H.B. No. 26
AN ACT
relating to the notification of affected persons of certain
releases of water from certain dams.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 12.052, Water Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (a-1), (a-2), (a-3),
and (a-4) to read as follows:
(a) The commission shall make and enforce rules and orders
and shall perform all other acts necessary to provide for the safe
construction, operation, maintenance, repair, [and] removal, and
emergency management of dams located in this state. In performing
the commission's duties under this subsection, the commission shall
identify and focus on the most hazardous dams in the state.
(a-1) The commission shall require the owner or operator of
a state-regulated dam that has a spillway with gates used to
regulate flood waters to notify local emergency operation centers
in downstream communities when spillway releases are made to
regulate flood waters, according to the commission's emergency
action plan guidelines.
(a-2) Emergency operation centers notified under Subsection
(a-1) shall provide notice to the public when a release may
contribute to flooding that may result in damage to life and
property through all available means and shall include, at a
minimum, the following information, if available:
(1) the names of the dam and reservoir;
(2) the communities downstream that may be impacted
and estimated time of impact;
(3) the names of affected river basins and
tributaries;
(4) the expected duration of the release;
(5) the level of potential flooding according to the
National Weather Service River Forecast Center; and
(6) the roads or bridges that are expected to be
affected.
(a-3) A notice provided under Subsection (a-2) must include
the following disclaimer: "Actual flood conditions may vary
significantly from the alert based on new or changed conditions;
advanced alerts of changed conditions may not be possible."
(a-4) Notwithstanding any other defense or immunity that
may apply, a notice provided under Subsection (a-1) or (a-2) may not
be considered an admission of liability and may not be used as
evidence in any suit related to the releases that are the subject of
the notice.
SECTION 2. (a) Not later than January 1, 2020, the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality shall provide guidance for
developing a notification plan through a dam owner's emergency
action plan for state-regulated dams that have a spillway with
gates used to regulate flood waters.
(b) Not later than June 1, 2020, a dam owner or operator
shall deliver the notification plan described by Subsection (a) of
this section for each dam to the Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 26 was passed by the House on April
11, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 147, Nays 0, 1 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 26 on May 23, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 141, Nays 0, 2
present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 26 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 17, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor