By: Larson, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Perry)	H.B. No. 30
	(In the Senate - Received from the House May 11, 2015;
	May 14, 2015, read first time and referred to Committee on
	Agriculture, Water, and Rural Affairs; May 24, 2015, reported
	favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 24, 2015,
	sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the development of seawater and brackish groundwater.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  (a)  With this state facing an ongoing drought,
	continuing population growth, and the need to remain economically
	competitive, this state must secure and develop plentiful and
	cost-effective water supplies to meet the ever-increasing demand
	for water.
	(b)  Brackish groundwater is a potential new source of water
	for municipal, industrial, and other purposes. This state has an
	estimated 880 trillion gallons of brackish groundwater, much of
	which is untapped. For many years this water was considered largely
	useless for most purposes, but advances in technology and pressures
	on other supplies have revealed that brackish groundwater is in
	fact a vital resource. In addition to providing potentially vast
	new supplies, the development of brackish groundwater can reduce
	pressures on the use of fresh groundwater.
	(c)  Many in the oil and gas industry in this state have made
	significant strides to replace the use of fresh groundwater in
	their operations with brackish groundwater. This is a positive
	trend, and this Act is not intended to discourage the continued or
	expanded use of brackish groundwater for oil and gas development or
	to establish regulatory barriers or permitting requirements for the
	use of brackish groundwater for that purpose.
	(d)  The purpose of this Act is to provide meaningful
	incentives for the development of brackish groundwater in areas
	where that development would have a minimal impact on existing
	fresh groundwater use, while respecting private property rights in
	groundwater and continuing to encourage the use of brackish
	groundwater for purposes other than human consumption.
	SECTION 2.  Section 16.053(e), Water Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(e)  Each regional water planning group shall submit to the
	development board a regional water plan that:
	(1)  is consistent with the guidance principles for the
	state water plan adopted by the development board under Section
	16.051(d);
	(2)  provides information based on data provided or
	approved by the development board in a format consistent with the
	guidelines provided by the development board under Subsection (d);
	(2-a)  is consistent with the desired future conditions
	adopted under Section 36.108 for the relevant aquifers located in
	the regional water planning area as of the date the board most
	recently adopted a state water plan under Section 16.051 or, at the
	option of the regional water planning group, established subsequent
	to the adoption of the most recent plan;
	(3)  identifies:
	(A)  each source of water supply in the regional
	water planning area, including information supplied by the
	executive administrator on the amount of modeled available
	groundwater in accordance with the guidelines provided by the
	development board under Subsections (d) and (f);
	(B)  factors specific to each source of water
	supply to be considered in determining whether to initiate a
	drought response;
	(C)  actions to be taken as part of the response;
	and
	(D)  existing major water infrastructure
	facilities that may be used for interconnections in the event of an
	emergency shortage of water;
	(4)  has specific provisions for water management
	strategies to be used during a drought of record;
	(5)  includes but is not limited to consideration of
	the following:
	(A)  any existing water or drought planning
	efforts addressing all or a portion of the region;
	(B)  approved groundwater conservation district
	management plans and other plans submitted under Section 16.054;
	(C)  all potentially feasible water management
	strategies, including but not limited to improved conservation,
	reuse, and management of existing water supplies, conjunctive use,
	acquisition of available existing water supplies, and development
	of new water supplies;
	(D)  protection of existing water rights in the
	region;
	(E)  opportunities for and the benefits of
	developing regional water supply facilities or providing regional
	management of water supply facilities;
	(F)  appropriate provision for environmental
	water needs and for the effect of upstream development on the bays,
	estuaries, and arms of the Gulf of Mexico and the effect of plans on
	navigation;
	(G)  provisions in Section 11.085(k)(1) if
	interbasin transfers are contemplated;
	(H)  voluntary transfer of water within the region
	using, but not limited to, regional water banks, sales, leases,
	options, subordination agreements, and financing agreements; [and]
	(I)  emergency transfer of water under Section
	11.139, including information on the part of each permit, certified
	filing, or certificate of adjudication for nonmunicipal use in the
	region that may be transferred without causing unreasonable damage
	to the property of the nonmunicipal water rights holder; and
	(J)  opportunities for and the benefits of
	developing large-scale desalination facilities for seawater or
	brackish groundwater that serve local or regional brackish
	groundwater production zones identified and designated under
	Section 16.060(b)(5);
	(6)  identifies river and stream segments of unique
	ecological value and sites of unique value for the construction of
	reservoirs that the regional water planning group recommends for
	protection under Section 16.051;
	(7)  assesses the impact of the plan on unique river and
	stream segments identified in Subdivision (6) if the regional water
	planning group or the legislature determines that a site of unique
	ecological value exists;
	(8)  describes the impact of proposed water projects on
	water quality; and
	(9)  includes information on:
	(A)  projected water use and conservation in the
	regional water planning area; and
	(B)  the implementation of state and regional
	water plan projects, including water conservation strategies,
	necessary to meet the state's projected water demands.
	SECTION 3.  Section 16.060, Water Code, is amended by
	amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsections (d) and (e)
	to read as follows:
	(a)  The board shall undertake or participate in research,
	feasibility and facility planning studies, investigations, and
	surveys as it considers necessary to further the development of
	cost-effective water supplies from seawater or brackish
	groundwater desalination in the state.
	(b)  The board shall prepare a biennial progress report on
	the implementation of seawater or brackish groundwater
	desalination activities in the state and shall submit it to the
	governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of
	representatives not later than December 1 of each even-numbered
	year. The report shall include:
	(1)  results of the board's studies and activities
	relative to seawater or brackish groundwater desalination during
	the preceding biennium;
	(2)  identification and evaluation of research,
	regulatory, technical, and financial impediments to the
	implementation of seawater or brackish groundwater desalination
	projects;
	(3)  evaluation of the role the state should play in
	furthering the development of large-scale seawater or brackish
	groundwater desalination projects in the state; [and]
	(4)  the anticipated appropriation from general
	revenues necessary to continue investigating water desalination
	activities in the state during the next biennium; and
	(5)  identification and designation of local or
	regional brackish groundwater production zones in areas of the
	state with moderate to high availability and productivity of
	brackish groundwater that can be used to reduce the use of fresh
	groundwater and that:
	(A)  are separated by hydrogeologic barriers
	sufficient to prevent significant impacts to water availability or
	water quality in any area of the same or other aquifers,
	subdivisions of aquifers, or geologic strata that have an average
	total dissolved solids level of 1,000 milligrams per liter or less
	at the time of designation of the zones; and
	(B)  are not located in:
	(i)  an area of the Edwards Aquifer subject
	to the jurisdiction of the Edwards Aquifer Authority;
	(ii)  the boundaries of the:
	(a)  Barton Springs-Edwards Aquifer
	Conservation District;
	(b)  Harris-Galveston Subsidence
	District; or
	(c)  Fort Bend Subsidence District;
	(iii)  an aquifer, subdivision of an
	aquifer, or geologic stratum that:
	(a)  has an average total dissolved
	solids level of more than 1,000 milligrams per liter; and
	(b)  is serving as a significant source
	of water supply for municipal, domestic, or agricultural purposes
	at the time of designation of the zones; or
	(iv)  an area of a geologic stratum that is
	designated or used for wastewater injection through the use of
	injection wells or disposal wells permitted under Chapter 27.
	(d)  The board shall work together with groundwater
	conservation districts and stakeholders and shall consider the
	Brackish Groundwater Manual for Texas Regional Water Planning
	Groups, and any updates to the manual, and other relevant
	scientific data or findings when identifying and designating
	brackish groundwater production zones under Subsection (b)(5).
	(e)  In designating a brackish groundwater production zone
	under this section, the board shall:
	(1)  determine the amount of brackish groundwater that
	the zone is capable of producing over a 30-year period and a 50-year
	period without causing a significant impact to water availability
	or water quality as described by Subsection (b)(5)(A); and
	(2)  include in the designation description:
	(A)  the amounts of brackish groundwater that the
	zone is capable of producing during the periods described by
	Subdivision (1); and
	(B)  recommendations regarding reasonable
	monitoring to observe the effects of brackish groundwater
	production within the zone.
	SECTION 4.  (a)  The Texas Water Development Board shall
	include in the biennial progress report required by Section 16.060,
	Water Code, that is due not later than December 1, 2016, an
	identification and designation of brackish groundwater production
	zones as required by that section as amended by this Act for the
	following:
	(1) the portion of the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer located
	between the Colorado and Rio Grande Rivers;
	(2)  the Gulf Coast Aquifer and sediments bordering
	that aquifer;
	(3)  the Blaine Aquifer; and
	(4)  the Rustler Aquifer.
	(b)  Not later than December 1, 2022, the Texas Water
	Development Board shall identify and designate brackish
	groundwater production zones for areas of this state not described
	by Subsection (a) of this section.
	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, 2015.
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