Tex.
Water Code Section 36.0151
Creation of District for Priority Groundwater Management Area
(a)
If the commission is required to create a district under Section 35.012 (Creation of District in Priority Groundwater Management Area)(b), it shall, without an evidentiary hearing, issue an order creating the district and shall provide in its order that temporary directors be appointed under Section 36.0161 (Method for Appointing Temporary Directors for District in Priority Groundwater Management Area) and that an election be called by the temporary directors to authorize the district to assess taxes and to elect permanent directors.(b)
The commission shall notify the county commissioners court of each county with territory in the district of the district’s creation as soon as practicable after issuing the order creating the district.(c)
The commission may amend the territory in an order issued under Section 35.008 (Procedures for Designation of Priority Groundwater Management Area; Consideration of Creation of New District or Addition of Land in Priority Groundwater Management Area to Existing District; Commission Order) or this section to adjust for areas that, in the time between when the order was issued under Section 35.008 (Procedures for Designation of Priority Groundwater Management Area; Consideration of Creation of New District or Addition of Land in Priority Groundwater Management Area to Existing District; Commission Order) and the order is issued under this section, have:(1)
been added to an existing district or created as a separate district; or(2)
not been added to an existing district or created as a separate district.(d)
In making a modification under Subsection (c), the commission may recommend:(1)
creation of a new district in the area; or(2)
that the area be added to a different district.(e)
Except as provided by Section 35.013 (Adding Priority Groundwater Management Area to Existing District)(h), a change in the order under Subsection (c) does not affect a deadline under Section 35.012 (Creation of District in Priority Groundwater Management Area) or 35.013 (Adding Priority Groundwater Management Area to Existing District).(f)
Before September 1, 2021, the commission may not create a groundwater conservation district under this section in a county:(1)
in which the annual amount of surface water used is more than 50 times the annual amount of groundwater produced;(2)
that is located in a priority groundwater management area; and(3)
that has a population greater than 2.3 million.(g)
To the extent of a conflict between Subsection (f) and Section 35.012 (Creation of District in Priority Groundwater Management Area), Subsection (f) prevails.(h)
The commission may charge an annual fee not to exceed $500 to a county described by Subsection (f) for the purpose of studying compliance with that subsection in that county and the overall groundwater consumption in that county.
Source:
Section 36.0151 — Creation of District for Priority Groundwater Management Area, https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/WA/htm/WA.36.htm#36.0151 (accessed Jun. 5, 2024).
