85R11342 SLB-D By: Workman H.B. No. 3037 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT relating to the definition of groundwater management areas to coincide with major and minor aquifers and the joint planning process in those areas. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Section 35.004(a), Water Code, is amended to read as follows: (a) The Texas Water Development Board, with assistance and cooperation from the commission, shall designate groundwater management areas so that each major aquifer and each minor aquifer in this state is assigned to a groundwater management area designated solely for that aquifer [covering all major and minor aquifers in the state. The initial designation of groundwater management areas shall be completed not later than September 1, 2003. Each groundwater management area shall be designated with the objective of providing the most suitable area for the management of the groundwater resources. To the extent feasible, the groundwater management area shall coincide with the boundaries of a groundwater reservoir or a subdivision of a groundwater reservoir. The Texas Water Development Board also may consider other factors, including the boundaries of political subdivisions]. SECTION 2. Sections 36.108(c), (d), and (d-1), Water Code, are amended to read as follows: (c) The district representatives shall meet at least annually to conduct joint planning with the other districts in each [the] management area to which the district belongs and to review the management plans, the accomplishments of the management area, and proposals to adopt new or amend existing desired future conditions. In reviewing the management plans, the districts shall consider: (1) the goals of each management plan and its impact on planning throughout the management area; (2) the effectiveness of the measures established by each district's management plan for conserving and protecting groundwater and preventing waste, and the effectiveness of these measures in the management area generally; (3) any other matters that the boards consider relevant to the protection and conservation of groundwater and the prevention of waste in the management area; and (4) the degree to which each management plan achieves the desired future conditions established during the joint planning process. (d) Not later than August 1, 2020 [September 1, 2010], and every five years thereafter, the districts shall consider groundwater availability models and other data or information for the management area and shall propose for adoption desired future conditions for the aquifer [relevant aquifers] within the management area. Before voting on the proposed desired future conditions of the aquifer [aquifers] under Subsection (d-2), the districts shall consider: (1) aquifer uses or conditions within the management area, including conditions that differ substantially from one geographic area to another; (2) the water supply needs and water management strategies included in the state water plan; (3) hydrological conditions, including [for each aquifer in the management area] the total estimated recoverable storage for the aquifer as provided by the executive administrator, and the aquifer's average annual recharge, inflows, and discharge; (4) other environmental impacts, including impacts on spring flow and other interactions between groundwater and surface water; (5) the impact on subsidence; (6) socioeconomic impacts reasonably expected to occur; (7) the impact on the interests and rights in private property, including ownership and the rights of management area landowners and their lessees and assigns in groundwater as recognized under Section 36.002; (8) the feasibility of achieving the desired future condition; and (9) any other information relevant to the specific desired future conditions. (d-1) After considering and documenting the factors described by Subsection (d) and other relevant scientific and hydrogeological data, the districts may establish different desired future conditions for: (1) each [aquifer,] subdivision of an aquifer[,] or geologic strata located in whole or in part within the area overlying the aquifer [boundaries of the management area]; or (2) each geographic area overlying the [an] aquifer [in whole or in part or subdivision of an aquifer within the boundaries of the management area]. SECTION 3. Section 36.1085, Water Code, is amended to read as follows: Sec. 36.1085. MANAGEMENT PLAN GOALS AND OBJECTIVES. Each district in the management area shall ensure that its management plan contains goals and objectives consistent with achieving the desired future conditions for the aquifer [of the relevant aquifers] as adopted during the joint planning process. SECTION 4. Section 35.004(b), Water Code, is repealed. SECTION 5. Not later than May 1, 2018, the Texas Water Development Board shall designate groundwater management areas under Section 35.004, Water Code, as amended by this Act. SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.