Text of Proposed Rule or Rule Modification (underline words proposed to be added to the

Staff Report & Agenda Item Details

1. Text of Proposed Rule or Rule Modification (underline words proposed to be added to the text of the current rules and strike through words proposed to be deleted from the text of the current rules): Restated Rule 16.1: The District shall charge an export fee or surcharge of twenty (20) cents per thousand gallons of water exported by a permit holder, which shall automatically increase at a rate of three (3) percentage per year to the maximum extent allowed by Texas law. Proposed New Rule entitled "Mitigation Fund": The District shall, upon collection of the export fee or surcharge, establish a mitigation fund, which shall be maintained and utilized for the purposes of (1) making grants, loans, or contractual payments to achieve, facilitate, and expedite reductions in groundwater pumping, (2) developing or distributing alternative water supplies, and (3) maintaining the operability of wells significantly affected by groundwater development. The District shall, upon application, provide permitees who demonstrate that they have been significantly affected by the production and export of water with the resources necessary to operate their wells and recoup the adverse economic impacts caused by the decline of groundwater levels.