87R6720 SLB-D
By: Ordaz Perez H.B. No. 1947
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the permitting of medical waste facilities by the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 361.0905, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (e) and adding Subsections (e-1),
(e-2), and (e-3) to read as follows:
(e) Except as provided by Subsections (e-1) and (e-3), rules
[Rules] adopted to regulate the operation of municipal solid waste
storage and processing units apply in the same manner to medical
waste only to the extent that the rules address:
(1) permit and registration requirements that can be
made applicable to a facility that handles medical waste, including
requirements related to:
(A) applications;
(B) site development;
(C) notice; and
(D) permit or registration duration and limits;
(2) minor modifications to permits and registrations,
including changes in operating hours and buffer zones;
(3) the reconciliation of conflicting site operation
plan provisions for a site that conducts activities that require a
separate permit or authorization;
(4) waste acceptance and analysis;
(5) facility-generated waste, including wastewater
and sludge;
(6) contaminated water management;
(7) on-site storage areas for source-separated or
recyclable materials;
(8) the storage of waste:
(A) to prevent the waste from becoming a hazard,
including a fire hazard, to human health or safety;
(B) to ensure the use of sufficient containers
between collections; and
(C) to prevent the waste from becoming litter;
(9) closure requirements for storage and processing
units;
(10) recordkeeping and reporting requirements, except
for rules regarding the recordkeeping provisions required to
justify the levels of recovered recycled products;
(11) fire protection;
(12) access control;
(13) unloading waste;
(14) spill prevention and control;
(15) operating hours;
(16) facility signage;
(17) control of litter, including windblown material;
(18) noise pollution and visual screening;
(19) capacity overloading and mechanical breakdown;
(20) sanitation, including employee sanitation
facilities;
(21) ventilation and air pollution control, except as
those rules apply to:
(A) process areas where putrescible waste is
processed;
(B) the minimal air exposure for liquid waste;
and
(C) the cleaning and maintenance of mobile waste
processing unit equipment; and
(22) facility health and safety plans, including
employee training in health and safety.
(e-1) Not later than the 30th day after the date of filing an
application for, or notice of intent to file an application for, a
permit to construct, operate, or maintain a facility to store,
process, or dispose of medical waste, the applicant shall send
notice of the application or notice of intent to:
(1) the state senator and representative who represent
the area in which the facility is or is to be located;
(2) the commissioners court of the county in which the
facility is or is to be located; and
(3) the governing bodies of the municipality and
school district in which the facility is or is to be located, as
applicable.
(e-2) The commission shall reject an application submitted
by a person who has not complied with Subsection (e-1). An
application rejected under this subsection must be submitted again
to the commission with the appropriate fee in order to be
considered. The fee submitted with the original rejected
application is forfeited to the commission.
(e-3) The commission may not issue a permit for a new
medical waste facility or the subsequent areal expansion of a
medical waste facility or unit of that facility if the boundary of
the facility or unit is to be located within 500 feet of an
established residence, farm, ranch, church, school, university,
community college, day-care center, surface water body used for a
public drinking water supply, or dedicated public park.
SECTION 2. Sections 361.0905(e-1), (e-2), and (e-3), Health
and Safety Code, as added by this Act, apply only to an application
related to a permit for a medical waste facility that is submitted
to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on or after the
effective date of this Act. An application related to a permit for
a medical waste facility that was submitted to the Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect at the time the application was filed,
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.