84R17341 JAM-D
By: Bell H.B. No. 2532
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a study on the effectiveness of regulations governing
the design and construction of certain Type I municipal solid waste
landfills overlying aquifers.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. (a) In this Act:
(1) "Commission" means the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality.
(2) "Landfill" means a Type I municipal solid waste
landfill:
(A) the entirety of which was designed and
constructed in accordance with regulatory standards effective on or
after October 9, 1993; and
(B) that is not adjacent to a landfill that was
designed and constructed in accordance with regulatory standards
effective before October 9, 1993.
(b) The commission shall conduct a study to determine the
effectiveness of the regulations governing the design and
construction of landfills located over aquifers in this state. The
study must:
(1) determine whether landfills located over aquifers
are leaking;
(2) based on a review of groundwater monitoring data
collected and reported by statewide landfill operators and any
other relevant information, determine if any leakage from landfills
built over aquifers has seeped into or contaminated the groundwater
underlying the landfills;
(3) include any recommendations necessary for
improving the effectiveness of the regulations governing the design
and construction of landfills located over aquifers, including
recommendations to:
(A) prevent or reduce leakage from landfills
overlying aquifers; and
(B) protect aquifers underlying the landfills;
and
(4) be submitted for independent peer review.
(c) The commission may work with other state agencies,
institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, private
organizations, or business entities to conduct the study.
(d) Not later than January 1, 2017, the commission shall
submit a report on the results and recommendations of the study to
the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of
representatives, and the presiding officer of each standing
committee of the legislature with jurisdiction over environmental
matters.
(e) Applications and permits for Type I municipal solid
waste landfills may not be postponed or delayed pending the results
of the study.
SECTION 2. This Act expires August 31, 2017.
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, 2015.