Texas 2011 - 82nd Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1471 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Hinojosa S.B. No. 1471
2	2	(In the Senate - Filed March 10, 2011; March 22, 2011, read
3	3	first time and referred to Committee on Natural Resources;
4	4	April 27, 2011, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 9,
5	5	Nays 0; April 27, 2011, sent to printer.)
6	6
7	7
8	8	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
9	9	AN ACT
10	10	relating to land reclamation projects using tires.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 361, Health and Safety
13	13	Code, is amended by adding Section 361.1126 to read as follows:
14	14	Sec. 361.1126. LAND RECLAMATION PROJECTS USING TIRES.
15	15	(a) In this section:
16	16	(1) "Land reclamation" means the process of restoring
17	17	an area of excavated, deteriorated, or disturbed land to its
18	18	approximate natural grade and to prepare or reclaim the land for
19	19	reuse.
20	20	(2) "Scrap tire" has the meaning assigned by Section
21	21	361.112.
22	22	(b) A person may not begin a land reclamation project using
23	23	scrap tires without a permit issued by the commission under this
24	24	section.
25	25	(c) A person may not use scrap tires for a land reclamation
26	26	project unless the tires are shredded, split, or quartered as
27	27	provided by commission rule. The commission may grant an exception
28	28	to this requirement if the commission finds that circumstances
29	29	warrant the exception.
30	30	(d) The commission may not grant a permit for a land
31	31	reclamation project using scrap tires before:
32	32	(1) the commission receives comments or suggestions
33	33	from:
34	34	(A) the governing body of any municipality in the
35	35	corporate limits or extraterritorial jurisdiction of which the
36	36	proposed project is located;
37	37	(B) the commissioners court of each county in
38	38	which the proposed project is located;
39	39	(C) each groundwater conservation district, if
40	40	any, in which the proposed project is located; and
41	41	(D) each regional planning commission, council
42	42	of governments, or similar regional planning agency created under
43	43	Chapter 391, Local Government Code, if any, for the region in which
44	44	the proposed project is located; or
45	45	(2) the earlier of:
46	46	(A) the 61st day after the date the application
47	47	to request a permit for the project is submitted to the commission;
48	48	or
49	49	(B) the day following the first date the
50	50	commissioners court of each county in which the proposed project is
51	51	located has conducted two regularly scheduled meetings following
52	52	the date the application was submitted to the commission.
53	53	(e) The application to request a permit for a land
54	54	reclamation project using scrap tires must include at a minimum:
55	55	(1) a legal description of the area to be reclaimed;
56	56	(2) a map clearly identifying the area to be reclaimed
57	57	and the topography of the area;
58	58	(3) an affidavit from the property owner certifying
59	59	that the reclamation project complies with this section and the
60	60	rules adopted under this section;
61	61	(4) a demonstration of the seasonal high groundwater
62	62	level in the area in which the proposed project is located; and
63	63	(5) an analysis and evaluation of the environmental
64	64	impacts on the soil and groundwater in the area of the proposed
65	65	project that compares the impact of using scrap tires for the
66	66	proposed reclamation project to the impact of at least one
67	67	reasonable alternative method of land reclamation for the proposed
68	68	project.
69	69	(f) A person submitting an application to request a permit
70	70	under this section must mail a copy of the application to the
71	71	commissioners court of each county in which the proposed project is
72	72	located and provide notice to the other entities listed in
73	73	Subsection (d). Proof of notice must be provided in the form and
74	74	manner described by commission rule.
75	75	(g) The executive director may request that a person
76	76	submitting an application to request a permit under this section
77	77	provide additional information if the executive director
78	78	determines that the application does not address all applicable
79	79	requirements of this section or commission rules adopted under this
80	80	section or any potential risks to public health or the environment.
81	81	(h) The commission may not grant a permit under this section
82	82	if the commission receives notice before issuing the permit that
83	83	the proposed project violates a local regulation, ordinance, order,
84	84	or other law in the area in which the proposed project is located.
85	85	(i) The commission by rule shall:
86	86	(1) prescribe minimum standards to protect the soil
87	87	and water for a land reclamation project using scrap tires; and
88	88	(2) adopt application forms and procedures for the
89	89	permitting process under this section, including the adoption of a
90	90	procedure that allows the electronic submission of applications.
91	91	(j) The commission may amend, extend, transfer, or renew a
92	92	permit issued under this section as provided by this chapter and
93	93	commission rule.
94	94	(k) The notice and hearing procedures provided by this
95	95	subchapter apply to a permit issued, amended, extended, or renewed
96	96	under this section.
97	97	(l) The commission may, for good cause, deny, revoke,
98	98	suspend, annul, or amend a permit under this section for reasons
99	99	concerning public health and safety, air or water pollution, land
100	100	use, or a violation of this section as provided by Section 361.089.
101	101	SECTION 2. (a) Before September 1, 2012, the Texas
102	102	Commission on Environmental Quality shall adopt any rules required
103	103	to implement Section 361.1126, Health and Safety Code, as added by
104	104	this Act.
105	105	(b) On or after the effective date of this Act, any person
106	106	responsible for an ongoing or pending land reclamation project
107	107	using scrap tires that has not yet placed the tires below ground may
108	108	not place the tires below ground until the person has obtained a
109	109	permit under Section 361.1126, Health and Safety Code, as added by
110	110	this Act.
111	111	(c) To the extent that a land reclamation project using
112	112	scrap tires has placed tires below ground before the effective date
113	113	of this Act, the project is subject to the law in effect on the date
114	114	the tires were placed below ground, and that law is continued in
115	115	effect for that purpose.
116	116	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
117	117	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
118	118	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
119	119	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
120	120	Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
121	121	* * * * *