groundwater permit clock stops while a lawsuit plays out

The text as introduced · 326 words

89R15582 SCR-F

By: Bell of Montgomery
H.B. No. 4138

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the expiration date of certain permits issued by

groundwater conservation districts.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 36, Water Code, is amended

by adding Section 36.1141 to read as follows:

Sec. 36.1141. EXPIRATION OF PERMITS SUBJECT TO LITIGATION.

(a) A district shall delay the expiration date of a drilling,

operating, or transfer permit, and the expiration of any associated

permits issued to the permit holder by the district, if the

expiration date occurs while the drilling, operating, or transfer

permit holder is a party to litigation concerning the issuance or

validity of the permit.

(b) The district shall delay the expiration date until:

(1) if the litigation ultimately results in the permit

being held to be valid, the two-year anniversary of the date on

which a final, nonappealable judgment in the litigation concerning

the permit is issued; or

(2) if the litigation ultimately results in the permit

being held invalid, the date on which a final, nonappealable

judgment in the litigation concerning the permit is issued.

(c) This section does not apply to litigation initiated by

the permit holder.

(d) This section does not apply to a permit holder who:

(1) is delinquent in paying a fee required by the

district;

(2) is subject to a pending enforcement action for a

substantive violation of a district permit, order, or rule that has

not been settled by agreement with the district or a final

adjudication; or

(3) has not paid a civil penalty or has otherwise

failed to comply with an order resulting from a final adjudication

of a violation of a district permit, order, or rule.

SECTION 2. Section 36.1141, Water Code, as added by this

Act, applies only to a permit issued on or after January 1, 2022.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.