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  H.B. No. 722
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to the development of brackish groundwater.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter D, Chapter 36, Water Code, is amended
  by adding Section 36.1015 to read as follows:
         Sec. 36.1015.  RULES FOR PERMITS IN BRACKISH GROUNDWATER
  PRODUCTION ZONES. (a)  In this section:
               (1)  "Designated brackish groundwater production zone" 
  means an aquifer, subdivision of an aquifer, or geologic stratum
  designated under Section 16.060(b)(5).
               (2)  "Development board" means the Texas Water
  Development Board.
               (3)  "Gulf Coast Aquifer" means the system of
  hydrogeologic units that run along the Gulf Coast from the Sabine
  River to the Rio Grande, including:
                     (A)  the Catahoula confining system, including
  the Frio Formation, the Anahuac Formation, and the Catahoula Tuff
  or Sandstone;
                     (B)  the Jasper Aquifer, including the Oakville
  Sandstone and Fleming Formation;
                     (C)  the Burkeville confining system separating
  the Jasper Aquifer from the Evangeline Aquifer;
                     (D)  the Evangeline Aquifer, including the Goliad
  Sand; and
                     (E)  the Chicot Aquifer, including the Willis
  Sand, the Bentley Formation, the Montgomery Formation, the Beaumont
  Clay, and alluvial deposits at the surface.
         (b)  The requirements of this section do not apply to a
  district that:
               (1)  overlies the Dockum Aquifer; and
               (2)  includes wholly or partly 10 or more counties.
         (c)  A district located over any part of a designated
  brackish groundwater production zone may adopt rules to govern the
  issuance of permits under this section for the completion and
  operation of a well for the withdrawal of brackish groundwater from
  a designated brackish groundwater production zone and shall adopt
  rules described by this subsection if the district receives a
  petition from a person with a legally defined interest in
  groundwater in the district. The district must adopt the rules not
  later than the 180th day after the date the district receives the
  petition. Rules adopted under this subsection apply only to a
  permit for a project described by Subsection (d).
         (d)  A person may obtain a permit under rules adopted under
  this section for projects including:
               (1)  a municipal project designed to treat brackish
  groundwater to drinking water standards for the purpose of
  providing a public source of drinking water; and
               (2)  an electric generation project to treat brackish
  groundwater to water quality standards sufficient for the project
  needs.
         (e)  The rules adopted under this section must:
               (1)  provide for processing an application for a
  brackish groundwater production zone operating permit in the same
  manner as an application for an operating permit for a fresh
  groundwater well, except as provided by this section;
               (2)  allow withdrawals and rates of withdrawal of
  brackish groundwater from a designated brackish groundwater
  production zone not to exceed and consistent with the withdrawal
  amounts identified in Section 16.060(e);
               (3)  provide for a minimum term of 30 years for a permit
  issued for a well that produces brackish groundwater from a
  designated brackish groundwater production zone;
               (4)  require implementation of a monitoring system
  recommended by the development board to monitor water levels and
  water quality in the same or an adjacent aquifer, subdivision of an
  aquifer, or geologic stratum in which the designated brackish
  groundwater production zone is located;
               (5)  for a project located in a designated brackish
  groundwater production zone in the Gulf Coast Aquifer, require
  reasonable monitoring by the district of land elevations to
  determine if production from the project is causing or is likely to
  cause subsidence during the permit term;
               (6)  require from the holder of a permit issued under
  rules adopted under this section annual reports that must include:
                     (A)  the amount of brackish groundwater
  withdrawn;
                     (B)  the average monthly water quality of the
  brackish groundwater withdrawn and in the monitoring wells; and
                     (C)  aquifer levels in both the designated
  brackish groundwater production zone and in any aquifer,
  subdivision of an aquifer, or geologic stratum for which the permit
  requires monitoring;
               (7)  provide greater access to brackish groundwater by
  simplifying procedure, avoiding delay in permitting, saving
  expense for the permit seeker, and providing flexibility to permit
  applicants and the district;
               (8)  be consistent with and not impair property rights
  described by Sections 36.002(a) and (b); and
               (9)  specify all additional information that must be
  included in an application.
         (f)  Additional information required under Subsection (e)(9)
  must be reasonably related to an issue the district is authorized to
  consider.
         (g)  An application for a brackish groundwater production
  zone operating permit must include:
               (1)  the proposed well field design compared to the
  designated brackish groundwater production zone;
               (2)  the requested maximum groundwater withdrawal rate
  for the proposed project;
               (3)  the number and location of monitoring wells needed
  to determine the effects of the proposed project on water levels and
  water quality in the same or an adjacent aquifer, subdivision of an
  aquifer, or geologic stratum in which the designated brackish
  groundwater production zone is located; and
               (4)  a report that includes:
                     (A)  a simulation of the projected effects of the
  proposed production on water levels and water quality in the same or
  an adjacent aquifer, subdivision of an aquifer, or geologic stratum
  in which the designated brackish groundwater production zone is
  located;
                     (B)  a description of the model used for the
  simulation described by Paragraph (A); and
                     (C)  sufficient information for a technical
  reviewer to understand the parameters and assumptions used in the
  model described by Paragraph (B).
         (h)  The district shall submit the application to the
  development board and the development board shall conduct a
  technical review of the application. The development board shall
  submit a report of the review of the application that includes:
               (1)  findings regarding the compatibility of the
  proposed well field design with the designated brackish groundwater
  production zone; and
               (2)  recommendations for the monitoring system
  described by Subsection (e)(4).
         (i)  The district may not schedule a hearing on the
  application until the district receives the report from the
  development board described by Subsection (h).
         (j)  The district shall provide the reports required under
  Subsection (e)(6) to the development board. Not later than the
  120th day after the date the development board receives a request
  from the district, the development board shall investigate and
  issue a report on whether brackish groundwater production under the
  project that is the subject of the report from the designated
  brackish groundwater production zone is projected to cause:
               (1)  significant aquifer level declines in the same or
  an adjacent aquifer, subdivision of an aquifer, or geologic stratum
  that were not anticipated by the development board in the
  designation of the zone;
               (2)  negative effects on quality of water in an
  aquifer, subdivision of an aquifer, or geologic stratum; or
               (3)  for a project located in a designated brackish
  groundwater production zone in the Gulf Coast Aquifer, subsidence
  during the permit term.
         (k)  After receiving from the development board a report
  issued under Subsection (j) and after notice and hearing subject to
  Subchapter M, the district may:
               (1)  amend the applicable permit to establish a
  production limit necessary to mitigate any negative effects
  identified by the report;
               (2)  approve a mitigation plan that alleviates any
  negative effects identified by the report; or
               (3)  both amend the permit to establish a production
  limit and approve a mitigation plan.
         (l)  Rules adopted under this section must provide that the
  production authorized from a designated brackish groundwater
  production zone is in addition to the amount of managed available
  groundwater provided under Section 36.108. To the extent possible,
  a district shall issue permits up to the point that the total volume
  of exempt and permitted groundwater production in a designated
  brackish groundwater production zone equals the amount of brackish
  groundwater that may be produced annually to achieve the
  groundwater availability described by the development board in its
  designation of the brackish groundwater production zone under
  Section 16.060(e).
         (m)  A district may not adopt rules limiting access to the
  production of groundwater within a designated brackish groundwater
  production zone to only those projects described by Subsection (d).
         (n)  The district may grant or deny an application to extend
  a term under this section only using rules that were in effect at
  the time the application was submitted.
         (o)  An application for a permit under this section is
  governed solely by district rules consistent with this section.
         SECTION 2.  The Texas Water Development Board is required to
  implement a provision of this Act only if the legislature
  appropriates money specifically for that purpose. If the
  legislature does not appropriate money specifically for that
  purpose, the board may, but is not required to, implement a
  provision of this Act using other appropriations available for that
  purpose.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 722 was passed by the House on April
  18, 2019, by the following vote:  Yeas 134, Nays 0, 1 present, not
  voting; that the House refused to concur in Senate amendments to
  H.B. No. 722 on May 24, 2019, and requested the appointment of a
  conference committee to consider the differences between the two
  houses; and that the House adopted the conference committee report
  on H.B. No. 722 on May 26, 2019, by the following vote:  Yeas 145,
  Nays 0, 1 present, not voting.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 722 was passed by the Senate, with
  amendments, on May 22, 2019, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays
  0; at the request of the House, the Senate appointed a conference
  committee to consider the differences between the two houses; and
  that the Senate adopted the conference committee report on H.B. No.
  722 on May 26, 2019, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate   
  APPROVED: __________________
                  Date       
   
           __________________
                Governor