| (a) For purposes of Texas Occupations Code §1958.002(b)(1)(D),
regarding the excepted emergency containment of mold contamination,
an emergency exists if a delay in mold remediation services in response
to a water damage occurrence would increase mold contamination.
(b) For purposes of Texas Occupations Code §1958.102(d)
and (e), regarding certain residential property, the exemptions apply
regardless of the total surface area within the subject property that
is affected by mold growth. The following terms used in Texas Occupations
Code §1958.102(d) shall have the meaning given:
(1) "improve" means to build, construct, or erect a
new building or structure or a new portion of a building or structure
that is attached to an existing building or structure; and
(2) "improvement" means a building or structure, or
a portion of a building or structure, that was built, constructed,
or erected as an attachment to an existing building or structure after
the construction or erection of the existing building or structure.
(c) Licensees performing mold remediation in an area
in which the mold contamination for the project affects a total surface
area of less than 25 contiguous square feet must do so in accordance
with the Act and this chapter unless otherwise indicated.
(d) A person who is performing mold remediation under
the licensing exemptions of §1958.102(a) or (c) of the Act, in
which the mold contamination affects a total surface area of less
than 25 contiguous square feet, and who identifies additional mold
such that the total mold contamination affects a total surface area
of 25 contiguous square feet or more shall:
(1) immediately cease all remediation work and implement
emergency containment if necessary; and
(2) advise the person requesting the remediation that
the exemption under §1958.102(a) or (c) of the Act has been lost,
and that any additional mold remediation and post-remediation assessment
in the area must be performed by a person licensed or registered under
this chapter.
(e) Employees of a licensee performing mold remediation
under the supervision of a licensee must be registered as provided
under §78.56.
(f) Professional exemptions.
(1) All persons engaged in mold-related activities
must be licensed or registered under this chapter, except that those
professionals currently licensed by the state in another field (including,
but not limited to, medicine, architecture, or engineering) who provide
to a licensed or registered person only consultation related to that
other field, are not required to be separately licensed under this
chapter. In such a case, the responsibility for the project or activity
remains with the person licensed or registered under this chapter.
(2) A person is not required to be licensed or registered
under this chapter if engaging only in the performance of regulated
activities of a licensed insurance adjuster pursuant to Chapter 4101
of the Texas Insurance Code or in the performance of regulated activities
of a licensed public insurance adjuster pursuant to Chapter 4102 of
the Texas Insurance Code, including the investigation and review of
losses to insured property, assignment of coverage, and estimation
of the usual and customary expenses due under the applicable insurance
policy, including expenses for reasonable and customary mold assessment
and remediation.
(g) The review of mold remediation bids or proposals
and making recommendations thereto is not mold assessment or mold
remediation.
(h) The code of ethics, conflict of interest, and disclosure
requirements in the Act and these rules apply to credentialed persons
engaging in the activities described in this section.
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