Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4486 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: Thompson of Brazoria H.B. No. 4486
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to the regulation of solid waste facilities; imposing a
7	7	fee.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Section 361.061, Health and Safety Code, is
10	10	amended to read as follows:
11	11	Sec. 361.061. PERMITS; SOLID WASTE FACILITY. (a) Except as
12	12	provided by Section 361.090 with respect to certain industrial
13	13	solid waste, the commission may require and issue permits
14	14	authorizing and governing the construction, operation, and
15	15	maintenance of the solid waste facilities used to store, process,
16	16	or dispose of solid waste under this chapter.
17	17	(b) The commission may not approve or allow special
18	18	conditions for the approval of an application for a permit or an
19	19	amendment to a permit issued under this chapter unless the
20	20	applicant has satisfied all the requirements of this chapter and
21	21	rules adopted under this chapter and other requirements of state
22	22	and local law, including requirements relating to authorizations
23	23	from local governments and requirements relating to siting in a
24	24	floodplain.
25	25	SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 361, Health and Safety
26	26	Code, is amended by adding Section 361.0675 to read as follows:
27	27	Sec. 361.0675. APPLICATION FEE FOR PERMIT FOR MUNICIPAL
28	28	SOLID WASTE FACILITY. The commission shall charge an applicant for
29	29	a permit for a municipal solid waste facility an application fee of
30	30	$2,000.
31	31	SECTION 3. Section 361.088, Health and Safety Code, is
32	32	amended by adding Subsection (h) to read as follows:
33	33	(h) Before a permit for a proposed municipal solid waste
34	34	management facility is issued, amended, extended, or renewed, the
35	35	commission shall inspect the facility or site used or proposed to
36	36	be used to store, process, or dispose of municipal solid waste to
37	37	confirm information included in the permit application. The
38	38	commission by rule shall prescribe the kinds of information in a
39	39	permit application that require confirmation under this
40	40	subsection.
41	41	SECTION 4. Section 7.003, Water Code, is amended by adding
42	42	Subsection (d) to read as follows:
43	43	(d) This subsection applies to an enforcement action for
44	44	which a decision or order of the commission has become final as
45	45	provided by Section 2001.144, Government Code, and that involves a
46	46	violation of Chapter 361, Health and Safety Code, by or at a
47	47	municipal solid waste facility. On the request of a state senator
48	48	or state representative, the commission quarterly shall conduct in
49	49	the county in which the facility that is the subject of the
50	50	enforcement action is located a public informational meeting
51	51	regarding the status of the enforcement action. A representative
52	52	of the facility that is the subject of the enforcement action must
53	53	attend a meeting held under this subsection and must make a
54	54	reasonable effort to respond to questions relevant to the
55	55	enforcement action at the meeting. The commission shall post
56	56	notice of the meeting on the commission's Internet website and
57	57	publish the notice once a week for two consecutive weeks before the
58	58	meeting in one or more newspapers having general circulation in the
59	59	county in which the meeting will be held. The notice must state the
60	60	time, location, and subject matter of the meeting. The owner of the
61	61	facility that is the subject of the enforcement action must
62	62	reimburse the commission for the cost of publishing notice under
63	63	this section.
64	64	SECTION 5. Section 7.053, Water Code, is amended to read as
65	65	follows:
66	66	Sec. 7.053. FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED IN DETERMINATION OF
67	67	PENALTY AMOUNT. In determining the amount of an administrative
68	68	penalty, the commission shall consider:
69	69	(1) the nature, circumstances, extent, duration, and
70	70	gravity of the prohibited act, with special emphasis on:
71	71	(A) the impairment of existing water rights;
72	72	(B) [or] the hazard or potential hazard created
73	73	to the health or safety of the public; or
74	74	(C) whether the prohibited act created or is a
75	75	public nuisance;
76	76	(2) the impact of the violation on:
77	77	(A) air quality in the region;
78	78	(B) a receiving stream or underground water
79	79	reservoir;
80	80	(C) instream uses, water quality, aquatic and
81	81	wildlife habitat, or beneficial freshwater inflows to bays and
82	82	estuaries; or
83	83	(D) affected persons;
84	84	(3) with respect to the alleged violator:
85	85	(A) the history and extent of previous
86	86	violations;
87	87	(B) the degree of culpability, including whether
88	88	the violation was attributable to mechanical or electrical failures
89	89	and whether the violation could have been reasonably anticipated
90	90	and avoided;
91	91	(C) the demonstrated good faith, including
92	92	actions taken by the alleged violator to rectify the cause of the
93	93	violation and to compensate affected persons;
94	94	(D) economic benefit gained through the
95	95	violation; and
96	96	(E) the amount necessary to deter future
97	97	violations; and
98	98	(4) any other matters that justice may require.
99	99	SECTION 6. Section 2003.047, Government Code, is amended by
100	100	adding Subsections (d-1) and (l-1) to read as follows:
101	101	(d-1) For the purposes of Subsection (d), to be eligible to
102	102	preside at a hearing related to a permit for a municipal solid waste
103	103	facility, an administrative law judge must have experience with
104	104	solid waste engineering or management.
105	105	(l-1) For a hearing related to a permit for a municipal
106	106	solid waste facility, the administrative law judge shall:
107	107	(1) present the findings of fact, conclusions of law,
108	108	and any ultimate findings under Subsection (l) at an open meeting of
109	109	the commission; and
110	110	(2) answer questions related to the findings and
111	111	conclusions asked by the commissioners.
112	112	SECTION 7. Subchapter C, Chapter 361, Health and Safety
113	113	Code, is amended by adding Section 361.0661 to read as follows:
114	114	Sec. 361.0661. REVIEW OF PERMIT APPLICATION FOR MUNICIPAL
115	115	SOLID WASTE FACILITY; NOTICE OF DEFICIENCY. (a) The commission
116	116	shall review each application for a permit for a municipal solid
117	117	waste facility promptly.
118	118	(b) If after review of an application described by
119	119	Subsection (a), the commission finds that necessary information is
120	120	omitted from the application, that the application contains
121	121	incorrect information that is material to the application, or that
122	122	more information is necessary to complete the processing of the
123	123	application, the commission shall issue a notice of deficiency and
124	124	order the information to be provided to the commission not later
125	125	than the 60th day after the date the notice is issued. If the
126	126	information is not provided to the commission on or before that
127	127	date, the commission shall dismiss the application.
128	128	(c) The commission may issue a notice of deficiency for an
129	129	application described by Subsection (a) only for the reasons
130	130	specified by Subsection (b). For purposes of determining whether
131	131	an application contains incorrect information that is material to
132	132	the application, the commission may not consider administrative or
133	133	clerical errors, including typographical errors.
134	134	(d) To the extent of a conflict between this section and
135	135	Section 361.066 or a rule adopted under that section, this section
136	136	controls.
137	137	(e) The commission may adopt rules as necessary to implement
138	138	this section.
139	139	SECTION 8. As soon as practicable after the effective date
140	140	of this Act, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality shall
141	141	adopt or modify any rules necessary to implement the changes in law
142	142	made by this Act.
143	143	SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.