TYLER, Texas (KLTV) – Two Republican candidates for Texas House District 8 say they want to change state law that allows unlimited groundwater pumping, even if it drains neighboring wells.
Under Texas law, landowners can pump unlimited groundwater through the “rule of capture.” Both incumbent Rep. Cody Harris and challenger Daniel Hunt say the law needs reform to protect East Texas groundwater.
Harris is seeking a fifth term in Austin. Hunt is a criminal defense attorney and former Henderson County GOP chair.
Candidates propose water transport limits
Harris said the state needs to prevent groundwater from being pumped and sold far from its source.
“What I’ve got to do is begin to educate the legislature and the rest of the members is how depleting the groundwater in East Texas translates to the people in Houston,” Harris said.
Hunt said one option is limiting how far groundwater can be transported.
“Maybe we do something like, if you take X from aquifer, you can’t transfer it more than X miles from source,” Hunt said.
Other campaign priorities
Harris said border security remains a priority.
“We need to make sure that we’re never in the position we were a few years ago when we had tens of thousands of people coming in illegally from the Mexican border,” Harris said.
Hunt wants to cut property taxes and reduce government regulations.
“I think there’s a way that we can trim our state budget,” Hunt said. “If we reduce the amount of regulation, we can reduce the size of the state government, the manpower of the state government.”
Early voting started Monday and continues through Friday, Feb. 28. Election day is Tuesday, March 3.
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