SB 18

S.B. No. 18
  AN ACT
  relating to an exemption from the requirement to obtain a permit
  from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for certain dams
  or reservoirs operated and maintained for the purposes of erosion,
  floodwater, and sediment control.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 11.121, Water Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 11.121.  PERMIT REQUIRED.  Except as provided in
  Sections 11.1405, 11.142, 11.1421, 11.1422, 11.1423, and 18.003, no
  person may appropriate any state water or begin construction of any
  work designed for the storage, taking, or diversion of water
  without first obtaining a permit from the commission to make the
  appropriation.
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter D, Chapter 11, Water Code, is amended
  by adding Section 11.1423 to read as follows:
         Sec. 11.1423.  PERMIT EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN DAMS OR
  RESERVOIRS FOR EROSION, FLOODWATER, AND SEDIMENT CONTROL.  (a)  In
  this section, "qualified local sponsor" means a district or
  authority created under Section 52(b)(1) or (2), Article III, or
  Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, that has entered into
  an agreement with the United States Department of Agriculture's
  Natural Resources Conservation Service pursuant to the Watershed
  Protection and Flood Prevention Act (16 U.S.C. Section 1001 et
  seq.) to serve as a local sponsor to operate and maintain a dam or
  reservoir for purposes of erosion, floodwater, and sediment
  control.
         (b)  Without obtaining a permit, a qualified local sponsor
  may:
               (1)  construct or maintain on property owned or
  controlled by the qualified local sponsor a dam or reservoir with
  normal storage of not more than 200 acre-feet of water for the
  purposes of erosion, floodwater, and sediment control; and
               (2)  divert water from the dam or reservoir as needed in
  order to repair, maintain, or rehabilitate the impoundment and
  associated works of improvement so as to maintain the operational
  integrity and purpose of the dam or reservoir.
         (c)  The termination of an agreement between a qualified
  local sponsor and the United States Department of Agriculture's
  Natural Resources Conservation Service does not affect the
  exemption described by Subsection (b), provided that the dam or
  reservoir continues to be owned or controlled by the qualified
  local sponsor for the purposes of erosion, floodwater, and sediment
  control.
         SECTION 3.  The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
  shall adopt rules to implement Section 11.1423, Water Code, as
  added by this Act, not later than April 1, 2026.
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
  a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
  Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day of the
  legislative session.
  ______________________________
  ______________________________
     President of the Senate
  Speaker of the House     
         I hereby certify that S.B. No. 18 passed the Senate on
  August 18, 2025, by the following vote:  Yeas 30, Nays 0.
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate    
         I hereby certify that S.B. No. 18 passed the House on
  August 25, 2025, by the following vote:  Yeas 131, Nays 0, one
  present not voting.
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
  Approved:
  ______________________________ 
              Date
  ______________________________ 
            Governor