1. (a) The commission has determined there is substantial evidence of the presence of shipwrecks in certain state land tracts of Texas' submerged lands. Such tracts are designated as sensitive tracts by the commission. The list of sensitive tracts is maintained by the Texas General Land Office as part of that agency's Resource Management Code system for state-owned submerged lands and is updated as necessary by the commission. This list is available from the Texas General Land Office, Resource Management Division.
2. (b) The commission shall take action to determine the site, or probable site, of shipwrecks in Texas' submerged lands within a designated state land tract and remove from the designations certain state land tracts in which there has been a determination there is not a substantial probability of finding a shipwreck.
3. (c) The list of sensitive state tracts in state-owned submerged lands is considered only a guide to the probability of the presence or absence of a state archeological landmark or eligible property within a given tract.
4. (d) If, during the conduct of activities in submerged state land tracts, a person discovers the existence of a shipwreck, the person shall promptly notify the commission of the existence of the historic property and shall conduct the activities in a manner that will avoid damage to the shipwreck.
5. (e) The commission possesses information related to shipwrecks in Texas' submerged lands. Access to such information, with the exception of the list of sensitive tracts described in subsection (a) of this section, is limited to registered researchers as specified in Chapter 24 of this title. The commission's shipwreck reference file will be available for review by registered researchers at the commission during regular business hours.
6. (f) Any non-shipwreck historic or prehistoric cultural resources in, on, or under the surface of any land, including submerged land, belonging to the State of Texas or to any county, city, or other political subdivision of the state is protected under Chapter 26 of this title.

Source Note:The provisions of this §28.4 adopted to be effective March 18, 2003, 28 TexReg 2316.