Texas Commission on Environmental Quality & Post Oak Clean Green, Inc. v. Guadalupe County Groundwater Conservation District

Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided November 30, 2015·No. 04-15-00433-CV·Published

Opinion

ACCEPTED 04-15-00433-cv FOURTH COURT OF APPEALS SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS 11/30/2015 6:15:05 PM KEITH HOTTLE CLERK

NO. 04-15-00433-CV

FILED IN IN THE COURT OF APPEALS 4th COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS 11/30/2015 6:15:05 PM KEITH E. HOTTLE Clerk

TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY and POST OAK CLEAN GREEN, INC.,

Appellants,

v. GUADALUPE COUNTY GROUNDWATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT,

Appellee.

REPLY BRIEF OF APPELLANT POST OAK CLEAN GREEN, INC.

Christopher L. Dodson John A. Riley State Bar No. 24050519 State Bar No. 16927900 chris.dodson@bgllp.com jriley@jgdpc.com Mark R. Wulfe JACKSON GILMOUR & DOBBS, PC State Bar No. 24088681 1115 San Jacinto Blvd., Suite 275 mark.wulfe@bgllp.com Austin, Texas 78701 BRACEWELL & GIULIANI LLP Telephone: (512) 574-8861 711 Louisiana Street, Suite 2300 Facsimile: (512) 574-8861 Houston, Texas 77002-2770 Telephone: (713) 223-2300 Facsimile: (713) 221-1212 ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT POST OAK CLEAN GREEN, INC.

ORAL ARGUMENT REQUESTED TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page INDEX OF AUTHORITIES................................................................................... iii INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................1

ARGUMENT ............................................................................................................2

I. The Commission Has Exclusive (Or, Alternatively, Primary) Jurisdiction Over The Subject Matter of This Suit.........................................2 A. The District cannot reframe its claim as unconnected to Post Oak’s permit application. .....................................................................2

B. The District’s actions make clear it understands the true nature of this dispute. ......................................................................................4 C. The District fails to acknowledge the statutory authority cited by Post Oak. .........................................................................................5 D. The District’s arguments against exclusive jurisdiction not only fail, but confirm that this dispute is over the Commission’s authority over the siting of landfills. ....................................................7

E. The District’s argument regarding the Legislature’s failure to enact legislation after the trial court’s summary judgment ruling in this case is silly. ................................................................................9 F. The District’s amicus’s reliance on Texas Attorney General Opinion GA-1011 (2013) is unfounded. ............................................10

II. The District’s Suit Is Not Ripe. ....................................................................10 A. The District cannot distinguish the authorities cited by Post Oak and the Commission. ..........................................................................10 B. The petition and motion from the Denton County case are completely inapposite. ........................................................................13

C. Arguments made by Post Oak before the trial court after its plea to the jurisdiction was denied cannot create jurisdiction. ..................13

-i- Page III. The District’s Rule Cannot Be Enforced Through The UDJA ....................14 PRAYER .................................................................................................................15

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE ......................................................................16

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE ...............................................................................17 APPENDIX .............................................................................................................18

-ii- INDEX OF AUTHORITIES

Page(s)

Cases Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tex. v. Duenez, 201 S.W.3d 674 (Tex. 2006) ................................................................................ 3

City of Anson v. Harper, 216 S.W.3d 384 (Tex. App.—Eastland 2006, no pet.) .......................................12 In re Crawford & Co., 458 S.W.3d 920 (Tex. 2015) ................................................................................ 3 Monk v. Huston, 340 F.3d 279 (5th Cir. 2003) ..............................................................................11

Robinson v. Central Tex. MHMR Center, 780 S.W.2d 169 (Tex. 1989) ..............................................................................10 In re Southwestern Bell Tel. Co., L.P., 235 S.W.3d 619 (Tex. 2007) ................................................................................ 3 Tex. Dep’t of Pub. Safety v. Deputy Sheriff’s Ass’n of Bexar County, No. 04-07-00233-CV, 2007 WL 3355626 (Tex. App.— San Antonio Nov. 14, 2007, pet. denied) ..................................................... 11-12 Tex. State Bd. of Veterinary Med. Exam’rs v. Giggleman, 408 S.W.3d 696 (Tex. App.—Austin 2013, no pet.) ..........................................14 Thomas v. Long, 207 S.W.3d 334 (Tex. 2006) ................................................................................ 3 Waco Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Gibson, 22 S.W.3d 849 (Tex. 2000).................................................................................11

Statutes 30 TEX. ADMIN. CODE. § 330.57(d) ........................................................................... 6

TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE § 37.004..............................................................1, 14

-iii- Page(s) TEX. GOV’T CODE § 2001.038..................................................................................14

TEX. HEALTH & SAFETY CODE § 361.011 .................................................................. 6

TEX. HEALTH & SAFETY CODE § 361.151 .................................................................. 7

TEX. HEALTH & SAFETY CODE § 361.154 .................................................................. 7 TEX. HEALTH & SAFETY CODE § 363.022(a) ............................................................. 6 TEX. WATER CODE § 26.121(a)(1) .............................................................................6 TEX. WATER CODE. § 36.102 ...................................................................................14

TEX. WATER CODE § 49 ...........................................................................................10 TEX. WATER CODE § 51 ...........................................................................................10

Rules Guadalupe County Groundwater Conservation District Rule 8.1 ....................passim TEX. R. APP. P. 9.4(i)(1) ...........................................................................................16 TEX. R. APP. P. 9.4(i)(2)(B)......................................................................................16 TEX. R. APP. P.

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Texas Commission on Environmental Quality & Post Oak Clean Green, Inc. v. Guadalupe County Groundwater Conservation District, (Tex. Ct. App. 2015).

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Related

Monk v. Huston
340 F.3d 279 (Fifth Circuit, 2003)
Thomas v. Long
207 S.W.3d 334 (Texas Supreme Court, 2006)
In Re Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. Lp
235 S.W.3d 619 (Texas Supreme Court, 2007)
Waco Independent School District v. Gibson
22 S.W.3d 849 (Texas Supreme Court, 2000)
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas v. Duenez
201 S.W.3d 674 (Texas Supreme Court, 2006)
City of Anson v. Harper
216 S.W.3d 384 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2006)
Robinson v. Central Texas MHMR Center
780 S.W.2d 169 (Texas Supreme Court, 1989)
Texas State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners v. Gene Giggleman, DVM
408 S.W.3d 696 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2013)