Texas 86th Legislative Session To Include Renewed Efforts To Strengthen Groundwater Protections

Staff Reports

On January 24, 2019, Representative Erin Zwiener, D-Driftwood, filed House Bill 1304 to strength the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District and protect groundwater in Hays County. 

The job of the HTGCD is to protect the groundwater that Hays County residents own beneath their property and all the groundwater resources, like Jacob’s Well, that play a vital role in Hays County’s economy. 

As a local groundwater conservation district with an elected board, HTGCD provides landowners in Hays County with representation and a voice.

According to TESPA, however, since its inception, HTGCD has lacked a consistent and stable source of funding to effectively do its job – to protect residents’ privately-owned groundwater.

The bill, which is listed a companion to Senator Donna Campbell’s Senate Bill 483, relates to the permits for certain injection wells that transect a portion of the Edwards Aquifer.

HB 1304 will allow HTGCD to collect production fees from non-exempt use wells to provide a source of funding.

HB 1304 also authorizes HTGCD to adopt stronger water quality standards for well construction similar to the standards set by other Trinity Aquifer groundwater conservation districts, ensuring that groundwater quality in Hays County is protected. 

Here is all the legislation related to groundwater that has already been introduced this session. 

HB 726 by Chairman Larson makes several changes to Chapter 36 of the Water Code.  In an effort to ease the transfer of groundwater across the state, the bill eliminates export permits and requires GCDs to treat export permits just like production permits.  

It also limits a GCD’s ability to adopt moratoriums on the issuance of permits and requires that GCD rules in place at the time a permit are granted must apply to that permit even after the GCD amends its rules.

One especially positive aspect of the bill is that it requires GCDs to consider impacts to registered, exempt wells when issuing production permits, something that currently GCDs are not obligated to do. 

HB 720 by Chairman Larson eases the ability of surface water right holders to use existing or new water rights for aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) projects.

HB 721 by Chairman Larson requires the TWDB to conduct additional studies related to the suitability of certain aquifers for ASR.

HB 722 by Chairman Larson sets up a permitting framework of brackish groundwater permits.

HB 1044 by Representative Zwiener would allow the City of Buda to store non Edwards water (Trinity water or surface water) in an ASR facility. This could help reduce Buda’s reliance on groundwater by allowing them to store surface water underground during period of high flows.  You can read more about the bill here.

HB 817 by Representative King prohibits discharges of wastewater effluent into the contributing zone over the Edwards Aquifer within the Nueces River basin.