Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1572 Compare Versions

The same version is selected twice. Please select two different versions to compare.

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: Hinojosa S.B. No. 1572
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to land reclamation projects using tires.
7	7	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
8	8	SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 361, Health and Safety
9	9	Code, is amended by adding Section 361.1127 to read as follows:
10	10	Sec. 361.1127. LAND RECLAMATION PROJECTS USING TIRES.
11	11	(a) In this section:
12	12	(1) "Land reclamation" means the process of restoring
13	13	an area of excavated, deteriorated, or disturbed land to its
14	14	approximate natural grade and to prepare or reclaim the land for
15	15	reuse.
16	16	(2) "Scrap tire" has the meaning assigned by Section
17	17	361.112.
18	18	(b) A person may not begin a land reclamation project using
19	19	scrap tires without a permit issued by the commission under this
20	20	chapter.
21	21	(c) A person may not use scrap tires for a land reclamation
22	22	project unless the tires are shredded, split, or quartered as
23	23	provided by commission rule. The commission may grant an exception
24	24	to this requirement if the commission finds that circumstances
25	25	warrant the exception.
26	26	(d) The commission may not grant a permit for a land
27	27	reclamation project using scrap tires before:
28	28	(1) the commission receives comments or suggestions
29	29	from:
30	30	(A) the governing body of any municipality in the
31	31	corporate limits of which the proposed project is located; or
32	32	(B) if the proposed project is not located in a
33	33	municipality:
34	34	(i) the commissioners court of each county
35	35	in which the proposed project is located; and
36	36	(ii) each groundwater conservation
37	37	district, if any, in which the proposed project is located; or
38	38	(2) the expiration of a time period, established by
39	39	commission rule, in which the entities described by this subsection
40	40	may offer comments.
41	41	(e) The application to request a permit for a land
42	42	reclamation project using scrap tires must include at a minimum:
43	43	(1) a legal description of the area to be reclaimed;
44	44	(2) a map clearly identifying the area to be reclaimed
45	45	and the topography of the area;
46	46	(3) an affidavit from the property owner certifying
47	47	that the reclamation project complies with this section and the
48	48	rules adopted under this section; and
49	49	(4) an analysis and evaluation of the environmental
50	50	impacts on the soil and groundwater in the area of the proposed
51	51	project that compare the impact of using scrap tires for the
52	52	proposed reclamation project to the impact of at least one
53	53	reasonable alternative method of land reclamation for the proposed
54	54	project.
55	55	(f) The commission by rule shall:
56	56	(1) prescribe minimum standards to protect the soil
57	57	and water for a land reclamation project using scrap tires; and
58	58	(2) adopt application forms and procedures for the
59	59	permitting process under this section.
60	60	(g) The commission may amend, extend, transfer, or renew a
61	61	permit issued under this section as provided by this chapter and
62	62	commission rule.
63	63	(h) The notice and hearing procedures provided by this
64	64	subchapter apply to a permit issued, amended, extended, or renewed
65	65	under this section.
66	66	(i) The commission may, for good cause, deny, revoke, or
67	67	amend a permit under this section for reasons concerning public
68	68	health and safety, air or water pollution, land use, or a violation
69	69	of this section as provided by Section 361.089.
70	70	SECTION 2. (a) Before September 1, 2010, the Texas
71	71	Commission on Environmental Quality shall adopt any rules required
72	72	to implement Section 361.1127, Health and Safety Code, as added by
73	73	this Act.
74	74	(b) On or after the effective date of this Act, any person
75	75	responsible for an ongoing or pending land reclamation project
76	76	using scrap tires that has not yet placed the tires below ground may
77	77	not place the tires below ground until the person has obtained a
78	78	permit under Section 361.1127, Health and Safety Code, as added by
79	79	this Act.
80	80	(c) To the extent that a land reclamation project using
81	81	scrap tires has placed tires below ground before the effective date
82	82	of this Act, the project is subject to the law in effect on the date
83	83	the tires were placed below ground, and that law is continued in
84	84	effect for that purpose.
85	85	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
86	86	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
87	87	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
88	88	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
89	89	Act takes effect September 1, 2009.