(a) The executive director shall confer periodically
with the executive administrator according to Texas Water Code (TWC), §35.007
to identify areas of the state that may be experiencing or expected
to experience critical groundwater problems within the immediately
following 50-year period.
(b) If the executive director concludes that an area
of the state should be evaluated to determine if it justifies designation
as a priority groundwater management area (PGMA), the executive director
shall prepare a report and recommendations for consideration by the
commission.
(c) The executive director shall provide written notice
to groups identified under paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection
that an area is to be evaluated to determine if it warrants designation
as a PGMA according to TWC, §35.007(c). This notice will provide
the opportunity for water stakeholders and others identified in paragraph
(2) of this subsection to comment or provide studies or other information
for use in the executive director's evaluation.
(1) The notice shall be provided to water stakeholders
who are the governing body of each county, regional water planning
group, adjacent groundwater conservation district (GCD), municipality,
river authority, water district, or other entity that supplies public
drinking water, including each holder of a certificate of convenience
and necessity issued by the commission, and each irrigation district,
located either in whole or in part in the proposed PGMA study area.
(2) The notice shall also be provided to the Texas
Department of Agriculture (TDA), the Texas AgriLife Extension Service,
and to the legislators whose districts are included in the proposed
PGMA study area.
(3) Not later than the 45th day after the date of the
notice, a person who receives notice under paragraph (1) of this subsection
may submit to the executive director any existing information, local
water supply or quality studies, or site-specific geological information
that addresses the shortages of surface water or groundwater, land
subsidence resulting from groundwater withdrawal, or contamination
of groundwater supplies.
(4) The executive director shall consider this information
in preparing the report and recommendations for the commission.
(d) The executive director shall begin preparation
of a PGMA report by requesting a study from the executive administrator.
The study must:
(1) include an appraisal of the hydrogeology of the
area and other matters within the TWDB's planning expertise relevant
to the area;
(2) assess the area's immediate, short-term, and long-term
water supply needs and availability; and
(3) be completed and delivered to the executive director
within 180 days following the date of the request. If the study is
not delivered within this 180-day period, the executive director may
proceed with the preparation of the report under this section.
(e) The executive director shall request a study from
the executive director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
(TPWD) for the purpose of preparing the report required by this section.
The study must:
(1) evaluate the potential effects of the designation
of a PGMA on an area's natural resources; and
(2) be completed and delivered to the executive director
within 180 days following the date of the request. If the study is
not delivered within this 180-day period, the executive director may
proceed with the preparation of the report under this section.
(f) The executive director shall provide opportunity
for TDA to submit information related to the PGMA study as identified
in the notice provided under subsection (c) of this section. Information
shall be submitted to the executive director within 180 days following
the date of the notice.
(g) The executive director must complete the report
and file it with the chief clerk within 240 days following the date
on which the executive administrator was requested to produce a study.
(1) The executive director's report shall include:
(A) the recommended delineation of the boundaries of
any proposed PGMA in the form of a proposed order to be considered
for adoption by the commission;
(B) the reasons and supporting information for or against
designating the area as a PGMA or adding the designated area to an
existing PGMA;
(C) a recommendation of actions to be considered to
conserve natural resources;
(D) an evaluation of information or studies submitted
to the executive director under this section;
(E) if the designation of a PGMA is recommended, a
recommendation regarding whether one or more GCDs should be created
in the PGMA, whether the PGMA should be added to an existing GCD,
or whether a combination of these actions should be taken;
(F) a recommendation regarding the area and boundaries
for any GCD recommended under this subsection;
(G) an evaluation of the estimated revenue available
to finance groundwater management planning, regulatory, and district-operation
functions under TWC, Chapter 36, for any GCD recommended under this
subsection; and
(H) any other information that the executive director
considers helpful to the commission.
(2) To prepare the report, the executive director may
conduct necessary studies, hold public meetings, solicit and collect
information, or use information prepared by the executive director,
the executive director of the TPWD, the TDA, or the executive administrator
of the TWDB for other purposes.
(h) Concurrent with filing the report with the chief
clerk, the executive director shall make the report available for
public inspection on the agency website and provide a copy of the
report to at least one public library and the county clerk's office
in each county in which the proposed PGMA is located, and to all GCDs
adjacent to the proposed PGMA.
(i) Within 30 days of filing the report with the chief
clerk, the executive director may publish notice in the Texas Register that this report has been
prepared, present a summary of its findings and recommendations, and
indicate where copies of the report may be obtained or inspected.
If the executive director decides to publish notice, this notice shall
also be mailed to the same persons who received notice of the initiation
of the PGMA study under subsection (c) of this section.
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Source Note: The provisions of this §294.41 adopted to be effective February 21, 1999, 24 TexReg 965; amended to be effective August 29, 2002, 27 TexReg 7954; amended to be effective August 16, 2012, 37 TexReg 6068 |