§3076. Powers of the district
A. The district shall work with the secretary of the Department of Conservation and
Energy in his responsibilities to do all things necessary to prevent waste of groundwater
resources, and to prevent or alleviate damaging or potentially damaging subsidence of the
land surface caused by withdrawal of groundwater within the district. In conjunction with
the secretary, the district shall have authority to do, as required, the following:
(2)To require permits for the drilling or construction of all wells drilled after July
31, 1974, having a capacity in excess of fifty thousand gallons per day.
(3)To require registration with the district of all wells showing the date drilled, the
name of the driller, if available, and the current ownership
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§3076. Powers of the district
A. The district shall work with the secretary of the Department of Conservation and
Energy in his responsibilities to do all things necessary to prevent waste of groundwater
resources, and to prevent or alleviate damaging or potentially damaging subsidence of the
land surface caused by withdrawal of groundwater within the district. In conjunction with
the secretary, the district shall have authority to do, as required, the following:
(1) To hold hearings.
(2) To require permits for the drilling or construction of all wells drilled after July
31, 1974, having a capacity in excess of fifty thousand gallons per day.
(3) To require registration with the district of all wells showing the date drilled, the
name of the driller, if available, and the current ownership together with such other
information as the district may reasonably require to permit it to accomplish the purposes of
this legislation. No charge shall be assessed for such registration.
(4) To require that all users of groundwater within the district register with the
district showing the number, location, and capacity of wells owned or operated by them or
solely for their benefit and designating the beneficial use or uses of that groundwater. The
district shall classify each user as an industrial user or as a commercial, rural or municipal
user of groundwater upon the basis of such information. The district shall have authority in
its discretion to require periodical renewals of registrations to determine alterations in uses
of water within the district. Such registrations may be required on an annual basis or such
greater periods of time as the district may deem appropriate.
(5) To establish standards for the construction of wells that would come under the
jurisdiction of this part drilled after July 31, 1974.
(6) To specify spacing of wells drilled after the effective date of this part in limited
areas upon a showing that the water quality, quantity of withdrawal or subsidence in such
area threatens the public interest.
(7) To require well owners who are users, well owners providing water to other
users, and users of groundwater who are not well owners to keep and furnish, on request,
information necessary to carry out the provisions of this Part pertinent to wells, drawdowns,
grouting, casing sizes, property descriptions, and other pertinent information reasonably
required by the district, provided that as to wells in existence on the effective date of this Part
such information is available.
(8) To collect data; to make investigations and inspections; to examine properties,
papers, books, and records relevant to groundwater use or conservation; to examine, survey,
check test, and gauge all water wells within the district; to require well owners who are users
or well owners providing water to other users, at their own expense, to meter wells to permit
accurate determination of rates of use. Metering may be required on a continuous or periodic
basis, and the district may require approval by it of metering devices; to provide for the
keeping of records and making of reports by owners of water wells providing water to users,
and users of groundwater within the district.
(9) To require that authorized representative of the district be enabled to enter
property at reasonable times and under reasonable conditions to inspect wells, perform tests,
and examine records.
(10) To establish standards for the control of existing and future flowing wells and
the sealing of abandoned wells.
(11) To require that all abandoned wells be reported and sealed in accordance with
such standards.
(12) To establish groundwater use priorities, under conditions supported by research
data, which indicate depletion of water subject to this Part.
(13) To acquire by all legal means property or property rights necessary to achieve
the purposes of this part and to enter into all contracts necessary to the achievement of such
purposes.
(14) To assess the following:
(a) A charge against all users within the district based upon the annual rate of use of
each user sufficient to meet costs and expenses of operation. Such charges must be uniform
as to all users, being assessed on the basis of units of water used, whether a cubic, acre-foot,
or other unit be used, and without distinctions or graduations as to total amounts of water
produced by individual users or classes of users, except that no charge shall be made against
the quantity of water pumped from the Mississippi River alluvial aquifer. Further, such
charges shall be assessed and income therefrom used only to defray the costs and expenses
of operation of the district assessing them.
(b) Costs for capital expenditures assessed to users based on either annual flows or
specific costs for wells to individual users based on capital, debt service, and operation and
maintenance costs. Costs may include specific systems and technologies to allow for remote
monitoring of flows, water levels, water quality, and other parameters considered necessary
by the district to conserve and protect groundwater resources and may include but are not
limited to monitoring wells, scavenger wells, reclaimed water systems, pressure differential
systems, water treatment systems, and other subsurface systems related to the protection of
the aquifers.
(c) Late fees for nonpayment of monthly or quarterly invoices not to exceed twenty-five dollars per month or one and one-half percent per day of the balance due, whichever is
greater, calculated beginning thirty days after the due date.
(d) Application fees not to exceed two thousand dollars for each application
submitted for a new or upgraded well.
(15) To cooperate with and enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with other
governmental units and agencies of this state, with governments and agencies of other states
and of the United States, and with private agencies or other groundwater conservation
districts for the achievement of the purposes of this Part.
(16) To receive grants and enter into contracts for groundwater resource
development.
(17) To conduct studies and investigations of all problems concerning groundwater
resources of the district.
(18) To take all necessary steps to prevent intrusion of salt water or any other form
of pollutant into any aquifer or aquifers, including the powers to operate withdrawal wells
for the extraction of salt water or water affected by any pollutant and to dispose of such water
by injection or otherwise; to operate injection wells to create freshwater barriers against salt
water intrusion or the intrusion of any other pollutant; and to control pumping rates by users
in any area threatened by intrusion of salt water or other form of pollutant.
(19) Within affected areas, to limit rates of production of water from any aquifer or
aquifers, after detailed research, considering both recharge and withdrawal data, when the
quality or quantity of the supply of water afforded by such aquifer or aquifers is in danger for
any reason or where the danger of damaging subsidence exists.
(20) To use and permit the use of any of its property or facilities for recreational
purposes and to operate thereon such concessions as may be appropriate to such recreational
use or uses as long as such activities do not increase the net operating expenses to the district.
(21) To sue and be sued as a body corporate.
(22) Repealed by Acts 2024, No. 494, §2.
(23) To hire such personnel and retain such consultants as shall be reasonably
necessary to the performance of its functions. Personnel from other agencies shall be used
wherever practical and possible.
(24) To advise and consult with the secretary of the Department of Conservation and
Energy and the Natural Resources Commission on matters that impact water resources within
the district's jurisdiction.
B. No order limiting rates of production as authorized in Subsection A of this section
shall have the effect of in any way denying to any owner of the land or any other person
holding rights to water derivative from any landowner a reasonable opportunity to produce
and beneficially use his just and equitable share of the groundwater supply affected by an
order limiting rates of production.
C. Anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, the district formed hereunder
shall have no authority to regulate water produced from formations producing oil or gas or
both for commercial purposes or to issue any rule, regulation, or order conflicting with
regulation of drilling to and production from or disposition of water from such formations
by the secretary of the Department of Conservation and Energy. Nor shall the district formed
hereunder have authority to regulate the production of salt water used for pressure
maintenance, secondary recovery operations, or other operations for the production of oil or
gas.
D. Anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, the district shall have no
regulatory power over and no authority to assess pumping charges for a well or wells with
a total depth of less than four hundred feet or wells in the Mississippi River alluvial aquifer;
or wells from which the production is used exclusively for bona fide agricultural or
horticultural purposes or for domestic use of persons resident upon the same premises and
capable of producing not more than fifty thousand gallons per day in the aggregate.
E. The district shall have authority to make, after notice and hearing and to enforce
reasonable rules, regulations, or orders necessary from time to time to achieve the purposes
and powers as outlined in this Part, and such rules, regulations, and orders shall be effective
and enforceable immediately upon promulgation in the official journal of each parish
affected.
F.(1) The district shall not require users to undertake the installation of additional
metering devices or prescribe new requirements thereof if the user's installation of metering
devices meets all of the following criteria:
(a) Demonstrates compliance with the user's obligation to meter.
(b) Measures flow data at least hourly for each well, for each stratum from which the
well draws, and reports the data to the district monthly.
(c) Ensures proper operation of the metering device through installation, calibration,
validation, and maintenance practices that are consistent with the accepted capability of that
type of metering device. Calibration of each metering device shall be performed at least once
per year by a qualified source, which is a person or entity that has received formal training
or has practical field experience in the calibration of that type of metering device.
(d) Adheres to accepted scientific practices to safeguard the accuracy and reliability
of measurements of the volume of monitored withdrawals.
(e) Measures flows with a maximum deviation of less than five percent from true
withdrawal rates throughout the range of expected withdrawal volumes.
(2) The district shall have authority to audit the performance of flow measurement
devices installed and maintained by users. Audits of the flow measurement devices of all
users other than nuclear electric generating stations may include temporary installation of a
flow measurement device and other necessary equipment by the district, at the district's
expense, in order to verify performance of a user-installed flow measurement device. Each
user-installed flow measurement device may be audited once per calendar year.