C&E Seeks Public Input on Groundwater Regulations

Agency asking stakeholders to review and comment on initial draft of potential rule changes

BATON ROUGE – The Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy (C&E) is seeking initial public comment on prospective rule changes dealing with groundwater management in the state, with the eventual intent to consolidate and revise existing rules within the Water Resources Management section of the Louisiana Administrative Code (LAC).

Draft Rule for Public Comment

C&E proposes to consolidate into a single section rules governing groundwater management; water-well drilling and construction standards; water-well plugging and abandonment requirements; and special rules for the Capital Area Groundwater Conservation District. Rules for these functions are presently scattered through several LAC, titles, making them less accessible to water-well owners, drillers, regulated users, and the general public.

C&E also seeks to re-promulgate rules to ensure they conform to changes made by Act 458 of the 2025 Regular Session, reorganizing the former Department of Energy and Natural Resources (DENR), transferring the authority of the former Commissioner of Conservation to the C&E Secretary, as the Commissioner of Conservation title was changed/consolidated to Secretary of C&E.

In addition to the changes described above, there are several proposed changes for which C&E wishes to give particular notice:

Defining “large volume well” to include any well with an eight-inch or greater diameter screen, or any well (alone or in combination with related wells) determined capable of producing 300 gallons per minute, in place of the prior 1,500-gallon-per-minute threshold
Strengthening of language relative to variance requests made to the department and the flexibility of the department in responding to, granting, altering, or otherwise handling such requests
Creation of Areas of Investigation terminology as a tool for the collection of data in a specific geographic region under an order of the Secretary, separate and apart from Groundwater Area of Concern and Critical Area of Concern designations
Making orders of the Secretary appealable to the Nineteenth Judicial District Court as provided by law
Making new provisions prohibiting screening or perforating a water well, environmental well, test hole, or borehole across or into more than one distinct aquifer
Carrying forward the special rules for the Capital Area Ground Water Conservation District, while removing duplicative rules specific to this District that were previously separate from state rules

C&E requests persons or organizations interested in providing written comment or other feedback on the proposed rule changes do so through the Rule Comment Webpage (https://www.dce.louisiana.gov/form/rulemaking-comments) or by email to cerulecomments@stateofla.onmicrosoft.com. All comments must be received by the close of business on October 15, 2026.

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