85R10408 SLB-F     By: King of Uvalde H.B. No. 3031       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to the procedure for obtaining a right to use state water   if the applicant proposes an alternative source of water that is not   state water.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Sections 11.132(c) and (d), Water Code, are   amended to read as follows:          (c)  In the notice, the commission shall:                (1)  state the name and address of the applicant;                (2)  state the date the application was filed;                (3)  state the purpose and extent of the proposed   appropriation of water;                (4)  identify the source of supply and the place where   the water is to be stored or taken or diverted from the source of   supply;                (5)  identify any proposed alternative source of water,   other than state water, identified by the applicant;                (6)  specify the time and location where the commission   will consider the application; and                (7) [(6)]  give any additional information the   commission considers necessary.          (d)  The commission may act on the application without   holding a public hearing if:                (1)  not less than 30 days before the date of action on   the application by the commission, the applicant has published the   commission's notice of the application at least once in a newspaper   regularly published or circulated within the section of the state   where the source of water is located;                (2)  not less than 30 days before the date of action on   the application by the commission, the commission mails a copy of   the notice by first-class mail, postage prepaid, to:                      (A)  each claimant or appropriator of water from   the source of water supply, the record of whose claim or   appropriation has been filed with the commission; [and]                      (B)  each groundwater conservation district with   jurisdiction over the proposed groundwater production, if the   applicant proposes to use groundwater from a well located within a   groundwater conservation district as an alternative source of   water; and                      (C)  all navigation districts within the river   basin concerned; and                (3)  within 30 days after the date of the newspaper   publication of the commission's notice, a public hearing has not   been requested in writing by a commissioner, the executive   director, or an affected person who objects to the application.          SECTION 2.  Section 11.135(b), Water Code, is amended to   read as follows:          (b)  The permit shall be in writing and attested by the seal   of the commission, and it shall contain substantially the following   information:                (1)  the name of the person to whom the permit is   issued;                (2)  the date the permit is issued;                (3)  the date the original application was filed;                (4)  the use or purpose for which the appropriation is   to be made;                (5)  the amount or volume of water authorized to be   appropriated for each purpose; if use of the appropriated water is   authorized for multiple purposes, the permit shall contain a   special condition limiting the total amount of water that may   actually be diverted for all of the purposes to the amount of water   appropriated;                (6)  a general description of the source of supply from   which the appropriation is proposed to be made, including any   alternative source of water that is not state water;                (7)  the time within which construction or work must   begin and the time within which it must be completed; and                (8)  any other information the commission prescribes.          SECTION 3.  Sections 11.143(e) and (f), Water Code, are   amended to read as follows:          (e)  In the notice, the commission shall:                (1)  state the name and post-office address of the   applicant;                (2)  state the date the application was filed;                (3)  state the purpose and extent of the proposed   appropriation of water;                (4)  identify the source of supply, including any   proposed alternative source of water, other than state water,   identified by the applicant, and the place where the water is   stored; and                (5)  specify the time and place of the hearing.          (f)  The notice shall be published only once, at least 20   days before the date stated in the notice for the hearing on the   application, in a newspaper having general circulation in the   county where the dam or reservoir is located. At least 15 days   before the date set for the hearing, the commission shall transmit a   copy of the notice by first-class mail to each person whose claim or   appropriation has been filed with the commission and whose   diversion point is downstream from that described in the   application.  If the notice identifies groundwater from a well   located in a groundwater conservation district as a proposed   alternative source of water, the notice shall be:                (1)  sent to the groundwater conservation district in   which the well is located; and                (2)  published, at least 20 days before the date stated   in the notice for the hearing, in a newspaper having general   circulation in each county in which the groundwater district is   located.          SECTION 4.  The changes in law made by this Act apply only to   an application for a new or amended water right received by the   Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on or after the effective   date of this Act. An application received before the effective date   of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the   application was received, and the former law is continued in effect   for that purpose.          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, 2017.