SECTION 299.1. Applicability

(a) This chapter applies to design, review, and approval of construction plans and specifications; and construction, operation and maintenance, inspection, repair, removal, emergency management, site security, and enforcement of dams that:

(1) have a height greater than or equal to 25 feet and a maximum storage capacity greater than or equal to 15 acre-feet, as described in paragraph (2) of this subsection;

(2) have a height greater than six feet and a maximum storage capacity greater than or equal to 50 acre-feet;

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(3) are a high- or significant-hazard dam as defined in §299.14 of this title (relating to Hazard Classification Criteria), if over 6 feet high, regardless of maximum storage capacity; or

(4) are used as a pumped storage or terminal storage facility.

(b) This chapter provides the requirements for dams, but does not relieve the owner from meeting the requirements in Texas Water Code (TWC), Chapter 11, and Chapters 213, 295, and 297 of this title (relating to Edwards Aquifer; Water Rights, Procedural; and Water Rights, Substantive; respectively). All applicable requirements in those chapters will still apply.

(c) This chapter does not apply to:

(1) dams designed by, constructed under the supervision of, and owned and maintained by federal agencies such as the Corps of Engineers, International Boundary and Water Commission, and the Bureau of Reclamation;

(2) embankments constructed for roads, highways, and railroads, including low-water crossings, that may temporarily impound floodwater, unless designed to also function as a detention dam;

(3) dikes or levees designed to prevent inundation by floodwater;

(4) off-channel impoundments authorized by the commission under TWC, Chapter 26;

(5) above-ground water storage tanks (steel, concrete, or plastic); and

(6) exempt dams authorized under TWC, Chapter 12. A dam is exempt from this chapter if it meets all of the following:

(A) is located on private property;

(B) has a maximum capacity of less than 500 acre-feet, the capacity at the top of the dam as defined in 30 TAC §299.2(36);

(C) has a hazard classification of low or significant as defined in 30 TAC §299.14;

(D) is located in a county with a population of less than 350,000 based on the most current U. S. Census numbers; and

(E) is not located inside the corporate limits of a municipality, as based on the most current municipal information.

(d) All dams must meet the requirements in this chapter, including dams that do not require a water right permit, other dams that are exempt from the requirements in Subchapter C of this chapter (relating to Construction Requirements), and dams that are granted an exception as defined in §299.5 of this title (relating to Exception).

Source Note: The provisions of this §299.1 adopted to be effective January 1, 2009, 33 TexReg 10465; amended to be effective September 29, 2022, 47 TexReg 6211