A county commissioners court in a county with 2.1 million or more people may regulate private water well placement in unincorporated areas.
Sec. 240.042. AUTHORITY TO REGULATE PLACEMENT OF WATER WELLS. (a) The commissioners court of a county with a population of 2.1 million or more by order may regulate the placement of private water wells in the unincorporated area of the county to prevent: (1) the contamination of a well from an on-site sewage disposal system; (2) rendering an on-site sewage disposal system that was in place before the well was drilled out of compliance with applicable law because of the placement of the well; and (3) drilling of a domestic well into a contaminated groundwater plume or aquifer. (b) A commissioners court that decides to regulate the placement of private water wells under this subchapter by order shall adopt rules governing the placement of a water well in relation to an existing on-site sewage disposal system or drilling into a contaminated groundwater plume or aquifer and enforcement of those rules. The rules must require: (1) a person desiring to drill a private water well, or the owner of the land on which the well is to be located, to: (A) notify the county health officer or an official designated by the commissioners court of the intent to drill the well; and (B) include with the notice a diagram showing the proposed location of the well and its distance from any on-site sewage disposal system that is located within 100 feet of the well; and (2) the county health officer or an official designated by the commissioners court to: (A) review the notice and diagram; (B) not later than the 10th business day after the date the notice is received: (i) approve the drilling of the well if the well will not be drilled into or through an aquifer or groundwater plume that has been confirmed as contaminated by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality or the United States Environmental Protection Agency and placement of the well will not violate the rules adopted by the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation under Chapters 1901 and 1902, Occupations Code; or (ii) disapprove the drilling of the well; and (C) provide a written acknowledgment to the person desiring to drill the well and to the owner of the land on which the well is to be located that states: (i) that the requirements of the rules adopted under Subdivision (1) have been satisfied; and (ii) whether the drilling of the well has been approved or disapproved. Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 794 (S.B. 343), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2005. Amended by: Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1163 (H.B. 2702), Sec. 83, eff. September 1, 2011. Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 644 (H.B. 4559), Sec. 149, eff. September 1, 2023.