Isaac Passes Critical Water Legislation for Hays County

Jason Isaac
State Representative
House District 45

For
Immediate Release: May 8, 2015
Contact: Chelsey McGee - (512) 463-0647

Rep.
Isaac Passes Critical Water Legislation for Hays County

AUSTIN, TX - Today,
the Texas House passed critical legislation
authored by State Representative
Jason Isaac (R-Dripping Springs) that
expands the boundaries of the Barton
Springs Edwards Aquifer
Conservation District to cover a portion of the Trinity
Aquifer in
Hays County that is not currently within a groundwater
district.

Rep. Isaac stated, “This is great news for residents of Blanco
and
Hays County and ensures necessary measures will be taken to protect
an
environmentally sensitive area of the Trinity Aquifer. An
overwhelming
number of the constituents I serve are excited about the progress
of
legislation to protect our groundwater. HB 3405 is now headed to
the
Senate.”

In 2014, Rep. Isaac became aware of possible white zones in
Hays
County. A white zone is a portion of an aquifer that is currently
not
within the boundaries of a groundwater district. In Hays County, there
is
a white zone just outside a priority groundwater management area
that follows
the same boundaries of the Edwards Aquifer Authority
(EAA). However, the EAA
does not protect the Trinity Aquifer that lies
beneath the Edwards.

“Final
passage of HB 3405 will ensure that the entirety of Hays County
has protections
in place over the Edwards and Trinity aquifers. This
protection will be
possible without additional property taxes, and
residential and agriculture
wells will be exempts from fees.
Furthermore, this protection will ensure that
your private property
will not be taken out from under you.”

Now that HB
3405 has passed the House, it’s now headed to the Senate
where co-sponsor State
Senator Donna Campbell will bring the
legislation up for a debate before it is
fully passed. Upon passage,
HB 3405 will go into effect on September 1, 2015,
or immediately upon
receiving a vote of two-thirds from each house.

Rep.
Isaac concluded, “We have a few more steps to go before full
passage, but we
are definitely moving in the right direction.”