TGWA is monitoring groundwater regulation bills that have been filed in the Texas Special Legislative Session. Your feedback will help TGWA determine how to proceed as we advocate for our members at the state level. 

HB215

HB215 would amend Chapter 36 as follows: "This subsection applies only to a landowner, including a lessee, heir, or assign of a landowner, who withdraws groundwater from a well capable of producing 25,000 gallons or more of groundwater a day. A landowner, including a lessee, heir, or assign of a landowner, who withdraws groundwater from the land and uses it for a beneficial purpose is not liable for interference with the use of water by another unless the withdrawal of groundwater: (1) causes harm to an owner of neighboring land by lowering the water table or reducing artesian pressure; or (2) has a direct and substantial effect on a watercourse or lake and unreasonably causes harm to a person entitled to the use of water from the watercourse or lake."

HB216

HB216 relates to the consideration by a groundwater conservation district of modeled available groundwater when issuing permits. Changes include: "A district may not issue a permit to an applicant for the production and transfer out of the district of groundwater if the issuance of the permit would authorize the applicant to produce and transfer out of the district a total amount of groundwater, considering all permits issued by the district to the applicant,in an amount that would exceed five percent of the total modeled available groundwater apportioned to the district as determined by the executive administrator."

HB217

HB217 relates to the liability of a groundwater conservation district for actions of the district restricting groundwater production from a well. The bill includes the following language: "A district is not liable for damages resulting from an action of the district restricting the production of water from a well,including the enforcement of this chapter, the adoption or enforcement of a district rule, or the issuance, renewal, amendment, denial,or enforcement of a permit."

HB218

HB218 relates to the transfer of groundwater outside a groundwater conservation district’s boundaries. The law would be amended by adding: "If an application for a permit or an amendment to a permit under Section 36.113 proposes the transfer of groundwater outside of a district’s boundaries produced from a well capableof producing 25,000 gallons or more of groundwater a day,the district shall notify each other district located in that district’s management area and may not issue the permit unless at least two-thirds of all the districts located in the district’s management area approve the permit by a majority vote of each district’s board. The board of each district shall consider the potential impact of the permit on the achievement of the desired future conditions adopted under Section36.108 for the management area in determining whether to approve or deny the permit."