By: Callegari H.B. No. 824
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a volume-based exemption from reporting requirements
for accidental discharges or spills from wastewater facilities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 26.039, Water Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (b), (e), and (f) and adding Subsection (b-1)
to read as follows:
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (b-1), whenever
[Whenever] an accidental discharge or spill occurs at or from any
activity or facility which causes or may cause pollution, the
individual operating, in charge of, or responsible for the activity
or facility shall notify the commission as soon as possible and not
later than 24 hours after the occurrence. The individual's notice
to the commission must include the location, volume, and content of
the discharge or spill.
(b-1) The individual is not required to notify the
commission under Subsection (b) if an accidental discharge or spill
of 1,500 gallons or less from a wastewater treatment facility or
works or collection facility does not reach waters of the state.
(e) If an accidental discharge or spill described by
Subsection (b) of more than 1,500 gallons from a wastewater
treatment facility or works or collection facility owned or
operated by a local government may adversely affect a public or
private source of drinking water, the individual shall also notify
appropriate local government officials and local media.
(f) The commission by rule shall specify the conditions
under which an individual must comply with Subsection (b), subject
to Subsection (b-1), and with Subsection (e) and prescribe
procedures for giving the required notice. The rules must also
state the content of the notice and the manner of giving notice. In
formulating the rules, the commission shall consider:
(1) the nature and extent of the discharge or spill;
(2) the potential effect of the discharge or spill;
and
(3) regional information about the susceptibility of a
particular drinking water source to a specific type of pollution.
SECTION 2. (a) Not later than December 1, 2013, the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality shall adopt rules necessary to
implement Section 26.039, Water Code, as amended by this Act.
(b) The change in law made by this Act applies only to an
offense committed on or after the effective date of a rule adopted
by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality under this
section. For purposes of this section, an offense was committed
before the effective date of a rule adopted by the Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality under this section if any element of the
offense occurred before that date.
(c) An offense committed before the effective date of a rule
adopted by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality under this
section is governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was
committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.