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Tex. Natural Resources Code § 40.204

This is the official text of Tex. Natural Resources Code § 40.204, part of Texas’s Natural Resources Code — governs land, minerals, and natural resource management.

Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

§ 40.204. DEFENSES.

Official statutory text

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 resulted solely from any of the following or any combination of the following:

(1) an act of war or terrorism;

(2) an act of government, either state, federal, or local;

(3) an unforeseeable occurrence exclusively occasioned by the violence of nature without the interference of any human act or omission; or

(4) the wilful misconduct or a negligent act or omission of a third party, other than an employee or agent of the person responsible or a third party whose conduct occurs in connection with a contractual relationship with the responsible person, unless the responsible person failed to exercise due care and take precautions against foreseeable conduct of the third party.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.