Mr. Dickman has worked in the area of Texas water law since his days as a hearing examiner with the Texas Water Commission when he adjudicated a water rights permit case for a proposed dam and reservoir. Since then, Mr. Dickman has maintained an active practice representing applicants for Texas surface water rights and in representing clients who intervene or oppose a proposed water rights permit. There is a much different regulatory scheme in Texas for groundwater and Mr. Dickman routinely advises landowners on how to obtain approval for using or marketing their produced groundwater. Typical kinds of cases handled by Mr. Dickman in the area of Texas water law include:
- Surface Water Rights Permits
- Surface Water Supply Contracts
- Wholesale Water Rate Cases
- Groundwater Production Permit
- Developing and Marketing of Groundwater Right
Surface Water Rights Permits
An applicant for a surface water right permit could be a company that needs an additional source of water for its industrial operations, a golf course that needs to obtain state approval for constructing irrigation ponds, or an oil & gas operator that needs water for a fracking operation. These permit cases can take a full year or longer for TCEQ to process so it is important to ensure that the permit application is prepared with all the information required by TCEQ staff to avoid delays in agency processing. It is also crucial to attempt to work out any objections that might be raised by other water rights holders so that the permit applicant can avoid a hearing. Mr. Dickman’s experience in water rights permitting helps clients get their permit issued in the shortest time possible.
Surface Water Supply Contracts
As an alternative to acquiring state-issued water rights to take water from surface streams and rivers, a company needing additional water supplies may contract with an existing water rights holder to purchase water. Mr. Dickman represents both buyers and sellers of water supplies in drafting and negotiating the terms and conditions of water supply contracts. Typically, surface water supply contracts have long-term “take-or-pay” and provisions and capacity charges that a buyer must carefully consider before agreeing to the contract.
Wholesale Water Rate Cases
In cases where a buyer of wholesale water believes that the seller is abusing a position of monopoly control by charging an excessive rate for the water, the buyer may appeal the rate to the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC). Mr. Dickman has extensive experience in representing clients in wholesale rate appeals at the PUC (or formerly at TCEQ). In fact, Mr. Dickman authored the chapter on wholesale water supply contracts and wholesale water rate appeals in the leading treatise on Texas water law entitled “Essentials of Texas Water Resources”. If the PUC determines that the wholesale water seller abused a position of monopoly control over the water, then the PUC may hold a cost-of-service hearing to set a fair and reasonable rate.
Groundwater Production Permits
Although surface water is owned by the state and permitted to anyone who can show an available amount of water and that it will be put to an economic use, the Texas Supreme Court has recently confirmed that groundwater is owned by the owner of the land from which the water is produced. Therefore groundwater is regulated in an entirely different manner than surface water with the focus being on whether, or to what extent, a local groundwater conservation district regulates well spacing and the amount of water that can be pumped for various uses. Mr. Dickman has extensive experience in evaluating the regulatory requirements of local groundwater districts and in obtaining necessary groundwater district approvals for installation of, and pumping from, groundwater wells.
Developing and Marketing of Groundwater Rights
Landowners who wish to produce groundwater from their land and sell it to a buyer (e.g., a nearby city, an oil & gas operator, or a farming operation) need to consider not only water supply contractual issues, but also any regulatory requirements of a local groundwater district. In particular, in cases where the groundwater is to be exported to a buyer for an end use outside of the boundaries of the groundwater district, there may be special restrictions and fees imposed on such an export of the groundwater. Mr. Dickman advises clients on how to most cost-effectively develop their groundwater, how to contract for sale of the groundwater, and how to get it approved by a local groundwater district.
