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DENR Clarifies Issues on Toledo Bend Water Sales

No single agency has authority to approve out-of-state sales from Sabine River/Toledo Bend

Contact: Patrick Courreges - 225-342-0510

BATON ROUGE — Recent public discussion regarding the potential sale of Sabine River/Toledo Bend water to the state of Texas has contained significant inaccuracies, generating confusion and concern in communities surrounding the Toledo Bend Reservoir.

The Louisiana Department of Energy and Natural Resources (DENR) is committed to transparency and community engagement and offers the following facts to clarify the situation, in light of many questions from concerned citizens.

No Changes Made in Out-of-State Water Sales Approval Requirements Under Act 458 of the 2025 Regular Session:

Contrary to recent claims, Act 458, passed during the 2025 Regular Legislative Session, does not grant the DENR Secretary or any governmental agency or board unilateral authority to approve water sales out of state. The law does not weaken or eliminate any of the multiple safeguards or approval steps required by law.

Under current law, any proposal to sell surface water from Toledo Bend out of state must be approved by:

• - The Board of the Sabine River Authority of Louisiana (SRA-LA);
• - Two-thirds of the parish governing authorities within the SRA-LA’s jurisdiction (six parishes);
• - The Governor of Louisiana;
• - The Senate Committee on Natural Resources and the House Committee on Natural Resources and Environment; and
• - The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), if the volume exceeds one million gallons per day.

Additionally, Louisiana’s Constitution requires that any sale of surface water must result in compensation of equal or greater value to the state, including potential economic and tax benefits alongside any direct payment.

Clarifying Further Inaccuracies:

• - Act 458 does not change the law governing out-of-state water sales. It simply moves some of the authority of the now-eliminated Water Resources Commission under the purview of the newly formed Natural Resources Commission.
• - No statutory requirements were removed—including the requirement for local parish approval and legislative oversight.
• - The statute cited in some messages (R.S. 30:128(B)) has no relevance to water sales. It pertains strictly to the transfer of mineral rights and leases for state-owned lands and water bottoms.

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