A.
Complete records
shall be kept, and reports thereof made to the District, concerning the
drilling, equipping and completion of all wells drilled or reworked.
Such records shall include an accurate Driller's log, any electric log
that has been made and such additional data concerning the description
and completion of the well, its pumping capacity. and its equipment as
may be required by the Board. Such records shall be filed with the
District, on forms furnished by this District, within thirty (30) days
after completion of the well. The requirements of this rule are in
addition to any other applicable state or local law or regulation.
B.
No person shall
produce water from any well hereafter drilled and equipped within the
District, except that necessary for the testing and equipping of such
well and equipment, unless or until the District has been furnished the
information required by the Board on the form furnished by the District.
C.
On or before January
31st of each year, all well owners shall file a report with the District
regarding the amount of water produced during the prior calendar year.
A.
Pursuant to Chapters
32 and 33, Texas Water Code, unless otherwise authorized by law. no
person shall drill, complete, equip or rework any well or borehole
without having a current Texas Water Well Driller’s license and/or Texas
Pump Installer’s license.
B.
Any person who
drills, completes, equips or reworks a well or borehole shall comply
with the Rules and Regulations of the District, and any state or federal
agencies or political subdivisions having jurisdiction, including but
not limited to the Texas Water Well Driller’s Board, the Texas Railroad
Commission, and the Commission on Environmental Quality, all of which
are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
To reduce drawdown of the water table
and/or the reduction in artesian pressure, to control subsidence, and to
prevent waste, the District may from time-to-time establish by Rule well
spacing and/or production limits. Wells drilled after December 31,
2003, shall either perform a hydrologic study approved by the District
designed to demonstrate the impact of the permitted well on wells
located within a one-half mile radius, or comply with the District’s
spacing requirements. As of the effective date of these Rules, the
following spacing and production requirements are established; provided,
however, that such limitations may be modified based upon credible
scientific evidence by amendment of these Rules and that all permits
issued by the District shall be subject to ratable reductions and/or
increases in production authorizations based upon the same:
A.
All wells will be
classified according to actual pumping capacity in gallons per minute (GPM)
under normal operating conditions. Pump column size, bowl size or casing
size is not considered. Wells will be subject to the following
classification provisions.
|
Actual pumping Capacity Of Proposed
Well (GPM) |
Classification of Proposed Well |
Minimum Distance from Newest Existing
Well on Authorized Well Site |
|
Less than 25 GPM |
Domestic |
None |
|
25 –100 GPM |
A |
600 Feet |
|
101 – 250 GPM |
B |
1,500 Feet |
|
251 – 500 GPM |
C |
3,000 Feet |
|
501 - 1000 GPM |
D |
6,000 Feet |
|
1001 GPM and over |
E |
12,000 Feet |
B.
It shall be
considered to be a fraud upon both the District and the adjacent
landowners, and or owners of water rights, for any person to willfully
give erroneous information on a well permit application. If any
applicant willfully produces a well at a higher rate than authorized in
a Permit, such action may be enjoined by the Board.
C.
The District’s Rules
related to spacing and production do not apply to any Exempt Well or
Existing Wells.
D.
Water wells drilled
after December 31, 2003, to supply water for hydrocarbon production must
meet the spacing requirements of the District in effect from
time-to-time unless no space is available within 300 feet of the
production well or the central injection station.
E.
From time to time the
District may amend these Rules to adopt and implement other well spacing
requirements based upon credible scientific evidence to prevent waste or
pollution, or to protect the affected aquifer(s).
A.
The District may
restrict production from any well(s) within the District that is
depleting the groundwater at a rate greater than an amount determined by
the Board based upon credible scientific information to be an allowable
decline in any given aquifer(s) subject to the District’s jurisdiction.
B.
The Board shall
determine if there has been a decline in groundwater levels based on
information gathered by the District, the Texas Water Development Board,
the TCEQ, the Railroad Commission, other state or local agencies or
political subdivisions, and by groundwater levels in the District
gathered by District personnel and authorized representatives.
C.
Annually the Board
shall review the credible scientific data, and related information,
available to it on groundwater levels within the District. If the Board
determines that an area(s) exceeded the allowable decline rate for the
District, the Board may delineate as a proposed study area(s) any
portion of the District that the Board deems in danger of
overproduction.
D.
If the Board
determines that based upon the available credible scientific evidence an
area(s) has an unacceptable rate of decline, it shall notify permit
holders of record in the affected area(s) in writing.
E.
The Board shall hold
a public hearing to receive comment concerning the intent of the Board
to limit production in the affected area(s). After the public hearing
the Board shall take action within thirty (30) days, if necessary, to
adopt Rules limiting production in the designated area or areas.
F.
The Board shall
continue to collect and review credible scientific data, and related
information, or more, each succeeding year after the Board has
delineated such area(s), and shall take one of the following actions:
1.
Proposed to continue
to monitor the area(s).
2.
Determine that the
area(s) should not be under Rules and that any ongoing monitoring shall
be terminated.
3.
Propose an expansion
of the area(s) under Rules to include an additional area or areas
adjacent to the original area(s), in which case the Board is required to
follow the provisions of Section E.
4.
Amend the Rules to
incorporate the new data.
5.
Take other action
determined to be appropriate by the Board.
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