(1) Project
notification. As provided by Texas Natural Resources Code, §§
191.0525,
191.054,
191.093, and
191.098,
public agencies shall notify the commission before groundbreaking on public
land or construction projects that could take, alter, damage, destroy, salvage,
or excavate archeological sites, historic buildings or structures, designated
historic districts, or other cultural resources or landmarks on non-federal
public land in Texas. The notification must contain a brief written scope of
work and a copy of the appropriate topographical quadrangle map with clearly
marked project boundaries and photographs of the buildings or structures
involved in the project work.
(A) State
agencies.
(i) State agencies, other than
institutions of higher education, shall furnish the commission with
documentation of each building possessed by the agency that is 45 years old or
older, pursuant to Texas Natural Resources Code, Chapter 31 (General Land
Office), § 31.153. After an agency's initial report, it must annually
furnish documentation on each building that was acquired after the date of the
previous submission and is 45 years old or older on the date of the current
submission, or is possessed by the agency and has become 45 years old since the
date of the previous submission.
(ii) State agencies must send advance
notification at least 30 days prior to any groundbreaking per § 191.0525,
or at least 60 days prior to altering, renovating, or demolishing a building
that is 50 years old or older per §
191.098 of the
Texas Natural Resources Code.
(iii)
Once the commission receives a complete notification, a response will be
provided within 30 days of receipt of the review request, or within 15 days of
receipt for project locations regarding oil, gas, or other mineral exploration,
production, processing, marketing, refining, or transportation facility or
pipeline projects. The commission shall review submitted documentation and
notify the state agency if archeological sites or historic buildings involved
in the work are landmarks or are eligible for landmark designation, and/or of
the possible need for a survey to locate cultural resources situated in the
proposed development tract. The commission may also issue advisory comments if
a building is historically significant but not eligible for landmark
designation. If the commission does not respond within the specified timeframe,
the state agency may proceed without further notice to the commission.
Expedited reviews may be accommodated on a case-by-case basis if
warranted.
(B) Political
subdivisions.
(i) Political subdivisions must
send advance notification at least 30 days prior to any project that may affect
potential or designated archeological sites if the project affects a cumulative
area larger than five acres or disturbs a cumulative area of more than 5,000
cubic yards, whichever measure is triggered first, or if the project is inside
a recorded archeological site or designated historic district.
(ii) Once the commission receives a complete
notification, a response will be provided within 30 days of receipt of the
review request, or within 15 days of receipt for project locations regarding
oil, gas, or other mineral exploration, production, processing, marketing,
refining, or transportation facility or pipeline projects. The commission shall
review submitted documentation and notify the public agency if archeological
sites involved in the work are landmarks or are eligible for landmark
designation, and/or of the possible need for a survey to locate cultural
resources situated in the proposed development tract. If the commission does
not respond within the specified timeframe, the public agency may proceed
without further notice to the commission. Expedited reviews may be accommodated
on a case-by-case basis if warranted.
(C) Categorical exclusions. Since many
activities conducted on non-federal public land have little, if any, chance to
damage cultural resources, the following activities do not require
notification:
(i) water injection into
existing oil and gas wells;
(ii)
upgrading of electrical transmission lines when there will be no new
disturbance of the existing easement;
(iii) seismic exploration activity when there
is no ground penetration or disturbance;
(iv) building and repairing fences that do
not require construction or modification of associated roads, fire breaks, or
previously disturbed ground;
(v)
road maintenance that does not involve widening or lengthening the
road;
(vi) installation or
replacement of meter taps;
(vii)
controlled burning of fields;
(ix) plowing, if the techniques are similar
to those used previously;
(x)
installation of monuments and sign posts unless within the boundaries of
designated historic districts;
(xi)
maintenance of existing trails;
(xii) land sales and trades of land held by
the permanent school fund and permanent university fund;
(xiii) permanent school fund and permanent
university fund leases, easements, and permits, including mineral leases and
pooling agreements, in which the lessee, grantee, or permittee is specifically
required to comply with the provisions of this chapter;
(xiv) oil, gas, or other mineral exploration,
production, processing, marketing, refining, or transportation facility or
pipeline project in an area where the project will cross state or local public
roads, rivers, and streams, unless they contain a recorded archeological site
or a designated state land tract in Texas' submerged lands; and
(xv) maintenance, operation, replacement, or
minor modification of an existing oil, gas, or other mineral exploration,
production, processing, marketing, refining, or transportation facility or
pipeline.
(D) Emergency
situations. Advance notification is not required for immediate remediation of a
fire, spill, or other emergency associated with an existing facility located on
state or local public lands if the emergency requires an immediate response.
Notification of actions taken in response to an emergency must be submitted
within 15 days of the action. If cultural resources were affected by the
emergency or remediation measures, or may be affected by any long-term actions,
the commission will respond in accordance with paragraph (2) of this
subsection.