By: Hinojosa S.B. No. 1156
(Longoria)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to land reclamation projects using tires.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 361, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 361.1126 to read as follows:
Sec. 361.1126. LAND RECLAMATION PROJECTS USING TIRES. (a)
In this section:
(1) "Land reclamation" means the process of restoring
an area of excavated, deteriorated, or disturbed land to its
approximate natural grade and to prepare or reclaim the land for
reuse.
(2) "Scrap tire" has the meaning assigned by Section
361.112.
(b) A person may not begin a land reclamation project using
scrap tires without a permit issued by the commission under this
section.
(c) A person may not use scrap tires for a land reclamation
project unless the tires are shredded, split, or quartered as
provided by commission rule. The commission may grant an exception
to this requirement if the commission finds that circumstances
warrant the exception.
(d) The commission may not grant a permit for a land
reclamation project using scrap tires before:
(1) the commission receives comments or suggestions
from:
(A) the governing body of any municipality in the
corporate limits or extraterritorial jurisdiction of which the
proposed project is located;
(B) the commissioners court of each county in
which the proposed project is located;
(C) each groundwater conservation district, if
any, in which the proposed project is located; and
(D) each regional planning commission, council
of governments, or similar regional planning agency created under
Chapter 391, Local Government Code, if any, for the region in which
the proposed project is located; or
(2) the earlier of:
(A) the 61st day after the date the application
to request a permit for the project is submitted to the commission;
or
(B) the day following the first date the
commissioners court of each county in which the proposed project is
located has conducted two regularly scheduled meetings following
the date the application was submitted to the commission.
(e) The application to request a permit for a land
reclamation project using scrap tires must include at a minimum:
(1) a legal description of the area to be reclaimed;
(2) a map clearly identifying the area to be reclaimed
and the topography of the area;
(3) an affidavit from the property owner certifying
that the reclamation project complies with this section and the
rules adopted under this section;
(4) a demonstration of the seasonal high groundwater
level in the area in which the proposed project is located; and
(5) an analysis and evaluation of the environmental
impacts on the soil and groundwater in the area of the proposed
project that compare the impact of using scrap tires for the
proposed reclamation project to the impact of at least one
reasonable alternative method of land reclamation for the proposed
project.
(f) A person submitting an application to request a permit
under this section must mail a copy of the application to the
commissioners court of each county in which the proposed project is
located and provide notice to the other entities listed in
Subsection (d). Proof of notice must be provided in the form and
manner described by commission rule.
(g) The executive director may request that a person
submitting an application to request a permit under this section
provide additional information if the executive director
determines that the application does not address all applicable
requirements of this section or commission rules adopted under this
section or any potential risks to public health or the environment.
(h) The commission may not grant a permit under this section
if the commission receives notice before issuing the permit that
the proposed project violates a local regulation, ordinance, order,
or other law in the area in which the proposed project is located.
(i) The commission by rule shall:
(1) prescribe minimum standards to protect the soil
and water for a land reclamation project using scrap tires; and
(2) adopt application forms and procedures for the
permitting process under this section, including the adoption of a
procedure that allows the electronic submission of applications.
(j) The commission may amend, extend, transfer, or renew a
permit issued under this section as provided by this chapter and
commission rule.
(k) The notice and hearing procedures provided by this
subchapter apply to a permit issued, amended, extended, or renewed
under this section.
(l) The commission may, for good cause, deny, revoke,
suspend, annul, or amend a permit under this section for reasons
concerning public health and safety, air or water pollution, land
use, or a violation of this section as provided by Section 361.089.
SECTION 2. (a) Before September 1, 2014, the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality shall adopt any rules required
to implement Section 361.1126, Health and Safety Code, as added by
this Act.
(b) On or after the effective date of this Act, any person
responsible for an ongoing or pending land reclamation project
using scrap tires that has not yet placed the tires below ground may
not place the tires below ground until the person has obtained a
permit under Section 361.1126, Health and Safety Code, as added by
this Act.
(c) To the extent that a land reclamation project using
scrap tires has placed tires below ground before the effective date
of this Act, the project is subject to the law in effect on the date
the tires were placed below ground, and that law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2013.