SECTION 28.10. Permit Service Center

(a) Permitting assistance is administered by the Permit Service Center (PSC). The purpose of the PSC is to serve as an outlet for basic permit information and provide applicants with permitting assistance for proposed activities in the coastal zone subject to the CMP.

(b) Assistance will be provided to applicants for proposed activities in the coastal zone requiring either one or more agency or subdivision permits or proposed actions subject to the CMP. These permits and actions are listed in subsection (c) of this section. Under Texas Natural Resources Code §33.205(a) and (b), these permits and actions must comply with goals and policies of the CMP.

(c) Agency or subdivision permits and actions:

(1) The General Land Office, the School Land Board, or a board for lease of state-owned lands when issuing or approving:

(A) a mineral lease plan of operations;

(B) a geophysical or geochemical permit;

(C) a coastal easement;

(D) a miscellaneous easement;

(E) a coastal lease;

(F) a surface lease;

(G) a structure registration;

(H) a cabin permit;

(I) a navigation district lease;

(J) certification of a local government beach access or dune protection plan; or

(K) an agency or subdivision wetlands mitigation bank.

(2) The Public Utility Commission of Texas when issuing a certificate of convenience and necessity.

(3) The Railroad Commission of Texas when issuing:

(A) a wastewater discharge permit;

(B) a waste disposal or storage pit permit; or

(C) a certification of a federal permit for the discharge of dredge or fill material.

(4) The Texas Transportation Commission when approving:

(A) 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

(B) a transportation construction project or maintenance program.

(5) The Texas Historical Commission and the Antiquities Committee when issuing:

(A) a permit for destruction, alteration, or taking of a coastal historic area; or

(B) a review of a federal undertaking affecting a coastal historic area.

(6) The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality when issuing or approving:

(A) a wastewater discharge permit;

(B) a permit for a new concentrated animal feeding operation located one mile or less from a critical area or coastal waters;

(C) a permit for solid or hazardous waste treatment, storage, or disposal;

(D) creation of a special purpose district or approval of bonds for the purpose of construction of infrastructure on coastal barriers;

(E) levee improvement or flood control projects;

(F) a certification of a federal permit for the discharge of dredge or fill material;

(G) a declaration of an emergency and request for an emergency release of water;

(H) a new permit for an annual appropriation of:

(i) 5,000 or more acre-feet of water within the program boundary; or

(ii) 10,000 or more acre-feet of water outside the program boundary but within 200 stream miles of the coast;

(I) an amendment to a water permit for an increase in an annual appropriation of:

(i) 5,000 or more acre-feet of water within the program boundary; or

(ii) 10,000 or more acre-feet of water outside the program boundary but within 200 stream miles of the coast; or

(J) a change in the purpose of use of an annual appropriation of water to a more consumptive use of:

(i) 5,000 or more acre-feet of water within the program boundary; or

(ii) 10,000 or more acre-feet of water outside the program boundary but within 200 stream miles of the coast.

(7) The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department when issuing or approving:

(A) an oyster lease or certificate of location;

(B) a permit for taking, transporting, or possessing threatened or endangered species;

(C) a permit for disturbing marl, sand, shell, or gravel on state-owned land; or

(D) development by a person other than the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department that requires the use or taking of any public land in a state park, wildlife management area, or preserve.

(8) A subdivision when issuing a dune protection permit or beachfront construction certificate that authorizes:

(A) 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;

(B) construction activity that results in the disturbance of more than 7,500 cubic yards of dunes;

(C) 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

(D) 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.

(9) 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 has been certified under Texas Natural Resources Code §33.2052 and:

(A) for a wastewater discharge permit, if the action is not a major permit modification that would:

(i) increase pollutant loads to coastal waters; or

(ii) result in relocation of an outfall to a critical area;

(B) for solid, hazardous, or nonhazardous waste permits, if the action is not a Class III modification under rules of the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission; or

(C) for any other action, if the action:

(i) only extends the period of the existing authorization and does not authorize new or additional work or activity; or

(ii) is not directly relevant to Texas Natural Resources Code §33.205(a) and (b).

(10) Except as provided by paragraph (6)(H) - (J) of this subsection, this does not apply to an agency permit or action authorizing an activity outside the program boundary.

(d) The PSC also provides permitting assistance for the following equivalent federal actions:

(1) Environmental Protection Agency: National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits under 33 United States Code Annotated, §1342.

(2) United States Army Corps of Engineers: Dredge and fill permits under 33 United States Code Annotated, §1344.

Source Note: The provisions of this §28.10 adopted to be effective April 3, 1997, 22 TexReg 3041; amended to be effective July 19, 1999, 24 TexReg 5522; amended to be effective October 6, 2004, 29 TexReg 9409; amended to be effective October 7, 2018, 43 TexReg 6450; transferred effective December 1, 2022, as published in the Texas Register October 28, 2022, 47 TexReg 7301; amended to be effective July 10, 2023, 48 TexReg 3674