OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY QENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

~norablo ii. 6. Umson, Jr. 

COUAtJ iittofA@~, h&QrtOA COfkAtr, / 

*harton, Texar 

iiear idr. iUAMAI 

request r0r 3c opinion 

zre now engAged 

Hirer through 

aer in thlr county, who refuses to 

ter his land ror thlr purpose. .; 

ago these Engineers awe&red b&ore the 

rs Court of this County, *nd requested 

that the County ioroe a right of way throu&h thla 

property ror the >ur?ose or thle euroer. The levee 

is to be constructed b; tho Federal Governsent, 98 

outhorlzed under an rob of Congrem, but the necearary hAe, rights4*Way, daaage6, and maintemnce8 

will htre to be turailhed by 8oae local agenoy a6 

yet undeteraioed. 
fioAurible 3. 4. &neJA, Jr., Q.EO 2 

“The CoamlreIonere Court requerted rroo m, 

a8 County rttorney, aa opIolo~ a8 to w'letht?r or not 

the Court had euthority to roroe 8 lsndouner to great 

the deelred peraiseion, arrd I adrleed t&m that In n? 

opiAloa it aie not, aI I Was unable to r ind l Ay l tatute 

l uthorldng the Court to pa88 or l nroroo eny mler or 

thle ohereoter. The only other wey', I l ee that It 

oould be bono by the County, Would bo by !aeaAI of Oonbomnatlon wit, rhloh would raquin the l xpeAeituro or 

runde 0r the count7, ror whIoh I 08s riAe DO euthorizetiOA ill law. 

*The ComaIeeIonere Court hae reaueetsd that I 

aek you the 

aatterr 

“‘(11 

“‘(8) 

~ollowIAg queotionr io ooinictlon with the 

What agenoy hle authority to tome 

8Atrl OAtO grivdt8 lande to l urvey 

a c rl d rplorr ror river Letee Conetr JOtion-? 

tihet legal eet up I8 neceeeary ror 

Wharton County to purohaee right8 or 

vey, alter brldgee, pay e-gee, end 

malnteln l uch levee when erect&T* 

'IA OOAll8OtiOA with the rir8t queetlon, the only 

etatutory aut&rItJ whioh I hive been able to fIl:d le 

OOAta%.AOd ia Art. 7973, of the kerierd Statutee, whioh 

give8 to the State Beolaznetloa &ngIneer authority to 

make en ordor authorizing en en&seer to enter upon 

prlrate property in OOAAOCtiOA with love0 DIetrlote. 

It la poeeiblo that thle prooeeurr could be u8ee by 

tha Amy Lngineore. kleo ln aonneotioo with thle fitat 

queetlon you are adtired that a Con8enatIoA aAd Reolamatloa Dietrlot oompueed oi KImton County wee created 

iA leer, and bOAd8 leeued r0r the purpoer 0r *opening 

the Colorado River, the OOA8trttOtiOA Of e Aew ohannel 

thereror where nroeseary, the building 0r leteee, 

drainego oaAel8, and other 1 provomAt where Aeoeel arf, and the MintOAaime thereoi,*. Thlr Distriot 
iio~or~ble Y. 2, h:uneon, Jr., plce 3 

le et111 In l xletonoe end her unexpended rUAd8 on 

hAe, UAe r0uLe probably a0 IA a poeition to condemn 

l right 0r *of throuuh property ror thle purwes, 

protidlng It8 00~188100er8 ear tit to a0 80. 

“In oonneotlon with the eeoone queetlon, I 40 

not belletr that Uarton County 00uie undertake to 

d0 thle work out 0r any 0r lte regular rUAe8 IA rlsw 

or the terme or Seo. 59 or .Gtlole 19 or our Stat0 

Conetitutlon, and the opinion or the Suprear Court 

ln fiarrlr County ri00e Control Dletrlot ve. Ennn, 

attorney General, 140 8, yi. (24) 1098. It appear8 

to ae that the only way the County could undertake 

the project would ba to vote boner under the term8 

fr,C$aer Six, Art. 803-822 or the Rerleed ;;tatutee. 

tie ~111 rertrlot the eoope of your queetione to the 

“a66 nc ia 8’ and “legal *et-up*,* l ;aolfloally mntloneb in your 

letter, l e,ror the l a k e of brevity and rot the purpose8 of thle 

opinion, we consleer eo broader reeearoh necereary. 

Ho hlrre oarefully OOnsldera4 the Harrte County Flood 

Control Dletrict v. Mann ease rrlerred to by YOU, 0Ae we agree 

with your ooatrntlon that the regular oounty rune8 0r Wharton 

County ooule not be ueed to do the thlnge about whloh you Iaqulrr . 

&waver, ae pointed out by you, Chapter 6 of Title 

~2, Vernoa’e motatad Civil iitatutae, (arta. 603-822) providse 

ror tha Ieeuance 0r bond8 by a oounty oparating uwler tb4 protleione of ouch ohaptsr ror thr purpose, among othere, of owning 

ane oonatruotln& levee8 and acquiring the neoeeeary rl hte-orway by purohseo or by oondemnation. Thlr chapter apyl f ee to 

any county that nay have been rrlieved from the paymeat of t>xee 

ror a torei 0r year8 by ;rot 0r the Leg!eleturr UAe8r an4 by rlrtue 0r the provielone 0r 3ection 10, Artiolo 8 0r the Itot 

Const 1tut1on. 

Wharton County together with e part or Metagorda 

County, wae l o relieved rror euoh payment or tax.8 ror a period 

of twenty-tire yeare br the oreation wlthln l uoh oountiee of 

Conernutlon an4 iieolamation Dletriote, and the tinely totin& 

or bond 1eeua8, under thm prorlelone 0r an *ot paeeod by tho 

38th Leglelaturm at It8 iieoond Calla ~eeelon, the raid ;,ot 
b.iile ChQter 48, &ge8 1d2, 103, 104 and 105, General bra of 

tha citist.0 of Texua, pa saed by the 38th Leg1812ture, at lt8 First, 

j.oond and Thlrd Called Seaalona. 

The next Sbora mSntiont6 AOt SO releasing suoh tar.8 

b.Oe;nO Sfractiva as S law ninety days efter the adjournment of tha 

aeon6 Called Session or tha 30th Legialsturr on tha 15th day of 

gay, A. D. 1923. 

Senate Bill kilo. 867, Chapter 128, General Lawa of Ttxaa, 

gaaaed at the Regular Session of the 38th Leglalaturr, whloh la oarried in Vernon’s Annot~tod Civil Statutes as Art:olta 803-022, btcme l fftctlve as a law ninety days after the adjournment of tha 

gegular Searalon of such Ltglslatura on the 14th day of Caroh, A. 

D. 1925. 

Therefore, at tha time said ArtiOltS 8051822, Vernon*8 

anotated Clvll jtntutea, becaae l freotira, Wharton County had not 

yet bttn rtlltvtb iron the pay!nent OS its taxes, and did not come 

within the terns of the retrorptctlvo provlalona of said Article 

822, which mdt said &tlclta 803-822 applloabla only to euoh countlea aa may hare been relieved iroa the payment of taxua, etc. 

In view ol thr above, Wharton County dots not ooma within the terma of Chapter 6, Title 22, Vernon’s Annotated Clrll Statutes. 

tit find that the ;Lharton County Conaerv:Ition and Rcclanqtion District So. 1, composed of Ghdrton County, was formed and created 

urider the authority of H. B. No. 26, Chap. 25 of the Gentrel Laws of 

the Fourth Called Jtaelon of the 35th Leg., 1918, pages 40-43. In 

1925, the 39th Leglalaturr enaoted Ii. 8. No, 372, Chap. 21 (pp. 50- 

81, Gen. Lawa of Texas, 39th Leg., 1925) which provided in Sec. 68 

(Art. 8040, V.A.C.S.) 68 followa: 

vhia :iot la intended to taka plaoe of all auoh 

statutea repealed hereby. All lovea lm?roramont dlatrlcta thet hava been organlrtd under the provisions 

of Chapters g or 44, of the tinera Laws of tnt Fourth 

Callad Session oi the Thirty-ilfth Leglalature, or that 

have availed tha;,selvea of the provlalona of auc h Chaptars, shall be governed by the provlalona of this tat, 

and the plan OS toxatlon therein provided for shall 

not be affeoted or changed by thle Aot; provided, however, that any such districts which have not canpleted 

any lmprovtmenta begun under the prorlalona of any former law shall be governad in the lasuanoe of bonds and 

tha oomplttlon OS l uoh improvementa by the provleiona 

of the act or Aota under which thry wtra ortatad; * l l r 

(Underscoring oura) 

Thereby fitiolea 7972-8042, Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutea, 

were made to apply to auoh district to t& extent ahown above, 
~rtiolr 7981, Varaoa’a ~OtatSd Civil Statutaa, in 

part, protldaa as tollowr8 

“The rl&t o? l mlnmt dOfadE la hrrrby oxpreasly ooniarrad upon all diatrlota to enable them 

to aoqulra tba fro simple tltla, l 23ar;unt or rightof-way to, over, and throueh eny and all lands, watrr, 

or lunda under water, private or pub110 (rxoept lend 

and property uatd for crmrtery purposea), wlthln, 

bmdarlng upon, adjaornt or oppoalta to auoh dlStrlot8, 

necaaaary for saking, eon-?tructlng end maintainin& all 

ltrera and othsr lmprova~enta ?or the lmprovtment ot 

a river or rivers, creek or orttka, or l trtama within 

or bordtrl$g,u~n such dirtrlct to 

P 

roront overrlowa 

thereor. ” (Vndaraoorlng ours 

Artlclo 790i3, Vernon~a motatad Clril Statutes, 

provides, as follows: 

“The 618trlOt auvervlsora of any dlrtrlot are 

hereby empowered to acquire t6 neoeaaarY rlaht of way 

rot ~11 levees and other neoedaary LnProrementa oontezpl.attd by thla riot, by gift, 0% oo~donnatlon proceedings; and they ay by the aemt methods aopulre 

any ltrta or other lnprovementr alrEady Conatruoted.n 

(Underscoring ours) 

i4rtlola 7983, Vornon’a isnotated Civil Stetu~ea, 

prorlata as iollowa: 

a la tr iofor t the purpoaa o f l xamlnlng maa with retertnce to the looatlon of levees, dralnaga ditohea 

and all other kinds of lmproveaanta to be Oofltructed 

for or within ruoh dlStrlCt, and ior any other lawful 

purpoao connaotad with tlk lr plan of reola3Pation. 

whether herein enumerated or not .” (Uodrraoorlng ours) 
HonorJble Y. j. Munson, Jr., p:;gt 6 

Article 7986, Vernon’s Annotsted Clvll Statutea, 

provides es follows: 

*Levee fmprovt~tnt districta shall have aur$ri%::e 

olntl with each other, with oltlea 

ot tr pollticul aubdlvirlona of the 

Stuta, with other states, and with the Oovtnment 

of the United ;itatta in the performanct m othe 

things permitted by this Act; auoh Joint aota to be 

done upon such terms as may be agreed upon by their 

auptrviaora, subject to the approval of the State 

Rtola3latlon Engineer.” (Underscoring ours) 

On page 5 of your enclosure entitled *Letter from the 

dtorttary of War, transmitting a letter from the Chief of Engineers, United States Army, etc.,” the following Is shown over 

the naae of J. L. Schlep, idajor General, Chief of hnginttrs: 

"1 rtcomend oonstruction of levees and 

related worka for the protection of the towna 

of LaGrange and Colunbua and of a continuous 

levee system on each aide of the channel below 

Eagle La&e, including a channel cut-off at the 

town of Wharton, substantially aa outlined In 

the report of the district engineer, at en 

estimated first coat to the United State of 

)6,500,000; subject to the oondltlona that 

rtaponaible local interesta give aeaurancea 

aatlsfactory to the Secretary of War that fix 

will provide, without coat to the Unite& Sta(ltea, 

all lends. oaaesenta. and rights-of-way ntoeaear~ 

for the construction of the proJecta. beer the expence of required alteration to txlstlng bridges, 

hold and save the United &ate8 tree from claizui 

tar danegee due to the construction work. and 

maintain end operate all the works after OOmPletion: including the two new bridcte aoroas the 

cut-off at Wharton. in accordance withttion 

prescribed by the Secretory 0s bar.” (Underscoring 

ours) 
HOnOrdb~O i. .,. i.U.:a~.‘LL, :r., &I.,;. 7 

,ig SSIUIMI tlut the l bova prupoaal or roaorxmdntion 

forma the baai ai thr problrn prraanttrb t0 the 00dSaf00era’ 

g0urt or your oounty Oy tha United date8 dm.y !h8ln~r~a, 08 

out1inod in your query. There oondltiana, ii inofatrd upon by 

(ha Unltod Stata (iOYerMd?it, complfoutm your queattooa to auoh 

. ds@o. thst thsy aanaot be anaward l ~eoifiCal1y ad Ostegori- 

@ally by thl8 4epurt:;iOnt without OODlQleta mud aXQllOit iaiorsatlon aa to aaoh atrp oontaapl~~tad by the “roaponalblr looal 

lnteraata,’ or agency corccr2d, and the Caltod ~‘afoa Corcrnmont. 

ao do ray t&t aald i.h:rrton County Coaaorv~tion and 

koolui7i;ltlon Diatrfct No. 1, itself through itr namd oftloera 

and omQ10ysoa aa authorlaad -01. 7b83, aupra, can for00 

o ntr y onto pr!reto hnA8 to l ur r ey a :lxploro d for r ive Itmoo 

oonatruction, but it oannot doLe@to t.--la authority to tho 

;;;J;taSt>taa krmy Ecglnsera or asiyona also not aalcod in g*lA 

l 

‘*a furthor advlso th:;it eald Dlatrlct la fully quallfled a3d upowered to acprrlro the nesesacry la nds, l swemta a nd 

rlghta-of-way, for all lsvrra rsA otht:r nrcoeaary lmprove~enta, 

~8 contsrcpl:,ted by :.rtlclca 7Wl s::d 7S8i, au;ra, xrrA tx raid 

Ijlstrict nay act jointly rlth the V”ovc:rmunt of the L’nltcd “t .taa 

in maklnd, constructing cd ntii~talnlog such lrvsaa and other lmproramnta. Howvor, in tnla reapeot, we point out that ..rticlo 

7980, aupra, Aoea not aut!arlre the LMtod dztoo Gcncmso?-t to 

do any ot the thl.?ca asr-;llttoA azd w~t~srlzbd by 13'1 to tho a;'A 

lilatrlot, but merely permlta the Dirt.rlct to eot jointly with 

raid Oovarwaent upon auoh term8 aa ay be agreed upon by thrlr 

(Dlatrlot) l upervlaora, l ubieot to t!ie l ?Qroral or the .hta 

lioclaznutlon gnglnocr (tkil8 l PprOvQ1 could only bm obtained 001 

iron tba Co~laaionor of tho General Land Ofrlco, aa tho Offlco 

of St>ta holaastlon Engineor ma abollated by the 46th LeglalaSure, Aota lOSO, p. 704, Art. MZlh-1, Vernon’8 xinot%ted Civil 

sitatutra). 

ite alao polnt otit t&t taid :.rtlelw 7986, l upra, la 

not broad enough in its sct.ninp to lnoiudo lndollalfyl~ng raid 

Government ror ohlz18 for dam@8 duo to the oonstructioa work. 

YO horrrlth raz’~n to )ou the oiiOloaur08 raOalved with 

your oommunioatlon. 

- 

__ i 

n. Your8 wry truly, 

Itobart L. Lattlzaora, Jr.