Honorable Cody Harris, Chair, House Committee on Natural Resources
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB2658 by Perry (Relating to the production and study of brackish groundwater.), As Engrossed
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would amend Water Code relating to the production and study of brackish groundwater. The bill would remove an area of geologic stratum that is designated or used for wastewater injection through the use of injection or disposal wells from being designated as groundwater production zones. The bill would amend the biennial progress report on desalination activities produced by the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) to include that when TWDB designates a brackish groundwater production zone it includes in the description the area of geologic stratum being designated, and an allocation of the available amounts of brackish groundwater the zone is capable of producing to each groundwater conservation district (districts) and county located in the zone.
The bill amends drilling or operating a well for the withdrawal of groundwater from a designated brackish groundwater production zone to be exempt from permitting if the well operator provides the district with documentation that provides information meeting specific criteria. For groundwater wells exempted under this criteria the groundwater produced must meet a certain dissolved solids concentration amount, the well operator would be required to implement a monitoring system approved by the district, and an annual report would be required to be submitted to the district. Such an exemption may be canceled if the well owner fails to meet monitoring, reporting, or production requirements. The bill would exempt water withdrawn from these wells from being subject to a transport or export fees of greater than ten cents per thousand gallons of transported or exported water, and prohibit districts from assessing production fees.
Based on information provided by TWDB, a one-time cost of $500,000 in General Revenue Funds would be needed for professional service contracting to implement the provisions of the bill. The bill would require TWDB to utilize staff, contractors, equipment, and data acquired before September 1, 2025. Therefore, this analysis assumes that any necessary costs incurred to implement the provisions of the bill would occur in fiscal year 2025 and accordingly, no costs would be incurred or reflected in fiscal years 2026 to 2030. The provisions of the bill which exempt geologic stratum for wastewater injection through wells from being designated as groundwater production zones would necessitate TWDB reanalyzing all previous zone designations. According to TWDB, assessing the new potential zone designation to account for the change in injection zone criteria would require professional services and the cost estimate is based on prior experience with contracted projects in the program area.
According to the Railroad Commission, it is assumed that there would be no significant fiscal impact resulting from permitting exemptions.
According to the Comptroller of Public Accounts, the number of wells now qualifying from the expanded exemptions cannot be determined at this time.
According to TWDB, once the new zone designations are specified, it is assumed that any costs associated with allocating brackish groundwater volumes and consulting with districts on monitoring systems could be absorbed using existing resources.
Local Government Impact
There could be an impact to districts that are currently charging production fees that would no longer be authorized by the bill. Additionally, districts that are currently charging transport or export fees would be bound to the limits on those fees authorized by the bill.
Source Agencies:
304 Comptroller of Public Accounts, 455 Railroad Commission, 580 Water Development Board