Natural Resources Code § 33.2053

Sec. 33.2053. INDIVIDUAL AGENCY OR SUBDIVISION ACTIONS. (a) The land office, the School Land Board, or a board for lease of state-owned lands shall comply with Sections 33.205(a) and (b) when issuing or approving: (1) a mineral lease plan of operations; (2) a geophysical or geochemical permit; (3) a coastal easement; (4) a miscellaneous easement; (5) a coastal lease; (6) a surface lease; (7) a structure registration; (8) a cabin permit; (9) a navigation district lease; (10) certification of a local government beach access or dune protection plan; or (11) an agency or subdivision wetlands mitigation bank. (b) The Public Utility Commission of Texas shall comply with Sections 33.205(a) and (b) when issuing a certificate of convenience and necessity. (c) The Railroad Commission of Texas shall comply with Sections 33.205(a) and (b) when issuing: (1) a wastewater discharge permit; (2) a waste disposal or storage pit permit; or (3) a certification of a federal permit for the discharge of dredge or fill material. (d) The Texas Transportation Commission shall comply with Sections 33.205(a) and (b) when approving: (1) an acquisition of a site for the placement or disposal of dredge material from, or the expansion, relocation, or alteration of, the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway; or (2) a transportation construction project or maintenance program. (e) The Texas Historical Commission and the Antiquities Committee shall comply with Sections 33.205(a) and (b) when issuing: (1) a permit for destruction, alteration, or taking of a coastal historic area; or (2) a review of a federal undertaking affecting a coastal historic area. (f) The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality shall comply with Sections 33.205(a) and (b) when issuing or approving: (1) a wastewater discharge permit; (2) a permit for a new concentrated animal feeding operation located one mile or less from a critical area or coastal waters; (3) a permit for solid or hazardous waste treatment, storage, or disposal; (4) creation of a special purpose district or approval of bonds for the purpose of construction of infrastructure on coastal barriers; (5) levee improvement or flood control projects; (6) a certification of a federal permit for the discharge of dredge or fill material; (7) a declaration of an emergency and request for an emergency release of water; (8) a new permit for an annual appropriation of: (A) 5,000 or more acre-feet of water within the program boundary; or (B) 10,000 or more acre-feet of water outside the program boundary but within 200 stream miles of the coast; (9) an amendment to a water permit for an increase in an annual appropriation of: (A) 5,000 or more acre-feet of water within the program boundary; or (B) 10,000 or more acre-feet of water outside the program boundary but within 200 stream miles of the coast; or (10) a change in the purpose of use of an annual appropriation of water to a more consumptive use of: (A) 5,000 or more acre-feet of water within the program boundary; or (B) 10,000 or more acre-feet of water outside the program boundary but within 200 stream miles of the coast. (g) Repealed by Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 96, Sec. 19(9), eff. September 1, 2011. (h) The Parks and Wildlife Department shall comply with Sections 33.205(a) and (b) when issuing or approving: (1) an oyster lease; (2) a permit for taking, transporting, or possessing threatened or endangered species; (3) a permit for disturbing marl, sand, shell, or gravel on state-owned land; or (4) development by a person other than the Parks and Wildlife Department that requires the use or taking of any public land in a state park, wildlife management area, or preserve. (i) A subdivision shall comply with Sections 33.205(a) and (b) when issuing a dune protection permit or beachfront construction certificate that authorizes: (1) construction activity that is located 200 feet or less landward of the line of vegetation and that results in the disturbance of more than 7,000 square feet of dunes or dune vegetation; (2) construction activity that results in the disturbance of more than 7,500 cubic yards of dunes; (3) a coastal shore protection project undertaken on a gulf beach or 200 feet or less landward of the line of vegetation and that affects more than 500 linear feet of gulf beach; or (4) a closure, relocation, or reduction in existing public beach access or public beach access designated in an approved local government beach access plan, other than for a short term. (j) An action to renew, amend, or modify an existing permit, certificate, lease, easement, approval, or other action is not an action under this section if the action is taken under a rule that the commissioner has certified under Section 33.2052 and: (1) for a wastewater discharge permit, if the action is not a major permit modification that would: (A) increase pollutant loads to coastal waters; or (B) result in relocation of an outfall to a critical area; (2) for solid, hazardous, or nonhazardous waste permits, if the action is not a Class III modification under rules of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality; or (3) for any other action, if the action: (A) only extends the period of the existing authorization and does not authorize new or additional work or activity; or (B) is not directly relevant to Sections 33.205(a) and (b). (k) The commissioner shall establish a program boundary to limit the geographic area in which the requirements of Sections 33.205(a) and (b) apply. The boundary is the coastal facility designation line as defined by Appendix 1 to 31 TAC Section 19.2 as that appendix existed on the effective date of this section, as modified by Section 33.203(7). Except as provided by Subsections (f)(8)-(10), this subchapter does not apply to an agency action authorizing an activity outside the program boundary. Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 416, Sec. 4, eff. June 8, 1995. Amended by: Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 96 (S.B. 656), Sec. 14, eff. September 1, 2011. Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 96 (S.B. 656), Sec. 19(9), eff. September 1, 2011. Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 986 (S.B. 766), Sec. 40, eff. September 1, 2025.