SB 332 and The Question: Who controls the Groundwater Conservation Districts?

I believe that the groundwater districts’ purpose has become more of preserving their power instead of preserving the aquifers and being locally controlled

Saturday May 14 is Election Day for two seats on the HTGCD, Districts 2 & 4. Please vote if you reside in either district. You must be a registered voter and reside inside the district. Use the map for a quick reference, click on it to enlarge. Many, many voters opted out or were uninformed about last May's election that added three new board members to the HTGCD Board. For more info and details, call the District's office at 512.858.9253 or email manager2@haysgroundwater.com.

Note: Our friend Curtis forwarded this thought piece on Senate Bill 332, already published in about 20 newspapers, he says. Thought by some as "landmark" legislation, SB 332 seeks to codify a landowners right to ownership of the groundwater beneath his/her land. It has passed the Senate, passed the House Natural Resources Committee 9-0 on May 3 and is now pending in House Calendars (bill history and text). The bill has generated considerable debate. No surprise, seeing as how water, water ownership and water management in Texas is still the biggest dang issue around and will be for the next generation of Texans – that is, as long as the water lasts.

An equally important question to be asking is: "What do we do with a diminishing water supply in the face of unprecedented growth in population?" Groundwater districts are assigned by state law to deal with that question. The mission that has been handed to them is to manage the local groundwater resource, with an eye toward conservation, preservation and prevention of waste. Who could have a problem with that?

"Local control" is as good as the Directors who serve on the boards of the groundwater districts. Board elections is where the rubber meets the road. The last day for early voting for two seats on the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District is Tuesday May 10, 8am - 4pm. Election Day is Saturday May 14. Check for voting locations and the candidates' bios on the left hand column of the HTGCD website. This is your opportunity to have a say in the management of your groundwater in western Hays County.

By Curtis Chubb, Ph.D.
Landowner Milam County, Texas

Guest Commentary

The current debate in the State Legislature concerning who owns the groundwater has had an unintended consequence. The debate has spotlighted the question of who controls groundwater conservation districts.

Recently, I attended the hearing on Senator Troy Fraser’s bill (Senate Bill 332) which simply states that landowners own the groundwater beneath their land: a conclusion that Texas courts and attorney generals have reached repeatedly over the last 107 years. Senator Fraser wants to codify that property right.

Who constitutes the primary group fighting against the passage of Senate Bill 332? It is the groundwater districts and their pseudo-union named the Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts (TAGD). Although TAGD’s Web site states that it is “organized exclusively for charitable, educational, and scientific purposes…” they submit legal briefs defending the member groundwater districts at the drop of a hat.

The reason, however, the groundwater districts find themselves in an unwanted spotlight is that they tout themselves as being “locally controlled.” In this singularly important debate about groundwater ownership, the groundwater districts are taking their marching orders from someone else besides the landowners who constitute “local control.”

Texas GCDs/TWDB
Click on map to enlarge

Every landowner, with whom I have talked, strangers and friends, has stated they own the groundwater beneath their land. So, why have only eight of the 96 Texas groundwater districts adopted resolutions affirming groundwater ownership by landowners? And why are the groundwater districts lobbying against Senator Fraser’s bill?

I believe that the groundwater districts’ purpose has become more of preserving their power instead of preserving the aquifers and being locally controlled.

The most striking moment of the Senate hearing was when the cowboy who manages the 275,000-acre 6666 Ranch stated the obvious: “If the landowner doesn’t own the groundwater, who does?”

My follow-up question is: If the groundwater districts are fighting against the groundwater rights of landowners, who is controlling the groundwater districts?

If the groundwater districts’ board of directors and general managers do not want to respect and stand up for the property rights of landowners, they should either resign or be removed.

UPDATE: The Texas Senate by a vote of 28-3 approved Senate Bill 332 on March 30. The Texas House Committee on Natural Resources unanimously approved a modified SB 332 on May 3 that states “The legislature recognizes that a landowner owns the groundwater below the surface as real property.”

SB 332 is hallmark legislation.