Bill
HB 1205
Louisiana creates three groundwater conservation districts to manage the Mississippi River Alluvial, Chicot, and Southern Hills aquifers with dedicated boards, governance, and repo
HB 1205 Summary (Louisiana, 2026 Regular Session)
Purpose
- Establish three new groundwater conservation districts to manage and protect major aquifer systems: the Mississippi River Alluvial Aquifer, the Chicot Aquifer, and the Southern Hills Aquifer.
- Create governing boards for each district, define membership, duties, hearings, reporting, and oversight.
- Repeal certain provisions of current law and redesignate related sections to integrate these districts into Chapter 12 of Title 38.
Key Provisions
1) Establishment of three aquifer conservation districts
- Mississippi River Alluvial Groundwater Conservation District
- A political subdivision of the state.
- Governed by a board of commissioners (details below).
Chicot Groundwater Conservation District
Southern Hills Groundwater Conservation District
2) Board composition and appointments
- Each district’s board is appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate.
- Initial and ongoing terms:
- Initial terms: staggered 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year terms to establish rotation.
- Subsequent terms: three-year terms.
- General ex officio (nonvoting) members may include:
- Secretary of Environmental Quality or designee
- Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry or designee
- A USGS representative
- Secretaries/designees from Wildlife & Fisheries, Conservation & Energy
- Representatives from the Louisiana Rural Water Association, the Louisiana Cattlemen’s Association, and the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation
- Senators and House members representing districts that include district parishes (or their designees)
- Industrial groundwater users (appointed by the board)
- Secretary of Health
- One representative from each university located within any portion of the district
- Parish officials may also serve as district commissioners.
3) Governance and operations
- Meetings
- Each board must meet at least quarterly.
- Meeting locations must rotate among parishes within the district; after a parish hosts, meetings should rotate to ensure all parishes are represented.
- Officers and domicile
- Boards must elect a chairman, vice chairman, secretary, and treasurer.
- Each district must establish its domicile within its boundaries.
- Powers and activities
- Conduct studies and surveys of groundwater resources.
- Identify measures to conserve groundwater, prevent or mitigate drawdowns, land subsidence, and groundwater quality degradation.
- Enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with governmental entities, other states, the federal government, or private parties.
- Accept and expend funds from public or private sources.
- Hire staff or consultants as needed; leverage personnel from other agencies when feasible.
- Advise the state Secretary of Conservation and Energy on water-resource matters.
4) Hearings and subpoenas
- District boards may hold hearings, issue subpoenas, and compel testimony or document production as needed.
- Notice of hearings must be published in official parish journals.
- Provisions protect witnesses, while allowing enforcement through district court attachments for noncompliance.
5) Reporting and accountability
- Annual groundwater resource reports due by April 1 to the Secretary of Conservation and Energy and the appropriate legislative committees (House and Senate Natural Resources).
- Reports must cover:
- Quantities of water used for public supply, industrial, and agricultural purposes.
- Saltwater intrusion projections/actuals.
- Any sale of water outside Louisiana and prices paid by out-of-state users.
- Reports may include estimated figures where exact data are unavailable.
6) Administrative changes
- Section 2 designates these new districts as Part IV of Chapter 12, and Section 3 repeals specific existing subsections (modernizing and consolidating related provisions).
Impact and Coverage
- Expands groundwater governance beyond the Sparta district to three major aquifer systems, aiming to improve conservation, sustainable development, and oversight of groundwater use in Louisiana.
- Engages a broad set of stakeholders (industries, municipalities, universities, state agencies, and legislators) in regional groundwater management.
- Establishes formal reporting requirements to track usage, salinity encroachment, and cross-border water sales.
Dates
- Initial board appointments targeted for completion by October 15, 2026, with terms beginning on October 15, 2026, and subsequent terms aligned thereafter.
- 60/90-day vacancy and replacement procedures specified for board continuity.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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