|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
relating to an appeal of a desired future condition in a groundwater |
|
management area. |
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
SECTION 1. Section 36.10835, Water Code, is amended to read |
|
as follows: |
|
Sec. 36.10835. JUDICIAL APPEAL OF DESIRED FUTURE CONDITION |
|
[CONDITIONS]. (a) In this section: |
|
(1) "Affected person" means, with respect to the |
|
management area in which the district is located: |
|
(A) an owner of land in the management area; |
|
(B) a groundwater conservation district or |
|
subsidence district in or adjacent to the management area; |
|
(C) a regional water planning group with a water |
|
management strategy in the management area; |
|
(D) a person who holds or is applying for a permit |
|
from a district in the management area; or |
|
(E) a person with a legally defined interest in |
|
groundwater in the management area. |
|
(2) "Development board" means the Texas Water |
|
Development Board. |
|
(3) "District" means a district that is a party to an |
|
appeal under this section [A final district order issued under
|
|
Section 36.1083 may be appealed to a district court with
|
|
jurisdiction over any part of the territory of the district that
|
|
issued the order.
An appeal under this subsection must be filed
|
|
with the district court not later than the 45th day after the date
|
|
the district issues the final order. The case shall be decided
|
|
under the substantial evidence standard of review as provided by
|
|
Section 2001.174, Government Code]. |
|
(b) A district's adoption of a desired future condition |
|
under Section 36.108(d-4) may be appealed by an affected person to a |
|
district court with jurisdiction over any part of the territory of |
|
the district. An appeal must be filed with the district court not |
|
later than the 120th day after the date of the adoption. The |
|
pleadings must provide evidence that the desired future condition |
|
adopted by the districts was unreasonable. |
|
(c) Not later than the 10th day after receiving notice of |
|
the appeal, the district shall submit a copy of the pleadings to the |
|
development board. On receipt of the pleadings, the development |
|
board shall conduct: |
|
(1) an administrative review to determine whether the |
|
desired future condition established by the district meets the |
|
criteria in Section 36.108(d); and |
|
(2) a study containing scientific and technical |
|
analysis of the desired future condition, including consideration |
|
of: |
|
(A) the hydrogeology of the aquifer; |
|
(B) the explanatory report provided to the |
|
development board under Section 36.108(d-3); |
|
(C) the factors described under Section |
|
36.108(d); and |
|
(D) any relevant: |
|
(i) groundwater availability models; |
|
(ii) published studies; |
|
(iii) estimates of total recoverable |
|
storage capacity; |
|
(iv) average annual amounts of recharge, |
|
inflows, and discharge of groundwater; or |
|
(v) information provided in the petition or |
|
available to the development board. |
|
(d) Not later than the 120th day after the date of receiving |
|
a copy of the pleadings, the development board shall complete and |
|
deliver to the court the review and study required by Subsection |
|
(c). The development board shall make available relevant staff as |
|
expert witnesses if requested by the court. |
|
(e) If the court finds that a desired future condition is |
|
unreasonable, the court shall strike the desired future condition |
|
and order the districts in the same management area as the district |
|
that was a party to the appeal [received the petition] to reconvene |
|
not later than the 60th day after the date of the court order in a |
|
joint planning meeting for the purpose of revising the desired |
|
future condition. The districts in the management area shall |
|
follow the procedures in Section 36.108 to adopt new desired future |
|
conditions applicable to the district that was a party to the appeal |
|
[received the petition]. |
|
(f) [(b)] A court's finding under this section does not |
|
apply to a desired future condition that is not a matter before the |
|
court. |
|
SECTION 2. Section 36.1083, Water Code, is repealed. |
|
SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies to an |
|
action filed on or after the effective date of this Act. An action |
|
filed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law |
|
in effect on the date the action was filed, and the former law is |
|
continued in effect for that purpose. |
|
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |