| PRC-20240919-01 - AAP-20240903-01 - POCID -

Staff Report & Agenda Item Details

13. | PRC-20240919-01 - AAP-20240903-01 - POCID - Pending/Uncontested As of January 20, 2025, staff had 45 active or approved production permits recorded in the permitting database with a combined amount of authorized groundwater production per year of 5,677 acre-feet. Regarding Groundwater Production Report Processing for CY2024. As of January 20, 2025, staff had processed 2 groundwater production reports for the preceding calendar year since October 1, 2024. As of January 20, 2025, staff had recorded groundwater production reports for 2 water wells reporting 166 acre-feet of groundwater production during CY2024. (TWDB estimated the volume of groundwater produced for rural domestic, livestock, mining, and rig supply exempt uses in Calhoun County in Year 2020 was 206 acre-feet. See: TWDB - Projected Exempt Groundwater Use Estimates. ). Regarding Manage Investigations related to Permitting Violations for FY2025. As of January 20, 2025, staff had initiated 0 investigations related to groundwater management (i.e., permitting) since October 1, 2024. As of January 20, 2025, staff had 1 active investigations related to groundwater management (i.e., permitting). See: Investigations - INV-20221012.1455 - Failure to Obtain a Production Permit - Active. Regarding Manage Enforcement Cases related to Permitting Violations for FY2025. As of January 20, 2025, the Board had initiated 0 enforcement case violations related to groundwater management (i.e., permitting) since October 1, 2024. As of January 20, 2025, staff had 0 unresolved enforcement cases related to groundwater management (i.e., permitting). Board Action: None. 3.2 - Investigation of Unreported Groundwater Production for Irrigation Meeting Minutes for January 27, 2025 | Page 3 of 18 CCGCD - Meeting Packect for May 14, 2025 - Supplemental Documentation | Page 97 of 192 Calhoun County Groundwater Conservation District 2805 N. Navarro, Ste 210, Texas 77901 P.O. Box 69, Victoria, Texas 77902 Phone (361) 579-6863 | Fax (361) 482-0303 | www.calhouncountygcd.org Meeting Discussion: Mr. Andruss explained while reviewing estimates of groundwater production related to irrigation for the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), staff identified a significant discrepancy between 1) the volume of groundwater production reported to the District for years 2022 and 2023 and 2) the volume of groundwater production for irrigation estimated by TWDB. In Jackson County, the reported groundwater production across all types of permitted uses (including irrigation) totals 25,816 AF while the estimate of groundwater use for irrigation is 61,961 AF, a difference of 36,145 AF. Based on rice crop information retrieved from GMU's CropScape and USDA's CroplandCROS, it appears that rice irrigation may be substantially under reported to TGCD. This may be the case for VCGCD as well. The image below illustrates those areas with rice crops without reported groundwater production in close proximity. The likely unreported groundwater pro

This motion is scored as RESTRAINS_GOVERNMENT (Impact Weight: 2.2/10). 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.