2019S0214-1 02/14/19
By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 987
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to limitations on the location of solid waste facilities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 361.101, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 361.101. RESTRICTION [PROHIBITION] ON PERMIT FOR
FACILITY ON RECHARGE ZONE OF CERTAIN AQUIFERS [SOLE SOURCE
AQUIFER]. (a) The commission by rule shall prohibit the issuance
of a permit for a new hazardous waste landfill, municipal solid
waste facility, land treatment facility, surface impoundment, or
waste pile, or areal expansion of such a facility, if the facility
is to be located on the recharge zone of:
(1) a sole source aquifer; or
(2) subject to Subsection (b), an aquifer that is
designated by the Texas Water Development Board as a major aquifer.
(b) The commission may issue a permit for a facility to be
located on the recharge zone of a major aquifer that is not a sole
source aquifer only if:
(1) the aquifer is separated from the base of the
containment structure by a minimum of 10 feet of material with a
hydraulic conductivity toward the aquifer not greater than 10-7
centimeters per second or a thicker interval of more permeable
material that provides equivalent or greater retardation to
pollutant migration;
(2) the facility will use double synthetic liners with
a leak detection system between the liners;
(3) in addition to other financial assurance
requirements, the commission conditions the issuance of the permit
on the applicant's execution of a bond in an amount sufficient to
ensure the operational, closure, and post-closure responsibilities
of the facility, but not less than $1 million;
(4) the permit application demonstrates:
(A) the need for the facility; and
(B) that no nearby alternative location outside
the recharge zone is available; and
(5) for a facility located in a groundwater
conservation district, the permit application contains:
(A) if available, information regarding the uses
of groundwater in the district and any historical data on record
with the district, including subsurface geological data; and
(B) proof of notice to the district that the
applicant intends to file the application.
(c) For a facility located in a groundwater conservation
district, the determination of whether the facility is located on
the recharge zone of a major aquifer is governed by the district's
delineation of the recharge zone.
SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
an application for the issuance of a permit pending before the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality on or after the effective date
of this Act. A permit issued before the effective date of this Act
is governed by the law in effect when the permit was issued, and the
former 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, 2019.