East Texas lawmaker, with governor’s blessing, wants to stop proposed water deal

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LUFKIN — An East Texas Republican state lawmaker wants to hit pause on a proposed large-scale water extraction from his part of the state.

State Rep. Cody Harris, a Palestine Republican, has introduced a pair of bills that would impose some of the strictest limits on groundwater pumping in the state and require a study of the portion of the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer that sits beneath Anderson, Houston and Henderson counties, which are in East Texas. The legislation effectively halts the efforts of a Dallas businessman who has sought permission to drill more than 40 high-capacity water wells in that area.

One of the bills — House Bill 27 — won unanimous approval from a House committee Thursday.

“My greatest fear as the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee is, if this project goes through in East Texas, then we will have a proliferation of these types of projects throughout the state,” Harris told The Texas Tribune.

The committee heard the proposals after Gov. Greg Abbott this week added the issue to the special session underway in Austin. Lawmakers may only pass legislation on topics identified by the governor during a special session.

If approved by the Legislature, House Bill 27 would stop the Neches and Trinity Valleys Groundwater Conservation District from issuing new permits or amending existing permits to transfer water until Nov. 1, 2027. The district manages part of the East Texas aquifer.

The legislation is remarkable given the state’s long history of recognizing private property rights and the so-called rule of capture. The law generally allows landowners to do what they wish with the water they extract from their property.

The bill also requires the Texas Water Development Board, the state agency that manages the state’s water supply, to study the aquifer to determine how much water is available.

“Right now, we're just talking about really the Trinity River and the Neches River because of these projects,” Harris said. “But if they start proliferating throughout East Texas, then we're talking about all of the river basins throughout East Texas that supply all of the drinking water for Houston and DFW. We need to have a much, much more detailed understanding of the hydrology of these aquifers before we start mass pumping anything out of them.”

Kyle Bass, the Dallas-area executive, who sought to tap the Carrizo-Wilcox fumed on social media Thursday.

“Small time Texas politician convincing the Governor … to allow an East Texas Groundwater Permit application to be delayed two years creates an immediate Federal Takings case. See you in Federal Court @CodyHarrisTX. Preserve your communications,” Bass wrote in a now-deleted post on X.

Bass, through his public relations team, declined to comment when asked by The Texas Tribune.

Bass has maintained his only goal right now is to learn what water is available before pumping large volumes of water from the aquifer.

Residents don’t believe him. They worry the project will drain their wells. Harris said he believes Bass’s tweets suggest his plans were never just to study the aquifer, because his bill wouldn’t impact Bass’s study. It only stops the exportation of water from the region.

Harris begged his fellow committee members to address the perceived threat created by Bass’s request and subsequent social media posts.

“I will not be intimidated by name calling, legal threats or any other bullying tactics in discharging the duties of my office to my constituents and to the people of Texas under the Constitution or the rules of this chamber,” he told the committee.

Rep. Ramon Romero Jr., a Fort Worth Democrat, said he had planned to vote against the bill in the committee until he saw Bass’s response on social media. The debate that followed in committee solidified the need for more information before deciding on large-scale production.

However, Romero also believes the state needs to seriously consider interbasin transfers as they will be necessary to sustain growth in Texas.

“I am supporting your dedication to ensuring that we get more science, but I do continue to support a broader policy of moving water across our state,” Romero said.

The new House Bill 27 is akin to a proposal Harris proposed earlier this year during the regular session. That bill, House Bill 1400, would have created a groundwater science, research and innovation fund that would improve the understanding of local groundwater conditions and improve the models that groundwater conservation districts rely on when they plan and make decisions about issuing permits. That bill died in the Senate.

The natural resources committee on Thursday also discussed House Bill 24, which is also by Harris and stops all districts in Texas from allowing people to pump and transfer groundwater from a district if it would exceed 5% of the total modeled available groundwater.

The bill was met with stronger pushback from committee members, especially those whose home counties were considering their own large-scale transfers. Rep. TK Lobos, D-Corpus Christi, said her city wrote a letter in opposition to the bill as they are currently working on a transfer that would be impacted by the bill.

Rep. Mary González, a Clint Democrat, urged communication and embracing each region’s individuality moving forward.

“We're going to have to respect each other's differences,” González said. “Corpus (Christi) is so different from El Paso. And El Paso is so different from East Texas. And it's going to be a really different struggle to how we navigate it.”

The bill was left pending in committee.

Jayme Lozano Carver contributed.

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