Below is the HillCo client report from the Texas Groundwater Protection Committee's April 23 meeting.
The committee held their third quarter meeting to discuss issues surrounding groundwater in the state.
Business Agenda
- The committee approved the addition of a FAQ to the TGPC website
- What are the different terms used to describe abandoned and deteriorated water wells?
- It has become necessary to add this as a FAQ because of the questions that have been submitted regarding abandoned, deteriorated, capped and plugged wells
- The committee approved two rule changes for publication in the Texas Register
- Amended 31 TAC 601.2 to clarify three agency names: Texas Department of Health Services; Texas A&M AgriLife Research; Waterwell Drillers and Pump Installers
- Approved nonsubstantive changes through the quadrennial rule review
- The committee approved a motion to begin restructuring subcommittees
- An “action team” group will be created to study recommendation reports and other documents published by the committee
- The Agricultural Chemicals subcommittee will be broadened to include all groundwater contaminants; the Nonpoint Source Task Force and the Data Management subcommittee will be incorporated as sub-groups of the new committee
- Subcommittee charges will also have to be changed to incorporate their new purviews
- Report to the 84th legislature
- Do not anticipate a great deal of difference between the report to the 83rd and the report to the 84th
- The committee will be calling a meeting of the Legislative Report subcommittee in the next month or two; it will likely be June 2
- Texas Groundwater Protection Strategy
- Want to focus on key issues as well as successes and failures from previous strategies
- Will have a meeting on the same day as the Legislative Report subcommittee to discuss the structuring and content of the strategy
- Current groundwater issues
- There has been a lot of interest in studying groundwater used in fracking; need to maintain a focus on how much groundwater is used for irrigation; irrigation uses a significantly higher amount
Information Exchange
- Regional water planning groups within the Texas Water Development Board are currently prioritizing projects within their water plans; drafts are due June 1 and the final plans are due September 1
- The national water quality assessment just completed sampling from aquifers around the gulf coats and will be sampling the Rio Grande alluvium next