By: Zaffirini, et al.  S.B. No. 18          (In the Senate - Filed August 15, 2025; August 15, 2025,   read first time and referred to Committee on Finance;   August 15, 2025, reported favorably by the following vote:     Yeas 14, Nays 0; August 15, 2025, sent to printer.)Click here to see the committee vote     A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   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.     * * * * *