(a) Project sponsor required. Each transportation project must have a project sponsor that accepts responsibility for preparing the environmental review document or documentation of categorical exclusion, and performing related tasks.
(b) Project sponsor for projects developed by the department.
  (1) For transportation projects developed by the department, the project sponsor will be the department district or division that is developing the project.
  (2) A district or division, at its discretion, may allow a public entity that does not qualify as a project sponsor under subsection (c) of this section, a public entity that qualifies as a project sponsor under subsection (c) of this section but does not wish to be the official project sponsor, or a private entity to develop an environmental review document or documentation of categorical exclusion for the district's or division's use, but neither a public entity that does not qualify under subsection (c) of this section nor a private entity may be a project sponsor.
(c) Local government as project sponsor. A local governmental entity that is eligible under this subsection may be a project sponsor for a highway project under Subchapter C of this chapter (relating to Environmental Review Process for Highway Projects) if the department approves the notice submitted by the local government under §2.47 of this chapter (relating to Approval of Local Government as Project Sponsor). To be eligible, an entity must be a municipality; a county; a group of adjoining counties; a county acting under Transportation Code, Chapter 284; a regional tollway authority operating under Transportation Code, Chapter 366; a regional mobility authority operating under Transportation Code, Chapter 370; a local government corporation; or a transportation corporation created under Transportation Code, Chapter 431.

Source Note: The provisions of this §2.7 adopted to be effective April 16, 2012, 37 TexReg 1727; amended to be effective April 16, 2014, 39 TexReg 2941; amended to be effective September 19, 2018, 43 TexReg 5987