By: Geren H.B. No. 1681

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the preservation for development of sites of unique value for regional water supply reservoirs and the preservation of river and stream segments of unique ecological value.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS. The legislature finds that:

(1) the development of new water supplies to meet the growing demand for water is necessary for the sound economic development of this state and is of concern and importance to this state;

(2) feasible sites for new reservoirs are identified as having unique value in the 2006 regional water plans and the 2007 state water plan;

(3) most of the proposed reservoirs are also part of recommended strategies for fulfilling identified needs in the 2007 state water plan that may occur as early as 2010 and 2020;

(4) it is necessary to preempt actions that could circumvent the state's primacy over surface water in the state; and

(5) designation of these sites as unique reservoir sites or river or stream segments of unique ecological value is necessary for the sound economic development of this state, for the protection of natural resources, and for the purpose of promoting the public health, safety, and general welfare of this state.

SECTION 2. DESIGNATION OF UNIQUE RESERVOIR SITES. The legislature, as authorized by Subsection (g), Section 16.051, Water Code, designates the following sites as having unique value for the construction of a dam and reservoir and further determines that the sites are necessary to meet water supply needs:

(1) Lower Bois d'Arc reservoir, to be located on Bois d'Arc Creek in Fannin County, upstream from the Caddo National Grasslands Wildlife Management Area;

(2) Lake Ralph Hall reservoir, to be located on the North Sulphur River in southeast Fannin County, north of the city of Ladonia;

(3) Marvin Nichols reservoir, to be located on the Sulphur River upstream from its confluence with White Oak Creek; the dam will be located in Titus and Red River Counties and the reservoir will also impound water in Franklin County;

(4) Lake Fastrill reservoir, to be located on the Neches River in Anderson and Cherokee Counties, downstream from Lake Palestine;

(5) Tehuacana Creek reservoir, to be located on Tehuacana Creek in Freestone County, south of the Richland-Chambers reservoir, with the two lakes to be connected by a channel;

(6) Bedias reservoir, to be located on both Bedias and Caney Creeks in portions of Grimes, Madison, and Walker Counties;

(7) Brushy Creek reservoir, to be located near the city of Marlin in central Falls County;

(8) Little River reservoir, to be located on the Little River upstream from its confluence with the Brazos River in Milam County;

(9) Little River off-channel reservoir, to be located northwest of the city of Milano in Milam County, on Beaver Creek, a tributary of the Little River;

(10) Texana Stage II reservoir, also known as Palmetto Bend, to be located on the Lavaca River in Jackson County above the confluence with the Navidad River and extending the existing dam west across the Lavaca River;

(11) Goldthwaite channel dam reservoir, to be located on the Colorado River west of the city of Goldthwaite and downstream from the existing diversion structure;

(12) Wheeler Branch off-channel reservoir, to be located on the Wheeler Branch tributary of the Paluxy River and north of the city of Glen Rose in Somervell County;

(13) Cedar Ridge reservoir, to be located on the Clear Fork of the Brazos River upstream from its confluence with Paint Creek and in Throckmorton, Shackelford, and Haskell Counties;

(14) Lake 07 reservoir, to be located in southeastern Lubbock County, to impound developed water resources discharged into Yellowhouse Canyon as part of the Canyon Lakes System, also known as the Jim Bertram Lake System;

(15) Lake 08 reservoir, to be located in southeastern Lubbock County, to impound developed water resources discharged into Yellowhouse Canyon as part of the Canyon Lakes System, also known as the Jim Bertram Lake System;

(16) Nueces off-channel reservoir, to be located west of Lake Corpus Christi in south central Live Oak County, to be linked to Lake Corpus Christi by pipeline and operated as part of the Choke Canyon-Lake Corpus Christi reservoir system;

(17) Ringgold reservoir, to be located on the Little Wichita River in Clay County approximately one-half mile upstream from its confluence with the Red River;

(18) Muenster reservoir, to be located on Brushy Elm Creek in western Cooke County; and

(19) Brownsville Weir and reservoir, to be located on the lower Rio Grande in Cameron County; the proposed project consists of a weir structure across the channel of the river approximately eight miles downstream from the city of Brownsville.

SECTION 3. DESIGNATION OF SITES OF UNIQUE ECOLOGICAL VALUE. The legislature, as authorized by Section (f), Section 16.051, Water Code, designates those river or stream segment sites recommended in the 2007 state water plan as being of unique ecological value.

SECTION 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. 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 September 1, 2007.