1. (a) Any groundwater conservation district created by the commission under Texas Water Code (TWC), Chapter 36, to manage a specific groundwater resource may expand its authority to manage other water-bearing formations which are within its territorial boundaries by filing a petition with the commission to amend the order creating the district.

2. (b) The petition to amend the order creating the district shall describe which water-bearing formations are being proposed for management, specifically addressing the following criteria:

   1. (1) identify the new water-bearing formation which is the subject of the petition and its areal extent within the district, including a map if different from the boundaries of the district;
   2. (2) evaluate and describe how expanding the district's authority to manage the other water-bearing formations will provide for the effective management of groundwater resources in the district;
   3. (3) identify the nature of projects and management issues to be undertaken to address concerns of the water-bearing formation, including necessity and feasibility of the work.
3. (c) If a confirmation election has been held in the territorial boundaries of the district, no further confirmation election is necessary to add these water-bearing formations to the district.
4. (d) The notice and public meeting provisions of §293.18(e) of this title (relating to Notice and Public Meeting) shall be followed to add a water-bearing formation to an existing district.
5. (e) The executive director shall summarize the public meeting comments and file recommendations regarding the petition with the chief clerk.
6. (f) Not later than 90 days after the date of the public meeting, the commission shall issue an order either authorizing the district to manage the other water-bearing formations or denying the petition if the commission finds that authorizing the district to manage the other water-bearing formations would not provide for the effective management of the groundwater resources. The executive director shall provide a copy of the order to the petitioners.

Source Note:The provisions of this §293.21 adopted to be effective August 29, 2002, 27 TexReg 7942.