Texas Register, Volume 37, Number 40, Pages 7815-8094, October 5, 2012 Page: 7,974
7533-7814 p. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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This rulemaking is proposed under the authority of Texas Water
Code 6.101, which authorizes the board to adopt rules neces-
sary to carry out the powers and duties of the board.
Cross reference to statute: Texas Water Code Chapters 35 and
36.
356.40. Scope of Subchapter.
This subchapter describes the process related to an appeal challenging
the approval of desired future conditions established by Texas Water
Code 36.1083.
356.41. Petition: Reviewability, Form, Receipt, Postponement, Re-
sponse, and Joinder.
(a) Reviewability. The agency will review a petition when:
(1) the petition conforms to the requirements of this sub-
chapter;
(2) the issues raised in the petition have not previously been
considered by the board for the particular desired future condition in a
petition under Texas Water Code 36.1083; and
(3) the petition is submitted to the executive administrator
within 120 days following the date of the districts' adoption of the de-
sired future condition in the groundwater management area.
(b) Form and Contents of Petition. A petition shall be ad-
dressed to the executive administrator, signed by the petitioner, and
contain the following information:
(1) the petitioner's name and contact information, includ-
ing mailing address, e-mail address, telephone number, and fax num-
ber and, if applicable, the same information for any person or entity
designated as a representative of the petitioner;
(2) documentation that clearly identifies the nature of the
petitioner's legally defined interest in groundwater in the area unless
the petitioner is a district in or adjacent to the groundwater management
area or a regional water planning group for a region in the area;
(3) a summary of the evidence upon which the petitioner
will rely at the hearing for the contention that the adopted desired future
condition is not reasonable; and
(4) evidence that the petitioner has provided a copy of the
petition to each of the districts in the groundwater management area.
(c) Receipt of Petition and Acknowledgment. The executive
administrator shall notify the petitioner and the districts within the
groundwater management area within 15 days of receipt of a petition
and advise whether the petition has been accepted as reviewable or has
not been accepted as reviewable and the reasons for not accepting the
petition.
(d) If the petition is not accepted, the petitioner will be allowed
an additional 15 days to remedy the failure.
(e) Requests for Postponement.
(1) A district in the groundwater management area may,
within 10 business days of its receipt of the executive administrator's
acknowledgment of a reviewable petition, request that the executive
administrator postpone review of the petition for 60 days to encourage
consultation and resolution of the issues raised in the petition.
(2) Further extensions may be granted upon the request of a
petitioner or a district upon a showing that the parties are in negotiations
toward a resolution of the issues raised in the petition.
(f) Districts' Response to Petition. If the districts choose to
respond, they shall have 90 days in which to present a written response
to agency and the petitioner.(g) Joinder of Petitions. The executive administrator may
join multiple petitions concerning the same aquifers or issues within
a groundwater management area if such joinder is beneficial to the
agency, the petitioners, and the respondents.
,356.42. Hearing.
(a) Hearing on petition. The executive administrator shall hold
at least one hearing to receive evidence and take testimony on the pe-
tition from the petitioner and the districts.
(b) Location of hearing. Any hearing shall be conducted at a
central location in the groundwater management area.
(c) Notice of the hearing. The notice of hearing shall be pub-
lished in the Texas Register and shall be provided to the petitioners, the
districts, any districts adjacent to the groundwater management area,
any regional water planning group in the groundwater management
area, and the county judge for each county in the groundwater man-
agement area at least two weeks before the hearing.
(d) Form of hearing. A hearing under this subchapter is not a
contested case hearing. The Texas Rules of Evidence, Rules of Civil
Procedure, and the rules promulgated by the State Office for Admin-
istrative Hearings related to contested case hearings will not apply to
this hearing. Testimony will be under oath.
(e) Hearing procedure. The executive administrator may issue
any directives necessary to ensure an orderly, fair, and efficient hearing.
The hearing to receive evidence and take testimony from the petitioner
and districts shall be conducted by the executive administrator and shall
proceed as follows:
(1) The executive administrator shall provide a concise
statement relating to the scope and purpose of the hearing and shall
proceed to take testimony and accept evidence.
(2) The petitioner and the districts shall be provided an
equal amount of time to present testimony and evidence. The petitioner
carries the burden of persuasion and may reserve time for rebuttal.
(f) Evidence from other interested persons. The executive ad-
ministrator shall provide other persons with a legally-defined interest
in the issues raised in the petition the opportunity to provide evidence
and written testimony in any form acceptable to the executive admin-
istrator after the hearing concludes. The executive administrator shall
keep the record of the hearing open for 15 days following the end of
the hearing for receipt of evidence and written testimony from other
interested persons.
(g) The executive administrator has the discretion to adopt dif-
ferent or additional procedures at the hearing upon the joint request of
the petitioner and the districts or on the executive administrator's own
initiative.
,356.43. Board Evaluation, Consideration, and Deliberation.
(a) The executive administrator shall prepare a report on the
petition, including a summary of the testimony and an analysis of the
evidence received, and recommendation regarding the reasonableness
of the desired future condition and any necessary findings.
(b) Record. The record on which the board will decide
whether to grant the petition shall consist of:
(1) the petition and the districts' response, if any;
(2) the testimony and evidence presented at the hearing;
(3) the written testimony and evidence submitted by other
interested persons; and
(4) the executive administrator's report and recommenda-
tions.37 TexReg 7974 October 5, 2012 Texas Register
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Texas. Secretary of State. Texas Register, Volume 37, Number 40, Pages 7815-8094, October 5, 2012, periodical, October 5, 2012; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth288982/m1/160/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.