(a) Third party contractor. The Applicant shall contract with a third-party contractor at its own expense to prepare an EIS and any associated documents required for consideration by the executive administrator.
(b) Executive administrator approval. The executive administrator must approve of and participate in the Applicant's selection of the third-party contractor. The third party contractor shall be selected on the basis of its qualifications to prepare the EIS, including experience with data collection and analyses as well as with the clear presentation of information and data. The third-party contractor shall be responsible for providing technical advice to the Applicant and for receiving and incorporating technical advice from the executive administrator.
(c) The third-party contractor shall not have any financial or other interest in the proposed project and must submit a disclosure statement to the executive administrator documenting the fact that it has no financial or other interest in the project.
(d) Contract with third party. The Applicant and the executive administrator must agree to the creation and terms of a contract with the third party jointly selected by them to prepare the EIS. The contract terms must ensure that the third party does not have recourse to the Board or the EPA for financial or other claims arising under the contract.
(e) The third-party contractor shall cooperate with the executive administrator and shall provide draft documents, analyses, and conclusions that adequately assess the relevant environmental issues for review, comment, and direction from the executive administrator. The executive administrator shall have sole responsibility to ensure that the EIS and any associated documents adequately address the relevant environmental issues.

Source Note: The provisions of this §371.49 adopted to be effective July 4, 2016, 41 TexReg 4844