Texas Water Code 36.119 – Illegal Drilling and Operation of Well; Citizen Suit
(a) Drilling or operating a well or wells without a required permit or producing groundwater in violation of a district rule adopted under § 36.116(a)(2) is declared to be illegal, wasteful per se, and a nuisance.
(b) Except as provided by this section, a landowner or other person who has a right to produce groundwater from land that is adjacent to the land on which a well or wells are drilled or operated without a required permit or permits or from which groundwater is produced in violation of a district rule adopted under § 36.116(a)(2), or who owns or otherwise has a right to produce groundwater from land that lies within one-half mile of the well or wells, may sue the owner of the well or wells in a court of competent jurisdiction to restrain or enjoin the illegal drilling, operation, or both. The suit may be brought with or without the joinder of the district.
Terms Used In Texas Water Code 36.119
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Person: includes corporation, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, and any other legal entity. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Rule: includes regulation. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
- Written: includes any representation of words, letters, symbols, or figures. See Texas Government Code 311.005
(c) Except as provided by this section, the aggrieved party may also sue the owner of the well or wells for damages for injuries suffered by reason of the illegal operation or production and for other relief to which the party may be entitled. In a suit for damages against the owner of the well or wells, the existence of a well or wells drilled without a required permit or the operation of a well or wells in violation of a district rule adopted under § 36.116(a)(2) is prima facie evidence of illegal drainage.
(d) The suit may be brought in the county where the illegal well is located or in the county where all or part of the affected land is located.
(e) The remedies provided by this section are cumulative of other remedies available to the individual or the district.
(f) A suit brought under this section shall be advanced for trial and determined as expeditiously as possible. The court shall not grant a postponement or continuance, including a first motion, except for reasons considered imperative by the court.
(g) Before filing a suit under Subsection (b) or (c), an aggrieved party must file a written complaint with the district having jurisdiction over the well or wells drilled or operated without a required permit or in violation of a district rule. The district shall investigate the complaint and, after notice and hearing and not later than the 90th day after the date the written complaint was received by the district, the district shall determine, based on the evidence presented at the hearing, whether a district rule has been violated. The aggrieved party may only file a suit under this section on or after the 91st day after the date the written complaint was received by the district.
(h) Notwithstanding Subsection (g), an aggrieved party under Subsection (b) may sue a well owner or well driller in a court of competent jurisdiction to restrain or enjoin the drilling or completion of an illegal well after filing the written complaint with the district under Subsection (g) and without the need to wait for a hearing on the matter.