General Manager’s Report

Staff Report & Agenda Item Details

15. General Manager’s Report a. Well Registration/Permitting General Manager Behm explained how the district continues to register exempt and non-exempt wells, as well as railroad commissioned wells, monitoring wells, and injection wells. b. HGSD stakeholders meeting – Regulatory Plan Update Assistant General Manager Holland reported on the HGSD meeting and presented how the Regulatory Plan is now moving forward in gathering production data to bring more models up to date and improve accuracy. c. GMA 14 Joint Planning General Manager Behm explained how there are 21 counties included in this study group and how some were significantly lacking data. He also explained that the Desired Future Conditions (DFC) for GMA 14 were adopted on 8/25/10 and that the submittal of these DFC’s has been declared administratively complete by the Texas Water Development Board (TWBD). The TWBD stated that they BGCD October 20, 2010 Board Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 5 would furnish the draft Managed Available Groundwater values for GMA 14 by March 1, 2011. d. Trinity and San Jacinto Rivers and Galveston Bay Basin and Bay Area Stakeholder Committee meetings and action. General Manager Behm discussed the ideal and realistic needs that were reported at the committee meetings regarding the uses of water. General Manager Behm noted that Assistant General Manager Holland has been approved effective 1/1/11 to replace him on this committee and also that AGM Holland has been nominated to be a member of the Brazos River Stakeholder Committee. e. Region G & H Regional Water Planning Group meetings. General Manager Behm explained how both regional water plans have been approved and submitted to the TWDB. Both regional groups are preparing for the next planning cycle, but are not aware of where the funds to conduct the necessary studies are coming from. f. Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts meetings and actions. Assistant General Manager Holland reported that the overview of what the representatives presented at the meeting where issues that they see on the horizon: budget, re-districting, and sunset committees. g. Report on meetings with Austin, Grimes, Walker and Waller County Commissioners Courts. Both General Manager Behm and Assistant General Manager Holland attended these meetings to brief the Commissioners Courts on 6 items: permits in each county, fee schedules, the Texas Comptroller’s Office audit report, the revised District Management Plan, adopted DFC’s in GMA 14, and the change in General Managers. The visits were well received. h. Report on Joint Issues Forum – Ownership Rights and Regulation – Texas Groundwater Issues. Assistant General Manager Holland briefly explained the presentations that were made at the forum. i. Correspondence Received General Manager Behm reported that a thank you has been received from Brookshire MUD for participating in the 2nd Annual Water Festival with a $100 donation. Also, General Manager Behm briefly discussed the conversations h

This motion is scored as RESTRAINS_GOVERNMENT (Impact Weight: 2.8/10). Under the Bastiat Liberty Watchdog Index, voting YES on measures that cap or reduce ad valorem tax burdens, expand taxpayer exemptions, retire debt early, enforce competitive bidding caps, or remove regulatory/zoning barriers to private property rights earns a positive Pro-Liberty score.