Texas Administrative Code
Title 30 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Part 1 - TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Chapter 294 - PRIORITY GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT AREAS
Subchapter E - DESIGNATION OF PRIORITY GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT AREAS
Section 294.41 - Priority Groundwater Management Area Identification, Study, and Executive Director's Report Concerning Designation

Universal Citation: 30 TX Admin Code § 294.41

Current through Reg. 50, No. 13; March 28, 2025

(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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