Tex. Water Code § 26.266
This is the official text of Tex. Water Code § 26.266, part of Texas’s Water Code — governs water rights and water 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.
§ 26.266. REMOVAL OF SPILL OR DISCHARGE.
Official statutory text
(a) Any owner, operator, demise charterer, or person in charge of a vessel or of any on-shore facility or off-shore facility shall immediately undertake all reasonable actions to abate and remove the discharge or spill subject to applicable federal and state requirements, and subject to the control of the federal on-scene coordinator.
(b) In the event that the responsible person is unwilling or in the opinion of the executive director is unable to remove the discharge or spill, or the removal operation of the responsible person is inadequate, the commission may undertake the removal of the discharge or spill and may retain agents for these purposes who shall operate under the direction of the executive director.
(c) Any discharge or spill of a hazardous substance, the source of which is unknown, occurring in or having a potentially harmful effect on waters in this state or in waters beyond the jurisdiction of this state and which may reasonably be expected to enter waters in this state may be removed by or under the direction of the executive director. Any expense involved in the removal of an unexplained discharge pursuant to this subsection shall be paid, on the commission's approval, from the account, subject to the authority of the commission to seek reimbursement from an agency of the federal government, and from the responsible person if the identity of that person is discovered.
(d) Deleted by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 99, Sec. 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
(b) In the event that the responsible person is unwilling or in the opinion of the executive director is unable to remove the discharge or spill, or the removal operation of the responsible person is inadequate, the commission may undertake the removal of the discharge or spill and may retain agents for these purposes who shall operate under the direction of the executive director.
(c) Any discharge or spill of a hazardous substance, the source of which is unknown, occurring in or having a potentially harmful effect on waters in this state or in waters beyond the jurisdiction of this state and which may reasonably be expected to enter waters in this state may be removed by or under the direction of the executive director. Any expense involved in the removal of an unexplained discharge pursuant to this subsection shall be paid, on the commission's approval, from the account, subject to the authority of the commission to seek reimbursement from an agency of the federal government, and from the responsible person if the identity of that person is discovered.
(d) Deleted by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 99, Sec. 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in Texas?
Find a Texas lawyer
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.