Section 45-52-250 Morgan County Tennessee River Preservation Act.
Morgan County limits water withdrawals from the Tennessee River Basin for transfer outside the basin above the April 26, 2006 level, with stated exceptions.
(a) This section shall be known as the Morgan County Tennessee River Preservation Act. (b) The Legislature finds the following: (1) It is in the best interest of the State of Alabama and the people of Morgan County to protect the Tennessee River and its watershed to promote the beneficial purposes of maintaining a clean drinking water supply, hydroelectric power generation, navigation, industry, agriculture, environmental quality, and recreation. (2) The Tennessee River has been identified by the people of Alabama and the nation as a unique resource lying in seven states and by Congress through the establishment of a special authority known as the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) for the promotion of the best interests of the Tennessee Valley. (3) That it is in the best interest of the people of the State of Alabama and Morgan County to protect and preserve the Tennessee River as set forth in this section in the absence of statewide legislation and that this section shall remain in effect until statewide legislation addressing interbasin transfers of water becomes effective. (c) For the purposes of this section, the term Tennessee River Basin means the entire topographic extent of the watershed of the Tennessee River and all of its tributaries. (d)(1) In Morgan County, no water may be withdrawn from the Tennessee River Basin for transfer to any other river basin outside of the Tennessee River Basin in an amount greater than the amount being withdrawn on April 26, 2006. (2) For the purpose of this section, the amount of the existing transfer of water from the Tennessee River is 150 percent of the average daily amount calculated for the highest continuous 90-day period from January 1, 2000, until April 26, 2006. (3) Notwithstanding the foregoing, this section shall not affect any water providers in Cullman County, Alabama, so long as such providers do not expand their geographic territory or wholesale customers beyond the area they serve on April 26, 2006. Provided, however, that nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the issuance of a permit by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, the Tennessee Valley Authority, or any other state or federal authority, and nothing herein shall be considered to authorize the construction of any new pipeline to carry water from the Tennessee River to Cullman County. (4) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, this section shall not apply to the water transfer agreement to transfer water from the Northeast Morgan County Water Authority to the Blount County Water Authority approved prior to April 5, 2006, regardless as to whether the water is actually being withdrawn on April 26, 2006, provided that the water withdrawn does not exceed six million gallons of water per day and so long as the authority does not expand its geographic territory or wholesale customers beyond the area it serves on April 26, 2006. Provided, however, that nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the issuance of a permit by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, the Tennessee Valley Authority, or any other state or federal authority, and nothing herein shall be considered to authorize the construction of any new pipeline to carry water from the Tennessee River to Blount County.