### THE 

## Ax-r NEY GENERAL. ~FTExAS

Honorable Dean Martin Opinion NO. 

### c-296 County Attorney Grayson County Re: Whether the County Judge's Sherman, Texas permissionhas to be secured before seismograph blasts can be performed under the waters of Lake Dear Mr. Martin: Texoma.

Your recent letter asks the opinion of this office in regard to the question stated by you as follows:

'Doe8 the County Judge'spermission necessarilyhave to be securedbefore any sefsmograph

blasts can be the waters of Lake Texoma? performedunder

The question is asked with specificreference to Article 924, Vernon@s Penal Code, which reads in part as follows:

"It shall be unlawful for any person to place in any of the waters of this State any poison, lime, dynamite,nitroglycerin, giant powder OP other explosivesor to place in such waters any drugs, substancesor things deleterious to fish life for the purpose of catching or attemptingto catch fish by the use of such substancesor thlngs, or for any other purpose whatsoeversprovidedhowever that in event it becomes necessary to place any explosive in waters In connectionwith construction work> same may be authorizedby written order of the County Judge of the Countywhere the work is to be done. In Attorney General'sOpinion No. V-405 (lg&'),Article 924 of the Penal Code was held to be constitutional, and It was further held that the said article applied to waters of the Gulf of Mexico within the boundariesof the State of Texas.
-1415-Ron. Dean Martin, page 2 (C- 

### 296)

On page seven of such opinion,we find the following statement:

"In amending the Act, /Article 924, V.P.CL7 the 44th Leglslaturcrather than enumeratethe various kinds of waters, simply covered all waters by the term 'in any waters of this State.'" And also this statement:

"Obviouslya differentrule applies to lands which have been leased'orwhich may be leased hereafter from the State. When the lessee in good faith decideshe must determine how and where to constructa derrick,drilling rig, etc., upon such lands and .shows that use of dynamite is necessary In connection with such work, the County Judge of the proper Countymay permit such use under the proviso in Article 924, V.P.C. It is commonlyknown that detail work must be accomplished by exploratorymethods which sometimesrequireuse of explosivesbefore a lessee can determine how and where to conduct actual construction and developmentoperationson the lease he has purchased. Any of such operationsreasonably necessary in connectionwith good faith constructionwork could be permittedby the County Judge of the County in which the submergedland is located." We find no case law or statutewhich distinguishes between a river of the State and a federally-constructed lake in regard to the applicability of the provisionsof Article 924, and agree with the above quoted rule In regard to leased land, whether from the State or from private individuals, we therefore conclude that the provlsionsof Article 924 apply to Lake Texoma, and that compliance must be made with that provlaion of the same requiringwritten order of the County Judge for the placing of any explosivesIn the lake in connection with conatructlon work. SUMMARY

Permissionof the County Judge of Grayson Countymust be securedbefore seismograph blasts can be performed on land situated in Grayson County and submergedunder Lake Texoma. -1416-Hon. Dean Martin, page 

### 3 (cp96)

Very truly yours, WAGGONER CARR Attorney Qeneral

Edward P. Balding Asalstant EPB:wb:mkh APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTEE w&A su&z, Chairman Sam Kelley John Reeve8 V. F. Taylor APPROVEDFOR THE ATTORNEY CtENERAL BY: Stanton Stone

-1417-