Senate Bill 43 would create a narrow permit exemption that lets a qualified local sponsor — typically a local conservation or water district — temporarily divert water from a storage facility and use up to 200 acre-feet to support repair, maintenance and erosion-control work on flood-control dams.

The bill’s proponents told the Senate select committee that Texas has thousands of earthen flood-control dams, many built in the 1950s and 1960s, and that long permitting timelines have delayed critical repairs.

Daniel Meyer, executive manager of the Plum Creek Conservation District, said the district manages 28 flood-control structures in Hays and Caldwell counties and supports SB 43 because it would allow districts “to utilize when needed the surface waters in the reservoir of the dam below the lowest port level for rehab and operation and maintenance purposes.”

Why it matters: Supporters said the exemption would reduce months-long permitting delays that have forced temporary permits with expiration limits or required work to wait until water returns, increasing erosion risk and contractor uncertainty. Committee testimony referenced roughly 2,039 flood-control dams across Texas and a maintenance backlog; Chairman Perry said the state is “about $2,000,000,000 behind on keeping up with those earthen dam maintenance projects.”

What the bill does: SB 43 would (1) define a qualified local sponsor, (2) allow a qualified sponsor to use a permit exemption to divert water from a reservoir for repair, maintenance or rehabilitation of a dam or to construct or maintain a storage facility of up to 200 acre-feet for erosion, floodwater and sediment control, and (3) specify that the exempt status continues while the district owns the reservoir.

Support and technical witnesses: John Foster and Heather Bounds of the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board registered as resource witnesses and answered clarifying questions on grant-eligible structures and coordination with river authorities. Committee members asked specifically whether the bill would affect privately built dams; witnesses said eligible structures in their programs are well-defined and do not include private, non-state-controlled impoundments.

Next steps: Public testimony closed after resource witnesses; the chair said the committee would vote the bill at the end of the hearing.