Texas Natural Resources Code Title 2, Chapter 40 - Oil Spill Prevention And Response Act Of 1991

SUBCHAPTER A GENERAL PROVISIONS

• Texas Section 40.001 - Short Title
  This chapter may be cited as the Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act of 1991. Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 10, Sec. 1,...
• Texas Section 40.002 - Policy
  (a) The legislature finds and declares that the preservation of the Texas coast is a matter of the highest urgency and priority. It is the...
• Texas Section 40.003 - Definitions
  In this chapter: (1) "Barrel" means 42 United States gallons at 60 degrees Fahrenheit. (2) "Coastal waters" means the waters and bed of the Gulf...
• Texas Section 40.004 - Administration Of Oil Spill Response And Cleanup
  (a) The General Land Office, under the direction and control of the commissioner, is the state's lead agency for response to actual or threatened unauthorized...
• Texas Section 40.005 - Administration Of Hazardous Substance Spill Response And Cleanup
  The General Land Office, under the direction and control of the commissioner, is the state's lead agency for initiating response to all actual or threatened...
• Texas Section 40.007 - General Powers And Duties
  (a) The commissioner may promulgate rules necessary and convenient to the administration of this chapter. (b) The commissioner shall by rule establish procedures under Chapter...

SUBCHAPTER B DISCHARGE RESPONSE

• Texas Section 40.008 - Railroad Commission Authority
  The Railroad Commission of Texas shall continue to exercise its authority pursuant to Section 91.101 of this code and Section 26.131, Water Code, to issue...
• Texas Section 40.051 - Notification
  On notification of an actual or threatened unauthorized discharge of oil, the commissioner shall act to assess the discharge and prevent, abate, or contain any...

SUBCHAPTER C OIL SPILL PREVENTION AND RESPONSE

• Texas Section 40.052 - Hazardous Substances Discharges
  If the unauthorized discharge involves predominantly a hazardous substance, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality shall carry out responsibility for abatement, containment, removal, and cleanup...
• Texas Section 40.101 - Notification And Response
  (a) Any person responsible for an unauthorized discharge of oil or the person in charge of any vessel or a terminal facility from or at...
• Texas Section 40.102 - Response Coordination
  (a) In responding to actual or threatened unauthorized discharges of oil, the commissioner may appoint a state-designated on-scene coordinator to act in the commissioner's place....
• Texas Section 40.103 - Assistance And Compensation
  (a) Subject to the commissioner's authority under this chapter, any person or discharge cleanup organization may assist in abating, containing, or removing pollution from any...
• Texas Section 40.104 - Qualified Immunity For Response Actions
  (a) No action taken by any person or discharge cleanup organization to abate, contain, or remove pollution from an unauthorized discharge of oil, whether such...
• Texas Section 40.105 - Equipment And Personnel
  The commissioner may establish and maintain equipment and trained personnel at places the commissioner determines may be necessary to facilitate response operations. Added by Acts...
• Texas Section 40.106 - Refusal To Cooperate
  (a) If a responsible person, or a person or discharge cleanup organization under the control of a responsible person, participating in operations to abate, contain,...
• Texas Section 40.107 - Natural Resources Damages
  (a) (1) In any action to recover natural resources damages, the amount of damages established by the commissioner in conjunction with the trustees shall create...
• Texas Section 40.108 - Derelict Vessels And Structures
  (a) A person may not, without the consent of the commissioner, leave, abandon, or maintain any structure or vessel in or on coastal waters, on...
• Texas Section 40.109 - Registration Of Terminal Facilities
  (a) A person may not operate or cause to be operated a terminal facility without a discharge prevention and response certificate issued pursuant to rules...
• Texas Section 40.110 - General Terms
  (a) Discharge prevention and response certificates are valid for a period of five years. The commissioner by rule shall require each registrant to report annually...
• Texas Section 40.111 - Information
  Each applicant for a discharge prevention and response certificate shall submit information, in a form satisfactory to the commissioner, describing the following: (1) the barrel...
• Texas Section 40.112 - Issuance
  On compliance with Sections 40.109 through 40.111 of this code and on payment of the certificate application fee, the commissioner shall issue the applicant a...
• Texas Section 40.113 - Suspension
  If the commissioner determines that a registrant does not have a discharge prevention and response plan or that the registrant's preventive measures or containment and...
• Texas Section 40.114 - Contingency Plans For Vessels
  (a) Any vessel with a capacity to carry 10,000 gallons or more of oil as fuel or cargo that operates in coastal waters or waters...
• Texas Section 40.116 - Audits, Inspections, And Drills
  The commissioner may subject a vessel subject to Section 40.114 of this code or a terminal facility to an announced or unannounced audit, inspection, or...

SUBCHAPTER D PAYMENT OF COSTS AND DAMAGES

• Texas Section 40.117 - Regulations
  (a) The commissioner shall from time to time adopt, amend, repeal, and enforce reasonable regulations, including but not limited to those relating to the following...
• Texas Section 40.151 - Coastal Protection Fund
  (a) The purpose of this subchapter is to provide immediately available funds for response to all unauthorized discharges, for cleanup of pollution from unauthorized discharges...
• Texas Section 40.152 - Use Of Fund
  (a) Money in the fund may be disbursed for the following purposes and no others: (1) administrative expenses, personnel and training expenses, and equipment maintenance...
• Texas Section 40.153 - Reimbursement Of Fund
  The commissioner shall recover to the use of the fund, either from persons responsible for the unauthorized discharge or otherwise liable or from the federal...
• Texas Section 40.154 - Coastal Protection Fee; Administrative Costs
  (a) There is hereby imposed a fee on every person owning crude oil in a vessel at the time such crude oil is transferred to...
• Texas Section 40.155 - Determination Of Fee
  (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the rate of the fee shall be 1-1/3 cents per barrel of crude oil until the commissioner...
• Texas Section 40.156 - Administration Of Fee
  (a) The comptroller shall administer the provisions of this section as provided in Chapters 101 through 113 of the Tax Code. (b) In the event...
• Texas Section 40.157 - Liability Of The Fund
  (a) Persons who incur response costs or who are entitled to damages as a result of an unauthorized discharge of oil may receive compensation from...
• Texas Section 40.158 - Exceptions To Liability
  (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this section, the fund is absolutely liable for: (1) all proven, reasonable response costs approved by the...
• Texas Section 40.159 - Claims From Discharges Of Oil
  (a) (1) On determining that damage from an unauthorized discharge of oil is likely to occur or has occurred and will result in the filing...
• Texas Section 40.160 - Payment Of Awards
  (a) The commissioner shall establish the amount of the award. If the claimant accepts the award, the commissioner shall certify the amount of the award...
• Texas Section 40.161 - Reimbursement Of Fund
  (a) The commissioner shall diligently pursue reimbursement to the fund of any sum expended or paid from the fund. (b) In any action to recover...

SUBCHAPTER E LIABILITY OF PERSONS RESPONSIBLE

• Texas Section 40.162 - Awards Exceeding Fund
  (a) If the total awards against the fund exceed the existing balance of the fund, the claimant or claimants shall be paid from the future...
• Texas Section 40.201 - Financial Responsibility
  (a) Each owner or operator of a vessel subject to Section 40.114 of this code and operating within coastal waters or waters adjoining and accessible...
• Texas Section 40.202 - Response Costs And Damages Liability
  (a) Subject to Subsection (c) of this section, any person responsible for an actual or threatened unauthorized discharge of oil from a vessel is liable...
• Texas Section 40.203 - Liability For Natural Resources Damages
  (a) The commissioner, on behalf of the trustees, shall seek reimbursement from the federal fund for damages to natural resources in excess of the liability...
• Texas Section 40.204 - Defenses
  The only defense of a person responsible for an actual or threatened unauthorized discharge of oil shall be to plead and prove that the discharge...

SUBCHAPTER F ENFORCEMENT

• Texas Section 40.205 - Third Parties
  If a responsible person alleges a defense under Section 40.204(4) of this code, the responsible person shall pay all response costs and damages. The responsible...
• Texas Section 40.251 - Penalties
  (a) A person who intentionally commits any of the following acts in violation of Subchapter C, D, or E shall be guilty of a Class...
• Texas Section 40.252 - Administrative Penalties
  The commissioner may assess administrative penalties for the violations and in the amounts established in Section 40.251 of this code. In determining the amount of...
• Texas Section 40.253 - Cumulative Enforcement
  This subchapter is cumulative of all other applicable penalties, remedies, and enforcement and liability provisions. Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 10, Sec. 1,...
• Texas Section 40.254 - Orders And Hearings
  (a) The commissioner shall assess administrative penalties, pursue suspension of terminal facility discharge prevention and response certificates, and pursue the removal or disposal of derelict...
• Texas Section 40.255 - Actions
  (a) The commissioner may seek injunctive relief to prevent a violation of this chapter from continuing or occurring. (b) All actions on behalf of the...
• Texas Section 40.256 - Individual Cause Of Action
  The remedies in this chapter are cumulative and not exclusive. This chapter does not require pursuit of any claim against the fund as a condition...
• Texas Section 40.257 - Venue
  (a) Venue for all actions and prosecution of all offenses under this chapter may be brought in Travis County or in any county where the...

SUBCHAPTER G MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

• Texas Section 40.258 - Federal Law
  (a) (1) The commissioner shall promulgate rules that, to the greatest extent practicable, conform to the national contingency plan and rules promulgated under federal law....
• Texas Section 40.301 - Interstate Compacts
  The commissioner may enter into compacts or agreements with other states consistent with and to further the purposes of this chapter. The commissioner may also...
• Texas Section 40.302 - Institutions Of Higher Education
  The commissioner by interagency contract shall enter into agreements with state institutions of higher education for research, testing, and development of oil discharge prevention and...
• Texas Section 40.304 - Small Spill Education Program
  The commissioner shall develop and conduct a voluntary spill prevention education program that targets small spills from commercial fishing vessels, offshore support vessels, ferries, cruise...

Last modified: September 28, 2016