut
Formations north of the Colorado River,] and underlie the
less-permeable Del Rio Clay regionally.
(3)
"Fresh water" means surface water or groundwater, without regard
to whether the water has been physically, chemically, or biologically
altered, that:
(A)
contains a total dissolved solids concentration of not more than 1,000
milligrams per liter; [and]
(B)
meets the water quality standards for public drinking water established
by commission rule; and
(C) is otherwise
suitable as a source of drinking water supply.
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