86R22554 SLB-F
 
  By: Larson H.B. No. 720
 
  Substitute the following for H.B. No. 720:
 
  By:  Metcalf C.S.H.B. No. 720
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to appropriations of water for recharge of aquifers and
  use in aquifer storage and recovery projects.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Sections 11.023(a)  and (d), Water Code, are
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  To the extent that state water has not been set aside by
  the commission under Section 11.1471(a)(2)  to meet downstream
  instream flow needs or freshwater inflow needs, state water may be
  appropriated, stored, or diverted for:
               (1)  domestic and municipal uses, including water for
  sustaining human life and the life of domestic animals;
               (2)  agricultural uses and industrial uses, meaning
  processes designed to convert materials of a lower order of value
  into forms having greater usability and commercial value, including
  the development of power by means other than hydroelectric;
               (3)  mining and recovery of minerals;
               (4)  hydroelectric power;
               (5)  navigation;
               (6)  recreation and pleasure;
               (7)  public parks; [and]
               (8)  game preserves; and
               (9)  recharge into an aquifer underlying this state
  other than an aquifer described under Subsection (c)  through
  surface infiltration or an aquifer recharge project as defined by
  Section 27.201.
         (d)  When it is put or allowed to sink into the ground, water
  appropriated under Subsections (a)(9)  and [Subsection] (c) [of
  this section] loses its character and classification as state
  water, storm water, or floodwater and is considered percolating
  groundwater.
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter D, Chapter 11, Water Code, is amended
  by adding Sections 11.157 and 11.158 to read as follows:
         Sec. 11.157.  WATER FOR USE AS AQUIFER RECHARGE OR IN AN
  AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY PROJECT. (a)  Unappropriated water,
  including storm water and floodwater, may be appropriated for
  recharge into an aquifer underlying this state, including an
  aquifer recharge project as defined by Section 27.201.  Water
  appropriated for diversion and a beneficial use may be stored in an
  aquifer storage and recovery project, as defined by Section 27.151,
  before the water is recovered for that beneficial use.
         (b)  The commission may authorize the appropriation of water
  under Subsection (a) if the commission determines that:
               (1)  the water is not needed under Section 11.147 or
  11.1471(a)(2), as applicable, to meet downstream instream flow
  needs or freshwater inflow needs;
               (2)  the appropriation will accomplish a purpose
  established by Section 11.023; and
               (3)  the application for the water right or amendment
  to the water right complies with Subsection (c).
         (c)  A water right or an amendment to a water right
  authorizing a new appropriation of water for use under Subsection
  (a):
               (1)  must comply with the requirements of Section
  11.134;
               (2)  must include any special conditions the commission
  considers necessary to implement this section; and
               (3)  may be for water that is not continuously
  available.
         (d)  Before approving an application for a water right or an
  amendment to a water right for a new appropriation of water in the
  Rio Grande basin under this section, the commission shall consider
  the water accounting requirements for any international water
  sharing treaty, minutes, and agreement applicable to the Rio Grande
  basin and the effect of the project on the allocation of water by
  the Rio Grande watermaster in the middle and lower Rio Grande. The
  commission may not authorize a new appropriation of water that
  would result in a violation of a treaty or court decision.
         (e)  An application for a water right or an amendment to a
  water right under this section is subject to the motion and hearing
  requirements of this subchapter.
         (f)  Not later than the 180th day after the date the
  commission determines that a water right or an amendment to a water
  right under this section is administratively complete, the
  commission shall complete a technical review of the application.
         (g)  The commission shall adopt rules providing for the
  considerations for determining the frequency that the water must be
  available before it may be appropriated.
         Sec. 11.158.  AMENDMENT TO CONVERT USE FROM RESERVOIR
  STORAGE TO AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY.  (a)  In this section,
  "aquifer storage and recovery project" has the meaning assigned by
  Section 27.151.
         (b)  A holder of a water right that authorizes the storage of
  water for a beneficial use in a reservoir that has not been
  constructed may file an application to amend the water right to
  remove the authorization for storage in a reservoir provided that
  the water diverted under the right will be stored in an aquifer
  storage and recovery project authorized under Section 27.153 for
  later retrieval and use as authorized by the original water right.
         (c)  An application for an amendment to a water right
  described by Subsection (b) may request an increase in the amount of
  water that may be diverted or the rate of diversion on the basis of
  an evaporation credit that takes into account the amount of water
  that would have evaporated if the storage reservoir had been
  constructed.
         (d)  A holder of a water right authorizing an appropriation
  of water for storage in a storage reservoir that has lost storage
  because of sedimentation, as determined by a survey performed by
  the board, may file an application for an amendment to the water
  right to change the use or purpose for which the appropriation is to
  be made from storage by diversion to storage as part of an aquifer
  storage and recovery project for later retrieval and use as
  authorized by the original water right in an amount equal to all or
  part of the amount of water yield lost to sedimentation.
         (e)  An application for an amendment to a water right
  described by Subsection (b) is exempt from any notice and hearing
  requirements of a statute, commission rule, or permit condition and
  may not be referred to the State Office of Administrative Hearings
  for a contested case hearing if the requested change will not cause
  a negative effect on other water rights holders or the environment
  that is greater than the effect that the original permit would have
  had were the permit rights exercised to the full extent of the
  original permit.
         (f)  An application for an amendment to a water right
  described by Subsection (c) or (d) is subject to the notice and
  hearing requirements of this chapter.
         (g)  If the commission grants an application for an amendment
  to a water right described by Subsection (c) or (d), the commission
  shall include in the amendment any special conditions the
  commission considers necessary to:
               (1)  protect existing water rights; and
               (2)  comply with any applicable requirements
  established under Section 11.147 or 11.1471.
         (h)  The commission may adopt rules providing an expedited
  procedure for acting on an application for an amendment to a water
  right described by Subsection (b) and the procedures to file and act
  on an application for an amendment to a water right described by
  Subsection (c) or (d).
         SECTION 3.  Chapter 27, Water Code, is amended by adding
  Subchapter H to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER H.  AQUIFER RECHARGE PROJECTS
         Sec. 27.201.  DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
               (1)  "Aquifer recharge project" means a project
  involving the intentional recharge of an aquifer by means of an
  injection well authorized under this chapter or other means of
  infiltration, including actions designed to:
                     (A)  reduce declines in the water level of the
  aquifer;
                     (B)  supplement the quantity of groundwater
  available;
                     (C)  improve water quality in an aquifer;
                     (D)  improve spring flows and other interactions
  between groundwater and surface water; or
                     (E)  mitigate subsidence.
               (2)  "Native groundwater" means the groundwater
  naturally occurring in a geologic formation.
               (3)  "Project operator" means a person holding an
  authorization under this subchapter to undertake an aquifer
  recharge project.
               (4)  "Recharge injection well" means a Class V
  injection well used for the injection of water into a geologic
  formation for an aquifer recharge project, including an improved
  sinkhole or cave connected to an aquifer.
         Sec. 27.202.  JURISDICTION. The commission has exclusive
  jurisdiction over the regulation and permitting of recharge
  injection wells.
         Sec. 27.203.  AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF CLASS V INJECTION
  WELLS. (a) The commission may authorize the use of a Class V
  injection well as a recharge injection well:
               (1)  by rule;
               (2)  under an individual permit; or
               (3)  under a general permit.
         (b)  In adopting a rule or issuing a permit under this
  section, the commission shall consider:
               (1)  whether the injection of water will comply with
  the standards established by the federal Safe Drinking Water Act
  (42 U.S.C. Section 300f et seq.);
               (2)  the effect of the aquifer recharge project on
  existing water wells; and
               (3)  whether the introduction of water into the
  receiving geologic formation will alter the physical, chemical, or
  biological quality of the native groundwater to a degree that
  would:
                     (A)  render the groundwater produced from the
  receiving geologic formation harmful or detrimental to people,
  animals, vegetation, or property; or
                     (B)  require an unreasonably higher level of
  treatment of the groundwater produced from the receiving geologic
  formation than is necessary for the native groundwater to render
  the groundwater suitable for beneficial use.
         (c)  The commission by rule shall provide for public notice
  and comment on a proposed general permit authorized under this
  section. The commission shall require an applicant for an
  individual permit authorized under this section to provide notice
  of the application by first class mail to any groundwater
  conservation district in which the wells associated with the
  aquifer recharge project will be located and by publishing notice
  in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the
  wells will be located.
         Sec. 27.204.  TECHNICAL STANDARDS. (a) The commission shall
  adopt technical standards governing the approval of the use of a
  Class V injection well as a recharge injection well.
         (b)  The commission may not adopt or enforce groundwater
  quality protection standards for the quality of water injected into
  a recharge injection well that are more stringent than applicable
  federal standards.
         Sec. 27.205.  REPORTING OF INJECTION VOLUMES. (a)  A project
  operator shall install a meter on each recharge injection well
  associated with the aquifer recharge project.
         (b)  Each calendar year, the project operator shall provide
  to the commission a written or electronic report showing for the
  preceding calendar year the volume of water injected for recharge.
         Sec. 27.206.  REPORTING OF WATER QUALITY DATA. A project
  operator shall:
               (1)  perform water quality testing annually on water to
  be injected into a geologic formation as part of the aquifer
  recharge project; and
               (2)  provide the results of the testing described by
  Subdivision (1) in written or electronic form to the commission.
         Sec. 27.207.  OTHER LAWS NOT AFFECTED. (a) This subchapter
  does not affect the ability to regulate an aquifer storage and
  recovery project as authorized under:
               (1)  Chapter 626, Acts of the 73rd Legislature, Regular
  Session, 1993, for the Edwards Aquifer Authority;
               (2)  Chapter 8801, Special District Local Laws Code,
  for the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District;
               (3)  Chapter 8834, Special District Local Laws Code,
  for the Fort Bend Subsidence District;
               (4)  Chapter 8802, Special District Local Laws Code,
  for the Barton Springs-Edwards Aquifer Conservation District; or
               (5)  Chapter 8811, Special District Local Laws Code,
  for the Corpus Christi Aquifer Storage and Recovery Conservation
  District.
         (b)  This subchapter does not affect the authority of the
  commission regarding:
               (1)  recharge projects in certain portions of the
  Edwards underground reservoir under Sections 11.023(c) and (d);
               (2)  injection wells that transect or terminate in
  certain portions of the Edwards Aquifer under Section 27.0516; or
               (3)  aquifer storage and recovery projects under
  Section 11.155 or Subchapter G of this chapter.
         SECTION 4.  Not later than June 1, 2020, the Texas Commission
  on Environmental Quality shall adopt rules to implement Sections
  11.157 and 11.158, Water Code, as added by this Act, and Subchapter
  H, Chapter 27, Water Code, as added by this Act.
         SECTION 5.  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 September 1, 2019.