Sec. 551.004.  PROTECTION OF PLAYA LAKES BY CERTAIN HOME-RULE MUNICIPALITIES.  (a)  In this section, "playa lake" means a natural saucer-like depression in the topography, typically having a clayey bottom that is normally located in an arid or semiarid part of the state and collects runoff from rain but is subject to rapid evaporation.  The term includes all areas within the basin projected to be inundated by pooled storm water runoff, as determined by an engineering analysis performed according to the specific requirements adopted by and in effect for a municipality.
(b)  The governing body of a home-rule municipality with a population of 185,000 or more may regulate the filling of a playa lake within the municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction as a means for the effective management of storm water runoff to prevent:
(1)  harmful flooding;  or
(2)  excess surface water.
(c)  A regulation adopted under this section may not:
(1)  interfere with normal agricultural practices, including moving soil, berming for tail water reuse, plowing, seeding, cultivating, and harvesting for the production of food or fiber;  or
(2)  prohibit any practice or activity that does not decrease the water holding capacity of a playa lake.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 120, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.
Renumbered from Local Government Code, Section 401.004 by Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 885 (H.B. 2278), Sec. 3.76(a)(1), eff. April 1, 2009.