Texas Water Code 26.014 – Power to Enter Property
Terms Used In Texas Water Code 26.014
- Commission: means the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission. See Texas Water Code 26.001
- Executive director: means the executive director of the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission. See Texas Water Code 26.001
- Permit: means an order issued by the commission in accordance with the procedures prescribed in this chapter establishing the treatment which shall be given to wastes being discharged into or adjacent to any water in the state to preserve and enhance the quality of the water and specifying the conditions under which the discharge may be made. See Texas Water Code 26.001
- Person: means an individual, association, partnership, corporation, municipality, state or federal agency, or an agent or employee thereof. See Texas Water Code 26.001
- Property: means real and personal property. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Rule: includes regulation. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- water in the state: means groundwater, percolating or otherwise, lakes, bays, ponds, impounding reservoirs, springs, rivers, streams, creeks, estuaries, wetlands, marshes, inlets, canals, the Gulf of Mexico, inside the territorial limits of the state, and all other bodies of surface water, natural or artificial, inland or coastal, fresh or salt, navigable or nonnavigable, and including the beds and banks of all watercourses and bodies of surface water, that are wholly or partially inside or bordering the state or inside the jurisdiction of the state. See Texas Water Code 26.001
The members of the commission and employees and agents of the commission are entitled to enter any public or private property at any reasonable time for the purpose of inspecting and investigating conditions relating to the quality of water in the state or the compliance with any rule, regulation, permit or other order of the commission. Members, employees, or agents of the commission and commission contractors are entitled to enter public or private property at any reasonable time to investigate or monitor or, if the responsible party is not responsive or there is an immediate danger to public health or the environment, to remove or remediate a condition related to the quality of water in the state. Members, employees, commission contractors, or agents acting under this authority who enter private property shall observe the establishment’s rules and regulations concerning safety, internal security, and fire protection, and if the property has management in residence, shall notify management or the person then in charge of his presence and shall exhibit proper credentials. If any member, employee, commission contractor, or agent is refused the right to enter in or on public or private property under this authority, the executive director may invoke the remedies authorized in Section 26.123 of this code.