Sec. 8870.103. PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY WELLS; CERTAIN WELLS EXEMPT FROM REGULATION. (a) A public water supply well is exempt from regulation by the district if:

(1) the well existed on September 1, 2001, and was drilled in compliance with technical requirements in effect at the time the well was drilled; or

(2) the commission approved plans submitted for the installation of the well before September 1, 2001, and the installation of the well was completed in accordance with the approved plans and the commission's technical requirements before September 1, 2002.

(b) For the purposes of Subsection (a)(2), the installation of a well was timely completed if, before September 1, 2002, the well was drilled, cased, and cemented in accordance with the commission's technical requirements and the plans submitted to and approved by the commission before September 1, 2001, even if the well was capped for subsequent placement into service as part of a public water system.

(c) The owner of a public water supply well shall register the well with the district and submit reports to the district. A public water supply well is subject to the district's prohibitions on the waste of groundwater.

(d) The district may not require a construction or operating permit for a public water supply well approved by the commission.

(e) Fees a retail public utility pays to the district shall be collected directly from the customers of the utility as a regulatory fee and shown as a separate line item on the customer's bill.

(f) The district may not prohibit the sale, purchase, lease, or trade of groundwater by a private well owner under this section.

Added by Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 112 (S.B. 1026), Sec. 1.05, eff. April 1, 2015.