1. (a) The executive director, the executive administrator and the executive director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department or their designees shall meet at least once a year to identify, based on information gathered by the commission and the Texas Water Development Board, those areas of the state that may be experiencing or expected to experience critical groundwater problems within the immediately following 25-year period.
2. (b) If the executive director concludes that an area of the state should be considered for designation as a (PGMA), the executive director shall prepare a report to the commission.

3. (c) The executive director shall begin preparation of a PGMA report by requesting a study from the executive administrator. The study must:

   1. (1) include an appraisal of the hydrogeology of the area and matters within the Texas Water Development Board's planning expertise relevant to the area;
   2. (2) assess the area's immediate, short-term, and long-term water supply and needs; and
   3. (3) be completed and delivered to the executive director on or before the 180th day following the date of the request. If the study is not delivered within this 180-day period, the executive director may proceed with the preparation of the report under subsection (b) of this section.
4. (d) Before the executive director requests a study from the executive administrator under subsection (c) of this section, the executive director shall provide written notice of consideration of the area for designation as a PGMA, and the opportunity to comment or provide studies or information, to the governing body of each county, regional water planning group, adjacent groundwater district, municipality, river authority, water district, or other entity which supplies public drinking water, including each holder of a certificate of convenience and necessity issued by the commission, and of each irrigation district, located either in whole or in part in the proposed PGMA. Not later than the 45th day after the date of the notice, a person required to receive notice under this subsection may submit to the executive director any existing information or studies that address the potential effect on an area of being identified as experiencing or expected to experience critical groundwater problems. The executive director shall consider this information in making its recommendation.

5. (e) The executive director shall also request a study from the executive director of Parks and Wildlife Department for the purpose of preparing the report required by this Subchapter. The study must:

   1. (1) evaluate the potential effects of the designation of a PGMA on an area's natural resources; and
   2. (2) be completed and delivered to the executive director on or before the 180th day following the date of the request. If the study is not delivered within this 180-day period, the executive director may proceed with the preparation of the report under subsection (b) of this section.

6. (f) The executive director's report shall include:

   1. (1) the recommended delineation of the boundaries of any proposed PGMA in the form of a proposed order to be considered for adoption by the commission;
   2. (2) the reasons and supporting information for or against designating the area as a PGMA;
   3. (3) if the designation of a PGMA is recommended, a recommendation regarding whether a district should be created in the PGMA or whether the PGMA should be added to an existing district;
   4. (4) a recommendation as to actions that should be considered to conserve natural resources;
   5. (5) an evaluation of information or studies submitted to the executive director under subsections (c)-(e) of this section; and
   6. (6) any other information that the executive director considers helpful to the commission.

7. (g) The executive director must complete the report and file it with the commission on or before the 240th day following the date on which the executive administrator was requested to produce a study. In addition, the executive director shall provide the following notice:

   1. (1) At the same time the executive director files the report with the commission, the executive director shall make the report available for public inspection by providing a copy of the report to at least one public library and the county clerk's office in each county in which the proposed PGMA is located and to all groundwater conservation districts adjacent to the area of the proposed PGMA.
   2. (2) The executive director shall also publish notice in the Texas Register that this report has been prepared, explaining the executive director's recommended action, and stating where the report may be obtained.
   3. (3) This notice shall be published in the Texas Register , and mailed to the same persons who received notice of the initiation of the PGMA study under §294.41(d) of this title (relating to Executive Director's Report Concerning Priority Groundwater Management Area Designation), within 30 days that the report is filed with the commission.
8. (h) To prepare this report, the executive director may make necessary studies, hold public meetings, solicit and collect information, or use information already prepared by the executive director or the executive administrator for other purposes.
9. (i) If the executive director recommends that no PGMA designation be made in the area studied, no further action by the executive director or the commission is necessary. However, a person who receives mailed notice under §294.31(g)(3) of this title may file a motion for reconsideration under §50.39 of this title (relating to Motion for Reconsideration).

Source Note:The provisions of this §294.41 adopted to be effective February 21, 1999, 24 TexReg 965.