If the permittee, project sponsor, principal investigator, or investigative firm, fails to comply with any of the rules and regulations of the committee or any of the terms of the specific permit involved, or fails to properly conduct or complete the project, or fails to act in the best interest of the state, or fails to meet terms and conditions of defaulted permits, the committee may cancel the permit and notify the permittee of such cancellation by registered letter, mailed to the first address furnished to the committee by the permit applicant. Upon notification of cancellation, when determined to be appropriate, the permittee and principal investigator/investigative firm shall, in the case of ongoing projects, cease work immediately, remove all personnel and equipment, and vacate the area or site within 24 hours. Upon cancellation of a permit, the permittee forfeits all rights to the specimens and data recovered. A permit which has been canceled can be reinstated by the committee if good cause is shown within 30 days. A principal investigator and investigative firm shall not proceed with an archeological investigation, or other permitted investigation, without applying for, and having been issued a permit by the committee, or without having been officially authorized by the committee to proceed prior to issuance of an emergency permit. Failure to do so may result in the principal investigator and investigative firm being censured and denied issuance of a permit for the investigation in question, and any other investigations that require permits, for a six month period. The committee will send a letter of reprimand the principal investigator and/or investigative firm for each application offense. More than one permit application offense in one calendar year could result in permit censuring for a period of six months for each offense. Final determinations on permit censuring will be made by the board of the committee, in consultation with the Antiquities Advisory Board, at their earliest possible quarterly meeting. If the committee determines that more than one permit application offense has occurred in one calendar year, they may direct the staff to censure the principal investigator and investigative firm in question. The censured parties will then be ineligible to be issued a permit for a period of six months for each offense. Any decisions relative to permit censuring can be appealed to the State Office of Administrative Hearing (SOAH), and a formal evidentiary hearing on the matter will be set. Project sponsors and permittees shall not encourage principal investigators or investigative firms to perform investigations on public lands in the State of Texas without a properly issued permit, and such investigations proceeding with the knowledge of the project sponsor and/or permittee would constitute a violation of the Antiquities Code of Texas. This action may result in the denial of a permit and compromise authorization for a development project to proceed relative to jurisdiction under the Antiquities Code of Texas. The committee may also require that the investigations performed without a permit be performed again under a properly issued permit.

Source Note:The provisions of this §26.3 adopted to be effective June 24, 1988, 13 TexReg 2913; amended to be effective February 12, 1993, 18 TexReg 643; transferred effective August 30, 1995, as published in the Texas Register October 17, 1995, 20 TexReg 8442; amended to be effective December 5, 1995, 20 TexReg 9687; amended to be effective April 22, 1997, 22 TexReg 3577.