Texas 2013 - 83rd Regular

Texas House Bill HB824 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1	83R14212 JXC-D
2	2	By: Callegari H.B. No. 824
3	3	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 824:
4	4	By: King of Zavala C.S.H.B. No. 824
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to a volume-based exemption from reporting requirements
10	10	for accidental sanitary sewer overflows.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 26.039, Water Code, is amended by
13	13	amending Subsections (b) and (f) and adding Subsection (b-1) to
14	14	read as follows:
15	15	(b) Except as provided by Subsection (b-1), whenever
16	16	[Whenever] an accidental discharge or spill occurs at or from any
17	17	activity or facility which causes or may cause pollution, the
18	18	individual operating, in charge of, or responsible for the activity
19	19	or facility shall notify the commission as soon as possible and not
20	20	later than 24 hours after the occurrence. The individual's notice
21	21	to the commission must include the location, volume, and content of
22	22	the discharge or spill.
23	23	(b-1) The individual is not required to notify the
24	24	commission under Subsection (b) or local government officials or
25	25	local media under Subsection (e) of a sanitary sewer overflow, as
26	26	defined by Section 26.049, that is:
27	27	(1) 1,000 gallons or less; and
28	28	(2) controlled or removed:
29	29	(A) before the overflow enters water in the
30	30	state; and
31	31	(B) before the overflow adversely affects a
32	32	public or private source of drinking water.
33	33	(f) The commission by rule shall specify the conditions
34	34	under which an individual must comply with Subsections (b) and
35	35	[Subsection] (e) and prescribe procedures for giving the required
36	36	notice. The rules must also state the content of the notice and the
37	37	manner of giving notice. In formulating the rules, the commission
38	38	shall consider:
39	39	(1) the nature and extent of the discharge or spill;
40	40	(2) the potential effect of the discharge or spill;
41	41	and
42	42	(3) regional information about the susceptibility of a
43	43	particular drinking water source to a specific type of pollution.
44	44	SECTION 2. (a) Not later than December 1, 2013, the Texas
45	45	Commission on Environmental Quality shall adopt rules necessary to
46	46	implement Section 26.039, Water Code, as amended by this Act.
47	47	(b) The change in law made by this Act applies only to an
48	48	offense committed on or after the effective date of a rule adopted
49	49	by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality under this
50	50	section. For purposes of this section, an offense was committed
51	51	before the effective date of a rule adopted by the Texas Commission
52	52	on Environmental Quality under this section if any element of the
53	53	offense occurred before that date.
54	54	(c) An offense committed before the effective date of a rule
55	55	adopted by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality under this
56	56	section is governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was
57	57	committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
58	58	purpose.
59	59	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.