Sec. 8510.0302.  POWERS RELATING TO CONSERVATION AND BENEFICIAL USE OF WATER.  (a)  The authority has the powers of this state under Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, to effectuate flood control and the conservation and use of the storm, flood, and unappropriated waters of the watershed of the Red River and its tributaries in this state for all beneficial purposes, subject only to:
(1)  the legislature's policy declarations as to water use;
(2)  the commission's continuing supervision and control;
(3)  the provisions of Section 11.024, Water Code, prescribing the priorities of water uses; and
(4)  the water rights acquired by municipalities and other users.
(b)  The authority shall exercise its powers for the greatest practicable measure of the conservation and beneficial use of the storm, flood, and unappropriated waters of the watershed of the Red River and its tributaries in this state in the manner and for the particular purposes specified by this chapter, including the exercise of its powers to provide for:
(1)  the study, correction, and control of both artificial and natural pollution of the Red River and its tributaries;
(2)  the control, conservation, and orderly development of the watershed and water of the Red River and its tributaries in this state through all practical and legal means;
(3)  the preservation of the equitable rights and beneficial use of the waters for the people of the different sections of the authority;
(4)  the storage, control, and conservation of the waters of the Red River and its tributaries in this state and the prevention of the escape of any of those waters without the maximum of public service;
(5)  the prevention of the devastation of lands from recurrent overflows;
(6)  the protection of life and property in the watershed of the Red River and its tributaries from uncontrolled flood waters;
(7)  the conservation of storm, flood, and unappropriated waters of the watershed of the Red River and its tributaries in this state essential for the beneficial uses of the people of that watershed;
(8)  the better encouragement and development of drainage systems and drainage of lands that need drainage for profitable agricultural production;
(9)  the conservation of soil to prevent destructive erosion and the increased threat of flooding incident to that erosion;
(10)  the control of those waters and making them available for use in the development of commercial, industrial, and agricultural enterprises in all sections of the authority; and
(11)  any purpose for which waters when controlled and conserved may be used in the performance of a useful service as authorized by the constitution of this state.
(c)  For purposes of Subsection (b)(1), the authority may:
(1)  adopt rules with regard to the pollution described by that subdivision;
(2)  engage in policing to enforce those rules; and
(3)  provide for penalties for violating those rules consisting of:
(A)  fines not to exceed $1,000;
(B)  confinement in the county jail for a period not to exceed 30 days; or
(C)  both the fine and confinement.
(d)  The general law pertaining to a water control and improvement district, including Chapters 49 and 51, Water Code, applies to Subsection (b)(1).
(e)  The authority may store and conserve to the greatest beneficial use the storm, flood, and unappropriated waters of the Red River in this state or any tributary of that river in the authority to prevent the escape of water without maximum beneficial use inside or outside the authority's boundaries.
Added by Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 914 (H.B. 3530), Sec. 1.03, eff. April 1, 2023.