86R14130 JXC-D
By: Guillen H.B. No. 2942
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the adoption and enforcement of reclamation standards
for certain sand mining operations; authorizing a fee.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Title 4, Natural Resources Code, is amended by
adding Chapter 135 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 135. RECLAMATION STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN SAND MINING
OPERATIONS
Sec. 135.0101. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Commission" means the Railroad Commission of
Texas.
(2) "Marketable material" means sand mined at the
regulated premises and processed for sale.
(3) "Unmarketable material" means material excavated
or mined from the regulated premises other than marketable material
and includes surface soil, unmarketable sand, and overburden and
interburden encountered during mining and processing operations.
Sec. 135.0102. RECLAMATION STANDARDS AND PERMIT. (a) The
commission by rule shall adopt standards governing reclamation for
sand mining operations, regardless of whether the operations are
required to be registered under Chapter 28A, Water Code, that
overlie the Carrizo Aquifer and are located within:
(1) 30 miles of the boundary of a municipality with a
population of more than 500,000; or
(2) one mile of a building in use as a single-family or
multifamily residence at the time the permit application is filed
with the commission.
(b) The measurement of distance for purposes of Subsection
(a) shall be taken from the point on the sand mining operation that
is nearest to the municipal boundary or residence toward the point
on the municipal boundary or residence that is nearest to the sand
mining operation.
(c) A person may not begin or conduct extraction activities
at a sand mining operation described by Subsection (a) unless the
operator has obtained a reclamation permit from the commission
under this chapter.
(d) The commission shall require an applicant for a
reclamation permit to submit to the commission a site reclamation
plan for the sand mining operation that demonstrates that the
applicant has adequately planned to comply with the standards
adopted under this chapter.
(e) The commission may charge fees for the issuance of
permits under this chapter in an amount sufficient to recover the
costs of administering this chapter.
Sec. 135.0103. CONTENTS OF STANDARDS. (a) The standards
adopted under Section 135.0102 must:
(1) provide for the protection of surface water,
groundwater, agricultural land, wildlife habitat, and wetlands;
(2) require reclamation to:
(A) occur concurrently with sand mining
operations by managing the movement of marketable and unmarketable
material encountered during the operations; and
(B) use best practices adopted by the Natural
Resources Conservation Service of the United States Department of
Agriculture;
(3) include post-mining reclamation grade standards;
(4) establish slope stabilization requirements,
including by grading perpendicular to the gradient;
(5) require unmarketable material from the regulated
premises to be stockpiled on the premises and used as backfill for
site restoration;
(6) prohibit the inclusion of material not excavated
from the regulated premises in the backfill used for site
restoration;
(7) prohibit the stockpiling of unmarketable material
at a horizontal to vertical slope greater than a 3 to 1 ratio;
(8) require surface soil removed during sand mining
operations at the regulated premises to be used as the uppermost
layer of the final reclamation grade;
(9) require a reclaimed area to be left for successive
vegetation growth after final reclamation grade standards have been
satisfied; and
(10) encourage the construction of ponds to catch
runoff in locations that are outside critical runoff zones for
rivers.
(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the commission may
adopt alternative standards for sand mining operations that began
before September 1, 2019, and are unable to comply with the
requirements of Subsection (a), provided that the alternative
standards must:
(1) provide for the protection of surface water,
groundwater, agricultural land, wildlife habitat, and wetlands;
and
(2) include standards relating to grading and slopes
of reclaimed areas, the composition of backfill used for site
restoration, topsoil management, site stabilization, and
revegetation.
Sec. 135.0104. LOCAL ENFORCEMENT OF PERMIT STANDARDS. (a)
A county shall adopt a program for the enforcement of the standards
adopted under this chapter for sand mining operations located in
unincorporated areas of the county that are subject to this
chapter.
(b) A municipality may adopt a program for the enforcement
of the standards adopted under this chapter for sand mining
operations located in the municipality that are subject to this
chapter.
(c) A program adopted by a county or a municipality under
this section must provide for the inspection of sand mining
operations that are subject to this chapter to assure compliance
with the standards adopted under this chapter.
(d) A county or a municipality that adopts a program under
this section may:
(1) require a sand mining operation to submit for
approval by the county or municipality, as appropriate, the site
reclamation plan submitted to the commission with the permit
application under Section 135.0102, before sand mining operations
may take place at the premises that is the subject of the
reclamation plan; and
(2) charge a fee for the review and approval of the
plan.
SECTION 2. Subchapter D, Chapter 23, Tax Code, is amended by
adding Section 23.526 to read as follows:
Sec. 23.526. TEMPORARY CESSATION OF AGRICULTURAL USE FOR
SAND MINING OPERATION. (a) The eligibility of land for appraisal
under this subchapter does not end because the land ceases to be
devoted principally to agricultural use to the degree of intensity
generally accepted in the area if:
(1) the owner of the land intends that the use of the
land in that manner and to that degree of intensity be resumed;
(2) the land is used for a sand mining operation for
which a permit is issued under Chapter 135, Natural Resources Code;
and
(3) the land is reclaimed in the manner required by
Chapter 135, Natural Resources Code, not later than the first
anniversary of the date sand mining operations began on the land.
(b) The owner of land to which this section applies must
notify the appraisal office in writing not later than the 30th day
after the date sand mining operations begin on the land that the
owner intends to ensure that the requirements of Subsection (a) are
met.
SECTION 3. (a) This section applies only to land on which a
sand mining operation began before the effective date of this Act.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 23.526(b), Tax Code, as added
by this Act, the eligibility of the land for appraisal under
Subchapter D, Chapter 23, Tax Code, does not end because the land
ceases to be devoted principally to agricultural use to the degree
of intensity generally accepted in the area if:
(1) the owner of the land provides the notice required
by Section 23.526(b), Tax Code, as added by this Act, not later than
the 90th day after the effective date of this Act; and
(2) the chief appraiser of the appraisal district in
which the land is located has not, as of the effective date of this
Act, made a determination under Section 23.55, Tax Code, that a
change in use of the land has occurred.
SECTION 4. 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, 2019.