Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2155 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 2155
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to the issuance or amendment of a permit for a solid waste
7	7	landfill facility or hazardous waste land disposal unit to be
8	8	located in a special flood hazard area.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 361, Health and Safety
11	11	Code, is amended by adding Section 361.1232 to read as follows:
12	12	Sec. 361.1232. LIMITATION ON MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE LANDFILL IN
13	13	SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD AREA.
14	14	(a) As used in this section, (1) "special flood hazard area"
15	15	means the land in a floodplain subject to a 1 percent or greater
16	16	chance of flooding in any given year as designated by the director
17	17	or administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency; and
18	18	(2) "facility" means all contiguous land and structures, other
19	19	appurtenances (including drainage structures, groundwater
20	20	monitoring wells, landfill gas probes, gate or scale houses), and
21	21	improvements on land used for the storage, processing, management,
22	22	or disposal of solid waste.
23	23	(b) The commission may not issue a permit for a new
24	24	municipal solid waste landfill facility or a lateral expansion of
25	25	an existing municipal solid waste landfill facility that is
26	26	conditioned on the removal of(1) any part of the planned new
27	27	municipal solid waste landfill facility from a special flood hazard
28	28	area, or (2) any part of the planned lateral expansion of an
29	29	existing municipal solid waste facility from a special flood hazard
30	30	area.
31	31	(c) Except as provided by Subsection (d), the commission may
32	32	not issue a permit for a new municipal solid waste landfill facility
33	33	or for a lateral expansion of an existing municipal solid waste
34	34	landfill if any part of the facility is in a special flood hazard
35	35	area unless the applicant has obtained from the Federal Emergency
36	36	Management Agency a letter of map amendment demonstrating that the
37	37	location of the entire facility has been removed from the special
38	38	flood hazard area. A conditional letter of map revision issued by
39	39	the Federal Emergency Management Agency does not satisfy the
40	40	requirements of this subsection.
41	41	(d) The commission by rule may allow a new municipal solid
42	42	waste landfill facility, or the lateral expansion of an existing
43	43	municipal solid waste landfill facility, to be in a special flood
44	44	hazard area, but only if the applicant or permit holder
45	45	demonstrates, and the commission is satisfied and finds, that (1)
46	46	no other suitable site for the facility outside of the special flood
47	47	hazard area exists in the county in which the facility is or would
48	48	be located; (2) removing the proposed site for the facility from the
49	49	special flood hazard area would be prohibitively expensive; and (3)
50	50	the facility is designed and will operate to prevent the washout or
51	51	physical transport of any solid waste by a 100-year flood event.
52	52	SECTION 2. Section 361.098 of Subchapter C, Chapter 361,
53	53	Health and Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
54	54	(a) As used in this section, (1) "special flood hazard area"
55	55	means the land in a floodplain subject to a 1 percent or greater
56	56	chance of flooding in any given year as designated by the director
57	57	or administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency; and
58	58	(2) "facility" means all contiguous land and structures, other
59	59	appurtenances (including drainage structures, groundwater
60	60	monitoring wells, landfill gas probes, gate or scale houses), and
61	61	improvements on land used for the storage, processing, management,
62	62	or disposal of solid waste.
63	63	(b) Except as provided by Subsections (b c) and (c d), the
64	64	commission by rule shall prohibit the issuance of a permit for a new
65	65	hazardous waste landfill or an areal expansion of such a landfill if
66	66	the landfill is to be located in a special flood hazard area [the
67	67	100-year floodplain existing before site development, unless the
68	68	landfill is to be located in an area with a flood depth of less than
69	69	three feet].
70	70	(b c) The commission by rule may allow an areal expansion of
71	71	a landfill facility in a special flood hazard area [100-year
72	72	floodplain] but only if the applicant or permit holder
73	73	demonstrates, and the commission is satisfied and finds [if it can
74	74	be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the commission]that (1) no
75	75	other suitable site for the facility outside of the special flood
76	76	hazard area exists in the county in which the facility is or would
77	77	be located; (2) removing the proposed site for the facility from the
78	78	special flood hazard area would be prohibitively expensive;
79	79	and(3)the facility design will prevent the physical transport of
80	80	any hazardous waste by a 100-year flood event.
81	81	(c d) The commission by rule shall prohibit the issuance of a
82	82	permit for a new commercial hazardous waste land disposal unit if
83	83	the unit is to be located in a special flood hazard area [100-year
84	84	floodplain], but only if the applicant or permit holder
85	85	demonstrates, and the commission is satisfied and finds [unless the
86	86	applicant can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the commission]
87	87	that (1) no other suitable site for the unit outside of a special
88	88	flood hazard area exists in the county in which the unit is or would
89	89	be located; (2) removing the proposed site for the unit from a
90	90	special flood hazard area would be prohibitively expensive;
91	91	and(3)the facility design will prevent the physical transport of
92	92	any hazardous waste by a 100-year flood event.
93	93	(d) The commission by rule shall require an applicant to
94	94	provide sufficient information to assure that a proposed hazardous
95	95	waste landfill, areal expansion of such landfill, or new commercial
96	96	hazardous waste land disposal unit is not subject to inundation of a
97	97	100-year flood event. An applicant or any other party may not rely
98	98	solely on floodplain maps prepared by the Federal Emergency
99	99	Management Agency or a successor agency to determine whether a
100	100	hazardous waste landfill, areal expansion of such landfill, or
101	101	commercial hazardous waste land disposal unit is subject to such an
102	102	inundation.
103	103	SECTION 3. Section 361.1232, Health and Safety Code, as
104	104	added by this Act, and Section 361.098, Health and Safety Code, as
105	105	amended by this Act, apply only to an application for the issuance
106	106	or amendment of a permit for a solid waste landfill facility or
107	107	hazardous waste land disposal unit that is pending before the Texas
108	108	Commission on Environmental Quality on or after the effective date
109	109	of this Act. A permit for a solid waste landfill facility or
110	110	hazardous waste land disposal unit that is issued or amended before
111	111	the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect when
112	112	the permit was issued or amended, and the former law is continued in
113	113	effect for that purpose.
114	114	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
115	115	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
116	116	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
117	117	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
118	118	Act takes effect September 1, 2017.