lege+water: mid-April 2021 Update

Every month during the 87th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature, Dr. Todd Votteler and Dr. Robert Mace provide an update on water-related legislation. The key water committees are Water, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs in the Senate, chaired by Senator Charles Perry (R) of Lubbock, and Natural Resources in the House of Representatives, chaired by Representative Tracy King (D) of Uvalde. Senate Water, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs continues to meet weekly on Monday mornings at 8am, while House Natural Resources continues to meet the following day on Tuesday at 8am.

Since our last installment, work on the long list of water-related bills has leapt forward and key water bills are emerging from the pack. Below is a list of some of these bills, in which we include their status and provide more details regarding their potential impact:

HB 2225 (T. King/Guillen)

Relating to the powers and duties of the Parks and Wildlife Department regarding the Texas Water Trust. The Texas Water Trust is a repository for surface water rights to maintain in-stream flows and freshwater inflows to bays and estuaries. HB 2225 directs the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) to encourage and facilitate the dedication of water rights to the Trust through lease, donation, purchase, or other voluntary means and authorizes TPWD to manage the rights put into the Trust so as to maximize benefits for the environment. This bill has been passed by the House and has been received by the Senate.

HB 2716 (T. King)

Relating to recommendations made by the Parks and Wildlife Department and intervention by the Parks and Wildlife Department in matters regarding certain permits. HB 2716 would restore TPWD’s authority to participate in contested case hearings on environmental permit applications, including surface water rights, to advocate on behalf of the state’s fish and wildlife resources. This bill has received a hearing in House Natural Resources Committee, which is chaired by the bill’s author. The bill was left pending in the committee.

HB 4146 (T. King)

Relating to a restriction on permits authorizing direct discharges of waste or pollutants into water in certain stream segments or assessment units. This bill prohibits wastewater discharge into stream segments that include, but are not limited to, the Llano, Pedernales, Comal, Guadalupe, Medina, Nueces, and San Marcos Rivers, as well as Barton Creek and Onion Creek. This bill has received a hearing in the House Committee on Environmental Regulation. The bill was left pending in the committee.

SB 152 (Perry/Creighton)

Relating to the regulation of groundwater conservation districts (legal fees, petitioning for rule-making, etc.). This is bill alters the Texas Water Code regarding groundwater conservation districts in a number of respects including as one of its most controversial elements the elimination of the right of groundwater conservation districts to recover attorney’s fees and other costs for litigation in which a district is sued and prevails in court, which would likely impede efforts by districts to regulate groundwater.This bill has already been passed by the Senate and referred to House Natural Resources Committee, where it was introduced and left pending.

SB 600 (Perry/Zaffirini)

Relating to an inventory of dams controlled by river authorities. Requires each river authority to provide to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality information regarding the operation and maintenance of dams under the control of that river authority for a publicly available database. The information that would be required for each dam, includes:

(1) the location of the dam;
(2) under whose jurisdiction the dam operates;
(3) a required maintenance schedule for the dam;
(4) costs of the operation and maintenance of the dam; and
(5) the method of finance for the operation and maintenance costs of the dam.

This bill has been passed by the Senate and has been received by the House.

SB 601 (Perry/Creighton/Springer)

Relating to the creation and activities of the Texas Produced Water Consortium. This bill would create a consortium to study the use of produced water from oil and gas hydraulic fracturing (fracking) for future use. Produced water is defined as the water that exists in subsurface formations, which is brought to the surface during oil and gas production. Water is generated from conventional oil and gas production, as well as the production of unconventional sources such as coal bed methane, tight sands, and gas shale. This bill has already been passed by the Senate and referred to House Natural Resources Water, where it was introduced and left pending in the committee.

Water Bill Tracker

Note: There is no guarantee of accuracy on this sheet. Confirm status of any bill of interest at Texas Legislature Online.

Legend: