§2325. Powers
A. Said authority shall have the power:
(1) To have a corporate seal.
(2) To acquire by purchase, gift, devise, lease, expropriation or other mode of
acquisition, to hold, pledge, encumber, lease and dispose of real and personal property of
every kind within its territorial jurisdiction, whether or not subject to mortgage or any other
lien.
(3) To make and enter into contracts, conveyances, mortgages, deeds or trusts, bonds,
and leases in the carrying out of its corporate objectives including but not limited to contracts
for the legal services of a special counsel.
(4) To let contracts for the construction or acquisition in any other manner of
property and facilities incident to the carrying out of the corporate purposes of the authority,
which contracts shall be let in such manner as shall be determined by the board of
commissioners.
(5) To incur debts and borrow money, but no debt so incurred shall be payable from
any source other than the revenues to be derived by the authority from sources other than
taxation.
(6) To fix, maintain, collect, and revise rates, charges, and rentals for the facilities
of the authority and the services rendered thereby including but not limited to all charges for
services and goods provided by or through the Sabine River Channel and Diversion System.
(7) To pledge all or any part of its revenues.
(8) To enter into agreements of any nature with any person or persons (natural or
artificial), corporation, association, or other entity, including public corporations, political
subdivisions, municipalities, and federal and state agencies and instrumentalities of every
kind, for the operation of all or any part of the properties and facilities of the authority.
(9) To do all things necessary or convenient to carry out its functions.
(10) To conserve, store, control, preserve, utilize, and distribute the waters of the
rivers and streams of the Sabine watershed including but not limited to all waters flowing
through the Sabine River Channel and Diversion System; to drain and reclaim or cause to be
drained and reclaimed, the undrained or partially drained marsh, swamp, and overflow lands
in the district of said authority, with the view of controlling floods and causing settlement
and cultivation of such lands; and in addition to all of the aforementioned powers for the
conservation and beneficial utilization of water resources, to control and employ such waters
of the Sabine River and its tributaries in the state of Louisiana, including the storm and flood
waters thereof, as are hereinafter set forth:
(a) To provide through practical and legal means for the control and coordination of
the regulation of the waters of the Sabine River and its tributary streams;
(b) To provide by adequate organization and administration for the preservation of
the equitable rights of the people of the different sections of the watershed area, in the
beneficial use of the waters of the Sabine River and its tributary streams;
(c) For storing, controlling, and conserving the waters of the Sabine River and its
tributaries within and without the district, and the prevention of the escape of any such
waters without the maximum of service to the public; for the prevention of devastation of
lands from recurrent overflow and the protection of life and property in such district from
uncontrolled flood waters;
(d) For the conservation of the Sabine River and its tributaries essential for the
domestic use of the people of the district, including all necessary water supplies of cities and
towns;
(e) For the irrigation of lands within the state of Louisiana where irrigation is
required for agricultural purposes, or may be deemed helpful to more profitable agricultural
production, and for the equitable distribution of said waters to the regional potential
requirements for all uses, hydroelectric, domestic, municipal, manufacturing, and irrigation,
provided that no generating capacity other than hydroelectric shall be installed by the
authority. The authority shall have no power to construct, own, or lease any electric
transmission or distribution lines. All plans and all works provided by said authority shall
have primary regard to the necessary and potential needs for water;
(f) For the encouragement and development of drainage systems and for drainage of
lands in the watershed of the Sabine River and its tributary streams needed for agricultural
production; and drainage of other land in the watershed area of the authority requiring
drainage for the most advantageous use;
(g) For the purpose of encouraging the conservation of all soils against destructive
erosion and preventing the increased flood menace incidental thereto;
(h) To control and make available for employment of said waters in the development
of commercial and industrial enterprises in all sections of the area within the watershed of
the Sabine River and its tributaries, to improve the Sabine River for navigation; to construct
or otherwise acquire and operate navigation facilities and to make contracts with the United
States with reference thereto;
(i) For the control, storing, and employment of the waters of the watershed area of
the Sabine River and its tributaries, including storm and flood waters, in the development and
distribution of hydroelectric powers.
(11)(a) To utilize the waters of the Sabine River for the generation of electric power,
to sell the use of the water of said river for the production of electric power, to provide or
furnish power and to that end to construct, maintain, operate, or lease any or all hydroelectric
generating facilities within its territorial jurisdiction useful for such purpose. Rates set by
the authority shall be regulated by the Public Service Commission.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary, the authority shall
not utilize or sell the use of the waters of the Toledo Bend Reservoir for the generation or
production of hydroelectric power if the mean sea level of the reservoir is below one hundred
sixty-eight feet, except under any one of the following circumstances:
(i) The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or its successor orders or requires
a reduction in the water level of the reservoir for purposes of inspecting or repairing the dam.
(ii) Failure to do so will result in an insufficient supply of electric power in relation
to the demand for such power by its firm or non-interruptible power users.
(iii) Nonuse of the waters of the reservoir for the generation of hydroelectric power
will result in the failure to satisfy minimum down river flow requirements necessary to meet
water sales from the diversion canals of the Sabine River Channel and Diversion System and
deter saltwater encroachment.
(iv) Nonuse of the waters of the reservoir for the generation of hydroelectric power
will result in saltwater encroachment in the Sabine River Estuaries.
(12) To purchase or construct all works and facilities necessary or convenient to the
exercise of the foregoing powers and to accomplish the purposes specified in this Chapter,
and to purchase or otherwise acquire, within its territorial jurisdiction all real and personal
property necessary or convenient for carrying out such purposes.
(13) To enter into an agreement with the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries for
the permanent assignment of four commissioned wildlife officers and agents to the Toledo
Bend Reservoir, wherein the authority shall be obligated to pay the salaries and related
benefits, including all costs of equipment and land and water transportation for such officers
for a period of two years, commencing September 1, 1992.
(14) To do all things necessary to facilitate economic development and to promote
recreation and tourism within its jurisdiction including the advertisement and publication of
information relating to business opportunities, businesses, recreational activities, parks and
other recreational facilities, and tourist attractions.
(15) Nothing in this Subsection is intended to restrict the use of water from the
Toledo Bend Reservoir for any reason, other than hydroelectric power generation, when the
mean sea level is below one hundred sixty-eight feet, provided however, that during any time
period that the Sabine River Authority restricts the use of water for electric generation, the
utility shall not pay the authority for power that it was prevented from generating.
(16)(a) To enter into any and all contracts and other agreements with any person, real
or artificial, any public or private entity, any government or governmental agency, including
the United States of America, the state of Texas, the Sabine River Authority of Texas, the
state of Louisiana, and the agencies, bureaus, departments, and political subdivisions thereof,
which contracts and other agreements may provide for the sale, conservation, storage,
utilization, preservation, distribution, or consumption, whether within or without the state
of Louisiana, of the waters over which the authority has jurisdiction or over which the
authority has legal control.
(b) The written concurrence of the governor shall be required for any contracts and
other agreements which provide for the sale, utilization, distribution, or consumption, outside
of the boundaries of the state of Louisiana, of the waters over which the authority has
jurisdiction or control.
(c) The written concurrence of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and the
House Committee on Natural Resources and Environment shall be required for any contracts
and other agreements which provide for the sale, utilization, distribution, or consumption,
outside of the boundaries of the state of Louisiana, of the waters over which the authority has
jurisdiction or control.
(d) In addition, at least two-thirds of the governing authorities of the parishes within
the territorial jurisdiction of the authority shall concur before the authority can enter into any
contracts or other agreements which provide for the sale, utilization, distribution, or
consumption, outside of the boundaries of the state of Louisiana, of the waters over which
the authority has jurisdiction or control. However, the concurrence from each of the parish
governing authorities shall be by resolution, adopted by a two-thirds vote of the members of
each of the parish governing authorities.
(e) The written concurrence of the Water Resources Commission shall be required
for any contracts and other agreements which provide for the sale, utilization, distribution,
or consumption, outside of the boundaries of the state of Louisiana, of the waters over which
the authority has jurisdiction or control.
(17) To establish and maintain a law enforcement division within the Authority in
order to provide for the safety and security of the public and to protect the natural resources
and the properties and waters within the territory and under the jurisdiction or management
of the board of commissioners.
B. Title to all property acquired by the authority shall be taken in its corporate name
and shall be held by it as an instrumentality of the State of Louisiana, or title to any such
property may be taken jointly with the State of Texas or any instrumentality or agency
thereof, including Sabine River Authority of Texas. Any of the powers herein imposed in
the authority may be exercised by the authority jointly with the State of Texas or any such
instrumentalities or agencies thereof, including said Sabine River Authority of Texas. The
authority shall have and be recognized to exercise such authority and power of control and
regulation over the waters of the Sabine River and its tributaries as may be exercised by the
State of Louisiana, subject to the provisions of the constitution of Louisiana.
NOTE: SEE R.S. 36:511, AS ENACTED BY ACTS 1998, 1ST EX. SESS.,
NO. 144, §1.